Let's Discuss--Signing Personalizations

 

Got another one for you this week! I'm on a roll and it only took me half the month! Lol! I actually got the idea for this one the same night as yesterday's topic! I was at a book signing and I had the bookstore people ask me about personalizations for my books and I said, I was just getting signatures. I thought I would explain why I've been doing that lately here because, it's book related! Lol.

Signing Personalizations

I used to ALWAYS love getting my books signed out to me! I still do on some too. If it was a favorite book or a favorite author or just one I HAD to have signed out to me, I will still get it personalized to myself. But lately, on books I just liked or loved--not LOVED--I just get an author signature.

On one of my last RT conventions, I was at a table talking with other readers and I was talking with one reader who explained why she just got signatures in her books instead of personalizations. She said, she didn't want her name to go in the books because one day, she would pass away--like we all do...unless we meet a hot vampire and decide to stick around for eternity, lol--and she didn't want her collection of books to all be signed out to her by authors she loved and upset her loved ones. She thought having her favorite books signed out to her would make them sad. So instead, she just got them signed by the author so that her loved ones wouldn't get upset thinking about her being gone.

Yes, I know one could say, seeing it signed out to her might later make her loved ones reminiscent on the good and happy times with her. But I also saw where she was coming from as well. It's a doubled edge sword if you will.

So as I continue to age I think about my own mortality. I will likely be leaving my book collection to my niece and nephew...unless something changes in the coming years of course! Lol. And I'll let them do what they will with the books. They can keep them, sell them, whatever they want. And I just thought it might be better for them if not all my books were signed out to me. Theoretically I see them selling them later on because I sadly don't think they will turn into readers, but I still want the best for them. Maybe they'll even keep a few they like I'd be happy about that. I mean, asking to be buried with all my books seems a little silly. Maybe bury me with my TBR pile so I can read them as a ghost, I'll just have to learn to use my gut to turn the pages! Lol.

But yeah...I don't always get my books personalized when I get the opportunity to get them signed. I might still do some occasionally, especially if I'm buying more than one copy (don't judge, you all know it's just on Stephanie's books! Lol). I did on my last set of Garber books get some fun personalizations like Little Fox, and Jacks' True Love! Those kind of personalizations I really like! I wish I could think of more of ones like that for my other books I have. I feel like taking the main character's name is just like personalizing it to a person who shares that name, so it wouldn't have that same feeling.

So my question for you is, when you get books signed, do you like to get them personalized or just signed? Or do you choose to get personalizations only on certain books/authors? I'm kind of on the latter track these days!