SantaThing Debrief/Discussion/Suggestions

Okay, now that most of the packages have been delivered (I know we're still waiting on a few, but we seem to be nearly there, at least) - as promised, a thread to discuss this year's SantaThing, offer suggestions for next year, &c.

Things we're particularly interested in hearing about:

- Did you like the range of payment levels? (my thought is to have fewer levels next year, but if folks feel very strongly that we should have a larger range, I'm persuadable)

- Did you like the range of bookstore options?

- Other things we can do (short of redesigning the whole thing, which frankly is rather unlikely to happen) to make things smoother for you?

Feel free to make whatever suggestions you like. Naturally, there's no guarantee that we'll be able to put them into action, but we'll certainly listen.

Worked very well for me, I'd be quite happy to leave unchanged for next year. If I'm going to quibble at all, it would be to start slightly earlier to leave a longer picking period ... but only because I'm unorganised/busy and especially so this year. Thanks to Santa - and to all the LT elves who put in the hard work to make it fun.

I have a suggestion - a SantaThing group! Then you could just post announcements in Talk about LibraryThing (and other groups) pointing people to there each year.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. My suggestion for next year: Make a SantaThing 2012 group where you could find all the related threads in one place. Perhaps, it would be good if people were to automatically join the group when they signed up and anyone else could join in the usual way.

2011 was my first SantaThing. I really enjoyed it and I even got to be a rescue Santa. It was a lot of fun choosing books for other people. It would have been nice to receive some feedback from the people I chose for, but that's a PersonalThing and I accept that many people may not think to do that.

As so many others said in the other threads, thank you so much for making SantaThing happen. It really is a wonderful experience and, hopefully, not too terribly onerous for the LT staff.

>3 brightcopy: - Yes, a ST group is definitely on my list of additions. Thanks.

I liked the range of buy-in options! I was worried I wouldn't be able to participate at all this year, but then I saved my pennies and rearranged a few things and was able to - and ended up managing the highest level :P

I did wish that I could put in for either of two bookstores, so that my Santa could choose, but that's partly because I wanted to support HBS and partly because I'm loyal to TBD, and couldn't quite decide. And also, I was worried about the backlash to TBD from last year.

(How ironic it is that I was a strong supporter of TBD last year and continue to be, and I'm one of the ones who still hasn't received all my expected packages this year. I'm mostly worried that it got stolen from my porch, at this point.)

I liked the $30 payment level, so I'd like to keep that. I also would like a SantaThing group.

I'm not sure how this would work, but maybe there could be some way that a Santa could say they needed help picking books for their assigned Santee.

My main priority would be making the process more efficient, if at all possible, so that it takes less staff time. I didn't actually participate this year and am unlikely to participate again, though I did do it in 2008-2010.

>6 keristars: - I don't think there's an easy way to add in another level of bookstore-choosing; I think Santas have enough trouble picking books :-)

>7 kgodey: - The comments on the SantaThing page would work for that - next year with a group we can certainly start a thread to do something like that, too. I'm not sure the group would be auto-join, but that might be workable.

I was happy with everything this year, but would like the picking to start earlier and for the deadline to be a little earlier as well. I know the US want to get Thanksgiving out of the way, but an earlier deadline gives those books that have to cross an ocean, or two, more of a chance of arriving before Christmas.

Keristars, me too. I spent hours on the boards last year, reminding the BD haters about the unusual UK weather which bought the whole of the UK to a halt, and I've also got a missing book, which as I'm in the UK I assume means that the Royal Mail have lost it, pulled off the label or mis-delivered it.

Would it be possible to make the "Stuff I Like" (or whatever it's called--I can't remember) field a required field? Although I managed to pick books that my Santee liked (after about 10 hours of in-depth research and the reading of many book reviews), I found it stressful to try to pick books with minimal "get this, not that" information. It's like doing Reader's Advisory without being able to ask the patron any questions. Looking at someone's library isn't always helpful, particularly if the person doesn't rate/review books, because everyone reads books they end up not liking and quite a few people (myself included) record books they read years ago for the sake of a complete record of books read even though they have no interest in those books now.

Of course, a mandatory field doesn't ensure useful information...

ETA: Do take into account that I got someone with very different tastes than myself. If I had been in the same situation with a Santee who had a library similar to mine, I think this would have been easier.

I enjoyed my first SantaThing. I would have liked to hear some word, a thank you note maybe, from my recipient. How did I do in my book giving? I'd like to hear something. What about you?

I noticed that Amazon probably has faster service than Book Depository. Those whose packages came late seem to have come from BD. Could be wrong.

I had no real complaints. Everything went smoothly for me.

>11 casvelyn: - "Of course, a mandatory field doesn't ensure useful information..." - Exactly. When someone has a very small library, doesn't list what they'd like, &c., there's not a whole lot for the Santa to go on. In these cases, I have relatively little sympathy if they get books they're not all that interested in. May be harsh, but it's true :-)

>12 barney67: - Oh, definitely. Amazon was much faster at shipping, even for books within the UK that didn't have to cross oceans/continents. And BD charged us some for shipping this year, which we weren't expecting and frankly was a bit of a bummer (we're still trying to iron that out with them).

