D H H ​​literary agency
  • Home
  • Authors
  • Books
  • Meet the Team
  • DHH Rights
  • News
  • Submissions

The Secret to Christmas Shopping by Amanda Jennings

12/22/2015

0 Comments

 
At this time the spectre of Christmas shopping looms for many. Advent has been counted down in ‘shopping days ‘til Christmas’. Shops have lost their collective minds as festive madness takes over. Now, I have to confess, I am not a good shopper. I suppose over the years, and out of necessity, I’ve become adequately proficient, but I’m certainly not what anyone would call a natural. Genetics short-changed me. My mother is a shopping genius. She wakes up on a shopping day with an inner glow. Excitement pervades the air around her. She will tread the crowded pavements with a spring in her step and move easily in and out of unfeasibly warm shops that play Slade on loop. She will smile without a hint of Inner Fear at the pouncing shop assistants and sigh happily as she breaks to drink coffee and tick off the things on her list she has successfully bought. When she later returns home, laden with bags of lovingly chosen gifts, she will bid a cheery hello and answer ‘yes, I had a super time’ when someone enquires cautiously after her day. Me, on the other hand? Well, suffice it to say I need a decontamination zone to recover in – a darkened room with an intravenous gin drip would do nicely – after a day of Christmas shopping.
But in my advancing years I’ve found a way to deal with my Christmas shopping.

​Admittedly, a part of this involves sitting in my pyjamas and trawling the online shopping mall from the comfort of my home. But even I need to venture out and immerse myself in a little bit of Christmas cheer – I’m not totally devoid of festive spirit – and for this I have found the answer. A book shop.

Ahhhhhh, and breathe.

From the moment I step inside and leave the clamouring crowds and the flashing lights and heady smell of commercialisation behind me, I am swathed in a feeling of calm. The assistant won’t pester me or hassle me. He or she will look up and smile, say hello, then lower their head and let me continue. They know that I know I can ask for help, for recommendations, for guidance. But they also know that a significant part of the joy of shopping for books is the browsing. Being alone and peaceful. Running the tips of my fingers along the spines and over the covers, waiting for something to catch my eye. Something that brings the person I’m shopping for to mind. Something perfect.

Books undoubtedly make the best presents and within the walls of a bookshop lies a book for everyone. You can choose a book to suit an individual’s interests or passion. You can show people you respect their tastes or views. You can share books you’ve enjoyed and write messages inside them saying ‘I adored this and know you will too’. And later, on Christmas day, during that period of sated peace beyond the feasting, you can cast your eye around and watch your loved ones reaching for their new books – that autobiography, that beautiful coffee-table book, that novel you so enjoyed – and feel a warm sense of satisfaction. Then, some time on, when the book is read, the gift will be enjoyed all over again, and the person you shopped for might drop into conversation ‘by the way, I read that book you gave me for Christmas and I absolutely loved it. What a brilliant choice. You’re so good at buying presents.’ And then you can smile to yourself…

Wishing you all a very peaceful and bookish Christmas.
Amanda


Pre-order In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings from Goldsboro Books
Follow Amanda on twitter: @MandaJJennings
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Follow @DHHlitagency
    Tweets by DHHlitagency

    Author

    Harry Illingworth

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER HERE

Subscribe to Newsletter

D H H Literary Agency Ltd

For Visitors:
9, Burleigh Mansions
20 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0HU

Delivery Address (Registered Office):
23 - 27 Cecil Court
London
WC2N 4EZ
© COPYRIGHT 2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Contact

Telephone: 0203 990 2452
E-Mail enquiries@dhhliteraryagency.com (please do not email submissions to this address)

Internships
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
  • Home
  • Authors
  • Books
  • Meet the Team
  • DHH Rights
  • News
  • Submissions