Books

I truly believe that a book is one of the best gifts you can give to a person. Sure, you can give people clothes and jewelry and whatever, but with things like that, they take one look at it and decide whether they love it or hate it. With a book, they have to at least give it a try. It doesn't even have to have words in it. Even if it's just a book of photographs or other art, it gets them thinking. Maybe I'm just going on this rant because I recently picked up reading again and now I remember all the greatness I was missing out on. Or maybe because I want other people to realize how great reading is (sorry, Kindles don't count).
Now that I think about it, I really want someone to get me a book. It doesn't have to be great, but I'm terrible at picking out books for myself. I was at Barnes&Noble yesterday returning a book that I had a second copy of, and looked for a book to replace it. I intended on picking up a new PostSecret book and leaving, but then I remembered the poetry section and spent an hour leafing through books. I settled with From Totems to Hip-Hop: A Multicultural Anthology of Poetry Across the Americas, 1900-2002. After I finish the book I'm currently reading, maybe this will be next.
Of course, another one of the best gifts you can give to someone is music, but I could go on and on about that.
Sorry I don't have any new writing of my own to post. But here is a Pablo Neruda poem I like:

The Queen

I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you, taller.
There are purer ones than you, purer.
There are lovelier than you, lovelier.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal crown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass,
the nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.