SantaThing: Secret Santa for Book Lovers

The idea is simple. Pay $25. You play Santa to a random LibraryThing member, and buy them up $20 worth of new books, based on their library or a short description. Someone else does the same to you. LibraryThing orders the books and pays the shipping, so no addresses are exchanged.

You can also sign up for someone you know—a relative or a friend—and they get the present. Be a Santa as many times as you like.

Even if you don't want to be a Santa, you can help by suggesting books for others.

Crucial dates

Tuesday, Dec. 1, 4pm Eastern. Sign-up ends. Secret Santas are randomly chosen, profile messages sent to the Secret Santa, and you can submit your picks.

Friday, Dec. 12, 10pm Eastern. Gift picking ends. LibraryThing starts ordering everything, and the joy commences.

Choosing a bookseller

This year, you get to choose where you'd like your books purchased from.

Click here to see all booksellers, countries we'll ship to and shipping times.

Any questions? Email sonyalibrarything.com

Your SantaThings

Become a Secret Santa!

wyvernfriend. "I love fantasy, particularly urban fantasy and collect books on Knitting and crochet. I've only recently had to go gluten free and I'm always looking for good books on gluten-free cooking...." (0 comments)

AnnieMod. "I like both fiction and non-fiction but I am usually up to date on my fiction buying (reading is another matter). So the safest way would be a non-fiction book - history (I love the Tudors but I also ..." (0 comments)

reading_fox. "I mostly read Sci-fi and Fantasy, with a bit of action, adventure, mystery and crime thrown in for good measure. I also try and read a bit of non-fiction from time to time, especially outdoors tales a..." (0 comments)

Jesse_wiedinmyer. "Anything. Two of my favorite ways to find out about books... (1)Have someone tell what their favorite one is and read it regardless of whether or not I think I'll like it. (2) Go into a bookstore and ..." (0 comments)

MrsLee. "I like funny stories, such as Pratchett, mysteries from the Golden Age such as Sayers and Stout, histories or memoirs and some fantasy such as Tolkien, Sanderson and Gaiman. I enjoy stories of nature ..." (0 comments)

tjblue. "Historical fiction, autobiographies,murder,mystery ,human interest, nonfiction, anything from my wish list...." (0 comments)

dchaikin. "Don't feel compelled to pick off my wishlst, but it's there if you want to take a look. And, if you do, note the tags: -1 Desperately want (7) -2 Ready to buy (16) -3 really want (68) -4 General wishl..." (0 comments)

conuly. "I want books for my nieces, mostly - just about every book they have is listed in my library :) They're 6 and 4 - the older one reads on her own now. I'm especially interested in getting them some pic..." (0 comments)

ateolf. "i have fairly open tastes and my library here is pretty indicative of what i like...i love discovering new things too...stuff i've never heard of is great (and stuff i've heard of can be great too, yo..." (0 comments)

chairless. "A few of my interests are acting & amateur filmmaking, linguistics & languages, ancient history, philosophy, and biography...." (0 comments)

thisstage. "I am interested in discovering new books and genres. I particularly like fiction that delves into philosophy, psychology and/or history, and I am fascinated by the area is often called "gender studies..." (0 comments)

ShanLizLuv. "I'm open to just about anything, especially ancient history, unusual church (Catholic) history or literary fiction. Apropos of nothing in particular, my LT library has a wishlist......." (0 comments)