This was my second year participating and I loved it again. Fun picking for others and my Santa did a great job picking for me.

As a picker, I found the $15 level frustrating - just not enough for flexibility. However, I understand that some may only be able to afford ST if that level is available.

The other problem I had was I put 3 books in for one of my santees, and then did a bunch of research, chose another book to replace two of the three, and then the three original choices got ordered. I suspect it was my fault - didn't save properly, but it was a bit of a choke. The originals were also good choices, but I did SO much research to pick something for that Santee in a genre I wasn't familiar with.

12> I've had thank-you notes from both the people I picked for, and I sent a thank-you to the person who picked for me.

Thanks to all the LT crew who made it happen!

It mostly went well logistically (though I would have liked to have been paired with someone else who didn't want Amazon, rather than needing to pick books from a bookstore I'm deliberately avoiding). My main suggestion would be to clarify the rules surrounding ebooks. My Santee specifically requested them, but the rules flatly said "Don't pick ebooks" -- I assumed there was some problem with the bulk ordering handling them correctly, and picked paper editions instead, which created extra work for the staff (they had to switch them to ebooks, and add an additional title due to the lesser cost).

13>

.Exactly. When someone has a very small library, doesn't list what they'd like, &c., there's not a whole lot for the Santa to go on. In these cases, I have relatively little sympathy if they get books they're not all that interested in. May be harsh, but it's true :-)

I don't have any sympathy for them (or if they get duplicates they hadn't bothered to catalog yet), but I do sympathize with their Santa.

>15 lorax: - We hadn't intended to allow ebooks (and given some of the problems we had with them, like stupid country-by-country distribution rights, we may not do it again), but we did say in the main ST thread once people asked that if people specifically wanted ebooks, they could say so on their ST page. But yes, if we do ebooks again next year we'll make something more explicit (and probably have it US-only or something).

On your second point: yes, agreed, I certainly sympathize with their Santa!

>14 tardis: - Sorry about the $15 pick! You really did an excellent job for me (just finished it on Sunday and it was great!), but as this was my first year I was just trying out - I definitely think I'll go in for more next year! I got a $30 pick to do and it really was a lot of fun, so I can understand the frustration.

>16 jbd1: As someone who only got to pick eBooks, it was a bit difficult - I'd think of something great, and find out it's an expensive eBook but a cheap paperback or worse yet, not available at all. I managed to squeeze something in at $2.50 but I otherwise would have had a lot of difficulty getting 4 choices in.

My first year, and I was impressed by how well the whole thing worked. The LT staff obviously put in a lot of time and you deserve kudos. Next year, just make it clear that you can, as a Santa, pick more books than the price list requires (i.e. you can go over) and that the staff will fill as many as possible - it's evident that you guys managed to find cheaper copies of some things than I did and that $30 therefore went further than I had expected. That might be less work for the staff too when there is clearly more cash that can be spent ...

>18 scvlad: - No, sorry, that's not how it works. We definitely do NOT want people going over and then having to rejigger every single order to make it as close as possible to the target amount. That's what takes forever to do.

I love the choices for the price range. I'm not sure Santas should feel bad about not getting in a whole lot of books at that price, or even the $30 price. I for one would rather have a couple (or one) nice/good/interesting books than as many as possible. Having said that, my Santa did a great job on mine, and I received four books. :)

I also do not think that people who receive a work they have, but have not cataloged, should quibble. Me being one who has received at least one book I have each of the three years I've participated. My fault, not my Santa's. In fact, it is a testament to how well my Santas have done in picking books to my taste. I can always use them as gifts.

I'll probably use Amazon next year. I tried BD this year, just to show I didn't hold a grudge from last year, but they were late again (not much) and I don't like the idea of the large price fluctuations. That has to be a nightmare for LT staff.

Truly enjoyed "helping" with suggestions. I don't think any of the Santas used mine, but several of the people I made suggestions for did thank me for the recommendations. I loved reading the suggestions made for me, too.

In this spiffy new group, be sure to include a link to the Secret Santa page, that way those of us who don't think to bookmark it can find it later when needed.

My goal for this year: Get ALL of my books cataloged.

OK, Boss. Withdrawn!

:-) - just wanted to nip that in the bud very quickly. People should try to come as close as possible to the target amount without going over. You'd be amazed at how much "just a bit over" orders add up.

- I liked having a choice of prices but I think that three choices would also be sufficient: $10, $20, $30

- I think it was wrong to re-assign Santees before the original deadline. I have a friend who does not sign on to LT very often but had set aside some time at noon on the due date to pick books for her Santee. When she signed on, she found that her Santee had already been re-assigned and books had been picked, and was disappointed. I think you should set the deadline earlier, and then have designated time AFTER the deadline to reassign Santees.

- I picked books from Powells and was pleased with their selection and prices

- My books were from Harvard Book Store and I thought they took too long to arrive. That doesn't make me dislike them, but I probably won't select them as a SantaThing source again.

