Uh...Thanks! Really!

I had to smile when I read a blogpost by Darragh McManus in the Guardian online Aug. 18, 2010 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/aug/18/book-recommendations-go-wrong) about the question of what to do when a friend or colleague presses a book on you, telling you you will love it, and it turns out you don't love it at all. I am sure we have all experienced this, perhaps from both sides -- being the presser and the pressee, so to speak -- at various times. I know I have. Generally my friends know my taste well, and I have often been thrilled to discover new books and authors through their recommendations, but sometimes I am surprised by a book that I really cannot get into or enjoy. I still appreciate their generosity and thoughtfulness, of course. On the other side, I am sure I have misjudged in some of my recommendations or gifts. I admit that one could say that this whole blog is a kind of pressing books on people; my rationale is that at least it is not targeted to any one person, so no one is put on the spot. The feeling of being put on the spot is what McManus was humorously getting at: What do you say to the giver/recommender who asks you later, with eagerness, how you liked the book? Should you be honest? Or fake it? Or dodge the question? Or...?