Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

In the run up to Christmas I love to get into the Christmas spirit and read a few Christmassy books and so back in September, during a particularly wild Amazon book spree, I purchased ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’ by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan in preparation for the festive Winter months. When the book arrived with a lovely thump on my doorstep I was very sensible and placed it safely in a hidden corner of my bedroom to sit and wait until the reindeers roamed the streets, tinsel was strung over every available surface and it was okay to be excited for Christmas. I definitely was not going to read this book until Christmas. I wasn’t. I wasn’t! ... I did.

            I am currently writing this blog in October… Okay! Okay! So, kill me! I saw a wreath of holly in a passing shop window and I got a teensy bit excited. Well… when I say a ‘teensy bit’ I mean I freaked out in the middle of the street, pre-ordered a new reindeer pattern Christmas jumper, pulled my ‘Snowman’ snow globe down from the spiders in the attic and shook it manically as I began to read ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’.

            But, all that is beside the point. The point is that ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’ is one of the most wonderful Christmas books that I have ever read! The book follows the story of New York teenagers, Dash and Lily (the co-writers writing the two perspectives chapter for chapter) as they get to know each other over Christmas using only the fantastic dares and challenges they leave each other in a little red Moleskine notebook.

 Now, bear in mind, just in case you like to take my word as law (As I know you all definitely do!) that this is not for all you lactose intolerant readers out there. This book definitely has rich, creamy, full-fat gorgonzola cheese as its main ingredient – and I loved it! Cheese is exactly what a Christmas book should have, heck, the entire season is cheesy, not just its literature. There were so many sweet little scenes and Christmassy settings that I could almost smell the cinnamon in the air. I have never in my life left Europe but I’ll be damned if I don’t what Christmas in New York is like after reading that book.

Dash, I thought, was a very unlikely character to appear in a Christmas book and at first I found him quite irritating. The complete opposite to Lily, he hated Christmas and chose to spend Christmas alone, hiding from parties and festivities and delicious gingerbread men.  Dash seemed to think himself incredibly deep and troubled because of this particular preference and kept spouting pretentious moody rubbish all the way throughout the book.  However, as I became more familiar with the characters and their individual thoughts and feelings I began to realise that this was no accident. Dash was meant to be annoying! Though infuriating, it was crucial to the plotline and I actually began to become quite fond of this particular personality quirk.

I liked Lily straight off the bat! I think her best contribution to the novel as a whole is her close connection with her family. Lily’s relatives feature a lot throughout the novel and though they may only be minor parts I think collectively they make the book more Christmassy than any number of snowflake baubles, giant nutcrackers or North-Pole themed mittens. This may only be a personal opinion, but, to me, family is the most important aspect of Christmas and I know that if Cohn and Levithan had forgotten to sprinkle a few aunts, uncles and lazy older brothers into their writing, then the book would not make my heart swell as much as it did.

Because I am a lazy blogger, now, as I finish this blog, the calendar reads December 15^th. I have read ‘Dash and Lily’ again since my little (massive) Christmas freak out back in October and I can confirm to you that nothing I have said as thus is a lie - induced by an early dose of mistletoe and fake shop-display snow. The book manages to maintain its lovely warmth and sweetness for the re-read and if, still, this late into December, you haven’t yet felt that familiar glow that comes from warm mince pies and santa-shaped mittens, then I guarantee you, this is the book to kick-start your holiday spirit! 

Christmas Book Guide!

Ah, Christmas time! The streets are packed with people, there’s a bite of frost in the air, everything smells a bit like cinnamon and if you’re lucky, there might just be some lovely book-shaped parcels under the tree. Christmas is a brilliant time for book-lovers everywhere! The bookshops are stocked with all sorts of wonderful Christmas releases and if you have a family that listens quite closely you can replenish your entire to-be-read pile with the fantastic new titles you’ve been lusting over for ages!

   

         However, if you happen to buying for a book-lover and they are not entirely explicit about exactly which book it is they would like to receive from Santa, then having a successful Book-Christmas can be a tad tricky! But don’t you worry; I am here to help you through this difficult time of year! This is a book-lovers guide to Christmas!