AprWen19. "Look at my wishlist or library for ideas...." (0 comments)

drewandlori. "My library is kind of all over the place, and so are my interests. I especially read a lot of fiction, especially science fiction, and pretty much any kind of history...." (0 comments)

pontusfreyhult (Katharina Nilson). "She likes both "classical" literature (like Dostojevskij or more modern authors like Hesse and Rushdie) as well as crime and mystery books. While it's not a primary component, there are some fantasy s..." (0 comments)

herebebooks. "I really like YA fantasy, historical fantasy, and urban fantasy. I also like military sci-fi, post-apocalyptic stuff, historical YA fiction, dark fantasy, anything about explorers (think North Pole/So..." (0 comments)

caras_galadhon. "My tastes skew very heavily to fiction, and within fiction, towards fantasy, although I enjoy suspense, mystery and horror as well (and I'm open to vampires/werewolves, provide they're not toothless/n..." (1 comments)

tomroper (0 comments)

bearette24. "I like a wide range of books, but generally fiction that is smart yet accessible with a sense of humor...." (0 comments)

leadmomma. "I love to read memoirs, foodie essays, creativity exploration - :)..." (0 comments)

banderson1. "I really only read teen/young adult fiction. I am a youth services library and this is where my reading focus is as well as the area I enjoy most. I love dystopian fiction and historical fiction. I'm ..." (0 comments)

pontusfreyhult. "Philosophical and historical fiction, Science fiction, Fantasy, Comic books (primarily humor - Doonesbury, Dilbert, Rose is Rose, Mutts, ...)..." (0 comments)

Nymeth. "I especially love receiving graphic novels and non-fiction as gifts because I buy them for myself less frequently than I do novels - but that being said, I KNOW I'd be thrilled with a novel too. I lik..." (0 comments)

missylc. "I love historical fiction (ex. Gabaldon) and am participating in the 1010 challenge (http://www.librarything.com/topic/75908), so a book for one (or more) of those categories would be splendid...." (0 comments)

adulau. "I'm a fan of bookshelves or anything related to information retrieval, information security or biology or organic gardening. I usually enjoy reading those topics in French or English...." (0 comments)

atlargeintheworld. "I read a lot of young adult lit, dark humor, books about books, adaptations/retellings, light fantasy (of the JK Rowling/Phillip Pullman/urban variety), series, classics (I collect Penguin Classics De..." (0 comments)

susie.derkins. "I mainly read non-fiction books and I am interested in the following subjects: historical cooking, daily life through history, cultural studies, evolutionary psychology and popular science. Besides th..." (0 comments)

Morphidae. "My favorite is Urban Fantasy and I've read a lot of it. Your best bet is to look at my wishlist on Amazon. I've tried to put a selection of things there. Something I've just started exploring is liber..." (0 comments)

fredbacon. "The safest choice for a book this year would be any nonfiction about the Russian Front during WWII. It can be from either the German or Russian perspective. Histories on the inter-war period (1920-194..." (0 comments)

klarusu. "I like literary fiction, foreign writing, variety of non-fiction ... basically, anything you think is good. I do have a Wishlist collection if you are really stuck but I would rather have something th..." (0 comments)

SlySionnach. "I'm really into fantasy and horror lately, but I'm on a fantasy series binge. Epic, sword and sorcery, high fantasy series that sweep me away from reality. I know I've missed a bunch. I'll have a wish..." (0 comments)

bcquinnsmom. "I'm a major mystery addict, especially Scandinavian mysteries or British. I also enjoy anything related to the Cthulhu mythos (but I have a lot, so you may want to check my library)...." (2 comments)

drizzlegirl. "I love Gregory Maguire!!! I love interesting history (current wishlist includes Team of Rivals, A Tratior to his class..which is about FDR, and the Irregulars). I love Postsecret books! Outlaw history..." (0 comments)

masterdeski. "I love fantasy and science fiction: Star Wars and Star Trek, Valdemar, Dresden Files, and Lord of the Rings. But I'm interested in starting new series too. For non-fiction, I usually go for ancient hi..." (0 comments)

