In my 'exchange preferences', I confessed to my Santa that I am not exactly an avid book reader. My main reason for signing up was for my brother. He is going through a very rough time right now. He has never cared much about reading, but during this tough time, he has expressed a slight interest in reading more, and has read a few books for the first time since probably junior high. I want to encourage this, because I think that reading books is something that can really help him to get through it. However, since I don't do a ton of book-reading myself, I didn't really know where to start.

I assumed that people signing up for the book exchange would be book experts, so I asked whoever would become my Book Santa to pick something out for my younger brother that could instill a love of reading in him. Lucky for both of us, altkeys became my Book Santa and did so much more than I dreamed anyone would. She picked out FOUR books for my brother! 2 that she thought he would enjoy based on what I told her about him (The Story of the Detroit Lions, and The Racketeer), and 2 of her personal favorites that really helped her love reading (To Kill a Mockingbird and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)!!!

This was incredible! It was exactly what I asked for and more...

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

My Book Santa also got FOUR books for me! I had listed a few of my favorite books, and she totally ran with it! 2 books of Stephen King's short stories and novellas! I love King's short stories most of all, and have not read these collections yet! I've already read a couple from Everything's Eventual since I got it. A collection of essays from David Foster Wallace that sound right up my alley (I have a feeling that reading Infinite Jest is in my future). My favorite is probably Food in History. I love cooking and baking, and enjoy informational reading, so this should be perfect for me! It reminds me of when the Nutritional Anthropologist would show up on Good Eats!

I can't say enough how much all of this means to me. altkeys, you are truly an amazing person, and I can only hope that your good will is returned to you tenfold!