    

    

    1.     I am going to get this out of the way first because I love you all and I don’t want you to waste your money. If you don’t know almost exactly what titles a person may want, don’t guess. Seriously, either just ask them what they want or avoid the bookshop entirely, it isn’t worth it. If your loved one is quite an intense book-lover then chances are that they will have read quite a lot of what Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and WH Smith have to offer. Unless you happen to be a crazy stalker or know their exact reading tastes and experiences inside-out then I really wouldn’t bother. Play it safe and don’t be tempted by that gorgeous new John Green box set, if you don't know for sure, it’s much too dangerous!

    2.     Okay, so you’ve read tip number one and you’re thinking, but if I can’t get a book-lover books, what the hell do I buy?! No fear, my dears! This is where your trusty friend, the book token, swoops in to save the day. It may seem impersonal and a bit weak but trust me, stick even just a £10 book token inside a card and you will be able to watch the sheer delight on your loved one’s face as it falls out onto their lap! Physically, a book token is just a small rectangle of plastic, but emotionally it is so much more. Book tokens are exciting, they hold all sorts of possibilities, and they give book-lovers an excuse to go for another thrilling adventure through the shelves at the local bookshop!

3.     Now obviously, we don’t all have obese wallets of cash to spend on festivities but buying books really doesn’t have to be expensive. It is so easy to get cheap books if you buy second hand. You’d be surprised the amount of good-quality, well-known books hidden inside your local charity shop. I’m lucky enough to have two different Barnardos bookshops near me and an Oxfam one as well, but if you don’t have access to these shops specifically, any old charity shop will do! I once found the entire Hunger Games series in almost brand-new condition for only about £3.50 in a random Hospice Care on holiday. I really don’t think your loved one will care if the books are second-hand or brand new, if it’s a good story they’ll thank you profusely and stick their teeth in right away. After all, it is the thought that counts!

    4.     But when shopping for Book-Christmas you are not solely limited to the bookshops only. Book-related merchandise is a fantastic gift for any passionate fan girl or boy! If your friend happens to be a massive potterhead then the possibilities are endless! Replica Marauders Map? I do think so. Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans? Yes please! Magical heat transforming ‘Mischief Managed’ mug? Well, I don’t mind if I do!  Simply search your loved-one’s favourite book or series along with the word ‘merch’ into your favourite search engine and I guarantee you’ll get hundreds of gift ideas in mere seconds! Personally, when I want to find cool and interesting merchandise I hop on over to Etsy.co.uk, there’s thousands of people on there, hand-crafting and creating merch every single day! Just a few quick clicks and Christmas is sorted.

   5.     If you really are strapped for cash, but you still want a love-filled, heart-felt gift to give for book-Christmas, well, why not get a little arty? Sure, it takes a bit more time and effort, but, even if it doesn’t turn out quite the way you want it to, the finished product can still be something quite awesome and special. It doesn’t have to be all that complex – if you have art skills and some coloured card you can make cool book themed cards like this one – and if you can’t think of any ideas there’s tons of guides and templates on the internet. It’ll cost you one day, some knitting needles and a couple balls of wool to make a long cosy Gryffindor scarf, or if you want to get really fancy you could even have a go at crocheting yourself a woolly Potter dolly!  Just, have a go. It’s fun and a great way to get the expensive book merchandise you really want.

   6.     Lastly, don’t be afraid to write inside the books. I know some people might crucify me for saying this, but there’s something so fantastically gorgeous about opening up a book someone has given you, ready to start reading, and finding that they’ve left you a little message. It’s so sweet and cute and very personal! It adds a lovely little touch to an otherwise fairly usual present. If you want to leave a message but are a bit scared to commit so fully to leaving a permanent mark on the gift, just write it lightly in pencil, then it can be rubbed out at the reader’ own discretion. It’s counter-intuitive but it is an undeniably romantic, I’ve wanted someone to do this for me ever since I first read ‘The Fault In Our Stars’. So go on, be a bit cheeky!

So there we have it! Six great tips on how to have an absolutely blurbtastic Book-Christmas!