Lotharia. "I generally read fantasy and romance novels. That being said, I do like to read book genres outside of my comfort zone and love to find a treasure that I never expected. I love feel good books and alw..." (0 comments)

omnivorous. "I tend to alternate between older classics and modern novels. I have a particular fondness for multigenerational stories, like Roots by Alex Haley, or London by Edward Rutherfurd. Other favorites incl..." (0 comments)

peppermintkiwi. "As you can tell by my library, I love mysteries and humor - and I'm a bit of an Anglophile. My favorite authors include Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Douglas Adams, Laurie R. King, Jim Butcher,..." (2 comments)

yoyogod. "I generally read fantasy novels, and I haven't read anywhere near as many as I'd like this year. Any type of fantasy (other than some sort of romance/fantasy hybrid) would do, especially something by ..." (0 comments)

BellyandKill. "Topics currently most passionate about: rock and roll miniature stuff and toys comics by women artists..." (0 comments)

xevver. "I prefer fiction novels. Particularly, novels that have interesting characters or intriguing plot twists...." (1 comments)

riverrust. "My library consists mainly of Christian theology and general history. My favorite history subjects are World War 2 and Russia. I love Russian classics, but I don't read a lot of fiction so I am short ..." (2 comments)

CatyM. "I mostly read history, historical fiction, crime and mystery, a bit of romance, some fantasy and humour (PG Wodehouse, Terry Pratchett) and a decent helping of classic lit. Lately, I've been reading q..." (0 comments)

silentq. "I like lots of science fiction and fantasy, but I like a good story above everything. Updated fairy tales, good young adult fiction, and historical fiction are also good. You can look at the tags I've..." (0 comments)

chazzard. "I love to read fiction, particularly fiction with a strong sense of place. I also enjoy mysteries set around the world, and try to read as many prize-winners as possible. I also enjoy non-fiction, inc..." (0 comments)

razorhack. "I like hard SF and the new weird. I have read all of Alastair Reynolds, John Scalzi, Charles Stross, Chine Mieville and Richard Morgan. I would love to read some new voices...." (0 comments)

allthesedarnbooks. "I read a lot of YA fiction, fantasy, and mystery. I also like the occasional romance, and some nonfiction. I like vampires and anything with a paranormal twist. You can get a pretty good idea of my ta..." (1 comments)

keristars. "Lately I've been looking for non-fiction about folklore and mythology, as well as French-language novels. When it comes to fiction, I like light SF/F, historical, and humor. My LT tends to lean toward..." (0 comments)

xrayedgrl. "I like historical fiction, literary novels, I am interested in translated works from authors of different countries. Non-fiction medical works...." (0 comments)

TheFlamingoReads. "Take a look at my library and you'll see that I have been reading a lot of historical non-fiction. I am a devout Anglophile so anything set in Great Britain will make me happy. I also love to read a g..." (0 comments)

Donogh. "Any kind of history or military history from any period. Gritty science-fiction, fantasy or militarily-inclined historical fiction is also fine...." (0 comments)

bragan. "I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, and a lot of non-fiction on various topics, particularly science-related ones, but my tastes are really very, very broad, and I'm always interested in expa..." (0 comments)

blackwood. "I have everything from Paul Auster to Michal Crichton. Fiction and non-fiction alike. I love to read a new author I've never heard of before...." (0 comments)

IslandDave. "I love non-fiction, most especially science (biology/evolution/astronomy/cosmology/physics), military history, and general histories. My Amazon wish lists are available to browse if you need suggestio..." (0 comments)

grizzly.anderson. "Obviously, a LOT of SF. But I keep sampling from other fiction as well. Jasper Fforde, Murakami, Thomas Perry, and Patrick Neate being some recent enjoyable examples...." (0 comments)

kldixon. "I teach middle school, so I love keeping up on the latest things my students are reading. I can't read all YA lit, though, so when I am choosing more adult books, I love classics, essay collections, t..." (1 comments)

angelikat. "I love vintage horror, if you can find something that I don't already have I would love it, I am also a comic book geekess with a thing for Batman, Steve Niles, Alan Moore & Neil Gaiman. There is also..." (0 comments)

edwardmccaughan. "I like reading about personal development, sci fi, funny stuff anything that teaches me something new and usefull/useless is godd, some random stuff I'm learning lately if you want to get me something..." (0 comments)

