I hate getting books for Christmas in general because I’m such a mood reader, and I’ve plastered a fake smile on my face many a time and repeated internally ‘Its the thought that counts.’ as I unwrap a book I will not read.
But the worst one by far, given to me by my own Mother , who I know loves me, when I was fourteen years old! was >!Men are from Mars Women are from Venus.!< I am sitting there horrified thinking what is she trying to tell me? As my sisters are flat on the floor laughing to the point of puking. We eventually came to the conclusion she just saw an attractive cover on a bestseller table and grabbed it. Love to know your terrible gift stories.
The thought was in the right place but my step mother once got me an ENORMOUS dictionary out of the cheap section. It was as big as 3 NYC phone books stacked together and completely impractical outside of a library. I lived in a tiny ass apt and this thing took up about 20% of it. It would have been super cool in my secret lair or ritual chamber, but instead it was a 70lb millstone for a off and on homeless college student.
Put a nice piece of fabric over it and use it as a table.
If you’d be willing to take the time and effort, and obviously if you still have it. I’d recommend gluing all the pages together, cutting a square in the center and creating a little secret book-safe. I did it once with an old history book and while it was a pain in the ass, it did serve its purpose!
My uncle bought me an Oxford Diction (2 sets) and an Encyclopedia. I still have those. Never used or read a single time! He bought many good books for me but this one was too much!