Great Valentine's Day Gifts

When giving someone a gift for Valentine's Day, it should be something personal, something that you enjoyed so much that you want to share it with someone. It's never wise to spend too much money on a Valentine's Day Gift. If you want to be extravagant, save that for a regular day. Extravant gifts on regular days have more of an impact.

In my opinion, a Valentine's Day should be something small that packs a lot of punch. Give someone a copy of your favorite book or a copy of one of your favorite CD's. Now, mind you, you should take into account the person's personality before you decide on the precise gift.

Personally I would give someone a copy of my favorite book, Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar. Undeniable one of the best novels ever written in the 20th Century, with some of the best written language. Gregory Rabassa's English Translation is superb, in fact, I read both the Spanish version (Rayuela) and the English version, and Rabassa's translation is verbatim and specific to the original. How can anyone read Chapter 73 without saying "Wow!"? The novel is about Horacio Oliveira and The Serpent Club, a small yet diverse expat group of pseudo-intellectuals living in Paris, France. They sit around, listen to Jazz (lots of Satchmo), and discuss everything from literature to art - a very Henry-Miller-like bohemian existence, and moves on to tell us about Oliveira's return to Argentina where he works a myriad of odd jobs, all the while wondering whatever happened to La Maga. Just read it!  

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