SylviaC. "In non-fiction I like (very) ancient and medieval history, epidemics and large scale catastrophes, and books about medical conditions / disabilities. I like lots of different types of fiction, as long..." (0 comments)

owlie13. "I've been waiting for this and have created a Wishlist collection in anticipation; feel free to choose anything from that. But don't feel that you have to use the wishlist -- I also need some of the f..." (0 comments)

nscocozzo. "My library shows that I have an obvious bent on non-fiction with a particular focus on economics and business. And that library is update To date with all of my reading. One thing I have been trying t..." (0 comments)

Garp83. "Ancient history, Classical studies, American history, political biography, anthropology..." (0 comments)

Peripa. "My LibraryThing library has just about every book I own in it. My tastes are fairly ecclectic and I especially like graphic novels, books about FLDS, tudor England and non-famous autobiographies. I al..." (0 comments)

Yarrow. "Broadly, I like YA Fiction, intelligent fantasy and sci-fi, and lots of mainstream fiction. The majority of my books are by women, this isn't a deliberate bias, I just noticed it! My library should gi..." (1 comments)

kristinbell. "I love books. Art History, yes. Computers, yes. Graphic design, yes. Fiction, yes. Cats, yes. Cute stuff, yes. Science, yes. Psychology, yes. Psychiatry, yes. Anti-psychiatry: NO. Music, yes. Electric..." (1 comments)

bell7. "My library is pretty reflective of my tastes, but for more details: I read a lot of fantasy, young adult, and children's books. I like cozy mysteries, contemporary fiction, and classics as well...." (0 comments)

meggyweg. "I have fairly eclectic reading tastes, but in particular I read a lot of young adult literature and I'm obsessed with the Holocaust. Other genres of interest include history, psychology, memoirs and p..." (3 comments)

balbs. "My library is all sorts of tastes - I just love books of any shape, colour or creed!..." (0 comments)

MartinRohrbach. "Have a look at my library, it's a good mix of things. Get me a book or two that _you_ think is a must read :)..." (0 comments)

markusnenadovus. "I think I need a bit of cheering up. A lighthearted novel or parody would be nice. I need my imagination stretched a bit. Is there anything released in the last year that you think might be as likely ..." (0 comments)

wendyrey (0 comments)

captainsflat. "What I would love to receive is the best book you can find (for the price) in your favorite genre. Pretend you are converting me to your cause. I am curious about the world out there beyond my own fil..." (0 comments)

alcottacre. "I have both a wishlist (books I would like to read but have been unable to get my hands on yet) and a 'need to buy' list (books I have read and would like for my personal library). I read a lot of bot..." (0 comments)

xorscape. "I like fiction, romance (except medieval), histories, humor, some fantasy, cookbooks (plain fare-ish). I also like mysteries. I don't like depressing books. I like pop-up books and audio books (cd for..." (0 comments)

penwing. "difficult one... SF&F make up a large portion of my reading material, but then the odd queer themed non-SF&F or a bit of horror or comedy will slip through. Sometimes even non-fiction in the Queer or ..." (0 comments)

brewergirl. "The "Personal" collection in my library is pretty much up to date. I enjoy historical fiction, history, and classic literature. But I'm open to almost anything. I also have a "Sounds interesting" coll..." (0 comments)

myuze. "My LibraryThing library is a pretty decent overview. I read just about anything, but I have a "soft spot" for Stephen King-esque thriller/suspense, as well as the occasional romance. I also really enj..." (0 comments)

youthfulzombie. "Hmm, my library probably speaks for itself and is up to date. Horror, vampires and other supernatural things are good with me. I read a lot of series, so if there's a good one out there that's not in ..." (2 comments)

