So I asked my Santa for something very specific:

I live in the Netherlands and have lived here for several years. I speak Dutch pretty fluently, but get very little practice. I figured reading some more Dutch books might help, but I have no idea what's good.

I signed up for a domestic match, hoping to get matched with someone native, who would be able to get me something Dutch to read for my kindle, since I have a Dutch to English dictionary on it, so it's super handy.

Turns out amazon.nl does not allow you to gift e-books.. So not only did Santa struggle with that and even call customer service to find out it was indeed not possible (sorry Santa, I should've done better research! blush), but it appears they figured out they could gift me a Dutch book from amazon.com. Mission well and truly accomplished - great job!!

I got Santa's favourite Dutch book: Het Diner (the dinner) by Herman Koch - seems like an interesting story. And it's always nice to get something personally significant.

Another Dutch read: Een goed huwelijk (a good marriage) by Saskia Noort. Seems to be a short thriller? Exciting!

A book from my Goodreads "to read" list: The Guest Cat (I am a crazy cat lady, and this one seemed short and sweet, though I'm afraid the cat might die..), to make sure there was something included that I definitely wanted to read - so thoughtful!

A book that Santa thinks I'll like: Before I go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. Santa said they hoped I hadn't already read it, and indeed I have not. BUT it was very recently recommended to me by Goodreads and I thought to myself "I have to add this to my to-read list" but somehow I missed it. So an uncannily good choice!

And.. yes, I got yet another book!! Last but not least: Nation by Terry Pratchett. Santa messaged me to ask how I felt about Terry Pratchett, and the funny thing is he's exactly the kind of writer I would expect to love, but I couldn't quite get on board with the Discworld series (sorry, reddit!) - too far removed from anything resembling reality. Santa says they think I'll enjoy this one more, and I'm excited to give Pratchett another try - I really want to like him.

I am really excited about all of these books - awesome effort, truly!

Yay, books! :-D