Miela. "I like books of Jewish interest, historical fiction, mysteries without much gore, novels from other countries books about books, and "romance-ey" books (not romance novels, but books with romance in t..." (0 comments)

carlym. "Travel, history, popular science (esp. paleontology and genetics), food writing, fiction by British women writers, most NYRB books, poetry, books about books or reading...." (0 comments)

Phlox72. "Great drama, well written fantasy, a moving story, most of my favourites have been quite dark. Well written, well plotted, absorbing, captivating, thought provoking books. Some of my favs that may act..." (0 comments)

mmignano11. "I enjoy short story collections-Best American Short Stories 2009, Best American Essays 2009...Debut novels...Non-fiction...(Auto)Biography(especially about writers)...Books on books...Literary fiction..." (0 comments)

Lman. "I like fiction; but I have moved away from a definite leaning for fantasy and sci-fi genres only into crime and mystery, especially Scandinavian writers, plus I have branched into a more broader conte..." (0 comments)

Stbalbach. "Currently reading world literature in translation, literary history, classic literature. Recently had surgery and still recovering, need something not too long, perhaps uplifting (ie. not too dark) bu..." (1 comments)

_Zoe_. "I apparently read mostly non-fiction and YA fiction, especially historical fiction or fantasy. You can look at the first post of my 75 Book Challenge ..." (1 comments)

horacewimsey. "British detective fiction is my drug of choice these days. I prefer amateur sleuths to police procedurals. Or 19th century London underworld fiction (the Moriarty books; you know the sort of thing)...." (0 comments)

catarina1. "I joined LT about a year ago - just as a way to catalog my books. But it has caused an explosion - I have learned about so many other books and authors around the world. My favorite group is "Reading ..." (0 comments)

riverwillow. "Like many I consider myself to be an eclectic reader, but as I fill in these forms realise that I'm actually not - sorry. I love crime and mystery novels, biography (because I am nosy), history and am..." (2 comments)

fyrefly98. "My three main genres of choice are fantasy, young adult, and historical fiction, but I also like general/literary fiction, sci-fi, non-fiction (particularly microhistories), short stories, etc. My ..." (0 comments)

figre (0 comments)

MerryMary. "I love historical fiction, magical fantasy (loved Garden Spells), historical nonfiction, books about books - oh, lots of things. I do have a wishlist. And I promise not to buy anything off of it until..." (1 comments)

mojo09226. "Love fiction, mostly romance, paranormal romance, fantasy, literary adaptions are fun too...." (1 comments)

ablachly. "I read mostly literary fiction, or cultural/social history books. My LT catalog is completely up-to-date. Nothing goes un-entered!..." (1 comments)

Larxol. "The TBR pile right now is full of books on the Far East, where we'll be taking a cruise in January. For fiction, lately, I've been trying to get to know more non-English authors in translation. I have..." (2 comments)

SqueakyChu. "I love all kinds of contemporary world literature, especially novels by Israeli authors. I love cookbooks that give good suggestions for seasonal cooking as I'm a newsletter editor for my CSA. I like ..." (1 comments)

adrateia. "i like almost everything. i just want something fun and new!..." (0 comments)

Myckyee. "I like mysteries (contemporary and historical), literary fiction, science fiction, fantasy...." (0 comments)

harumph. "I'm a grad student with unfortunately limited time for pleasure reading. My favourite modern writers are Sarah Waters, Barbara Kingsolver, and Jennifer Crusie. I enjoy mysteries, but I prefer ones set..." (2 comments)

TheoClarke. "I am interested in history, historiography, most fiction, science, books about books, and words...." (1 comments)

sonyagreen. "Something brand-spanking new, or a really solid book I've not read yet. Graphic novels/comics/comix are welcome. I love creative non-fiction like Mary Roach (learning AND amusement, sign me up)...." (2 comments)

timspalding. "1. History, especially of an analytical or synthetic nature. That is, I don't really want a straight narrative of some event, at least when I'm not picking it. Longue durée history? Historiography? E..." (0 comments)