>23 norabelle414: - Yes, next year we hope that we won't have quite as tight a deadline on ordering, and we'll be able to have a little more leeway before we have to open things up for rescue Santas. This year that happened because we found out after we'd released the timetables that the Book Depository warehouse we were ordering through was closing down and not taking further orders; ours was the very last one they processed (not BD as a whole, just the bulk-order warehouse). In order to be able to get our order in, we had to move things along quicker than we'd have liked. Next year that shouldn't be an issue.

I was happy about how everything worked this year and particularly that amazon was available as a choice. One thing that may be worth considering is if different pricing levels are offered again, maybe basing them, at least at the lower amounts, on the typical prices of new paperbacks. I know there's a simplicity to $5 increments, but this year it seemed a new PB was usually $7.99, so it wasn't possible to fit 2 into a $15 request. In that case, some multiple of $8 for the participation level may have worked better.

my biggest suggestion would be to require people to mark their books as received. i know we do the arrivals thread, but could there be a button to click on the SantaThing page? i know when i get books from BookMooch or PaperbackSwap, you just go click that you received the books (which is required on those site so senders get their credit, but it's just nice to know everything made it where it should). when someone clicked that they received their books, you could have a nice little prompt that encourages them to send a message to their Santa... personally, hearing what people thought of the choices i made for them is one of the best parts! (not because i want the pat on the back, but i love the excitement people show at receiving their books)

also, it'd be nice to have a clear timeline about when rescue Santas will be needed and maybe the chance to sign up for that ahead of time. it was just luck that i was on when they were needed, but i do enjoy playing rescue Santa. it's like a game show!

I enjoyed the entire Thing from top to bottom and would definitely join a SantaThing Group. Sign me up!

I think it is a great event and a group would be great!

Also, make it easier to see who got who so we can thank the proper person :)

For people whose books came in multiple shipments*, how would you have them mark packages as received without spoiling the surprise? I don't think receiving any books should be considered as having received all one's books, and I don't know that LT can enforce a stipulation that the booksellers we're working with must tell recipients how many books they're getting and/or in how many shipments they'll arrive.

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* For example, I got a package containing one book, followed a few days later by another package containing the other two. All were part of a single SantaThing signup.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of. Hmm...

I got one this year that was private and was a small collection. I had very little in common with the person. I was thankful that I had a colleague of mine where the description sounded like something she would read. I had her read the description and make suggestions for me, but if that had not been the case, I would have been clueless. I would have loved to have been able to have suggestions from other LibraryThing members on that one. I guess that I am wishing that private was not an option! It really makes it difficult if the person who has to choose for the person does not read the same types of things.

This was my first year for SantaThing. I really enjoyed participating even though I haven't received any books as yet. I hope the person that selected my books doesn't think I'm unappreciative since I haven't been able to respond to their choices. I would participate again next year but may have the books come from a different source. Not sure what happened so I don't want to be too critical. It sounds like I was one of the fortunate ones that had someone with a wishlist and a pretty up-to-date catalog of books. But even at that, I found myself wanting to surprise that person with a book they weren't expecting but yet be one that would fit into their library. It was fun!! Thanks for all your efforts in creating and managing SantaThing for all those who wanted to participate.

31>

I got one this year that was private and was a small collection.

I think that, at a bare minimum, private libraries should be required to fill out the "what I like" form, in detail.

- $10, $20 and $30 were great - altho $10 is very restrictive. There are too many books in the $10-12 range, so I'd favor $12 as a low option (it also makes it two paperbacks)
- what a waste that we received 10 separate packages in our house. How come books came individually wrapped? (I know the answer but I'm not sure it was "the best" way)

- I know I know, I'll bother you to the end on that question ... but clarifying the question of languages. We were lucky to receive books in the three requested languages, but when I had to pick for a person in Italy with a seemingly taste for English books, I was not sure what to do. That said, the choices we got were awesome.

so a suggestion would be to register your request with two multiple choices: one for languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish etc). one for general ideas (children, thriller, romance, ...) the little square optional box, not the round mandatory choice)
If you put those just above the description, most likely people will develop on their picks or complain about the lack of choices and explain. Truth to be told, I had NO CLUE how to write my request, so I read a dozen or so requests to get some idea of the format.
This could be another option. In light gray - offer a sample of request.

Last. This was AWESOME. Please do it again!

>34 sophie65: - re: separate packages. That's just how the booksellers do it. We have absolutely no control over how they ship things.

I've now participated in ST for three years, and each time the my Santas have made great choices. I have a suspicion that last year none of my santee selections made it to recipients, which I found a bit disappointing as they were chosen in time and were in stock as far as I could determine.

This year the range of payment levels, and the choice of bookstores was good.

As a santee for sophie65 I struggled with the choice of french language children's books on amazon.com. It only occurred to me later to explore amazon.fr, which would have given me infinitely greater choices. Could I have used amazon.fr for delivery to the US?

Maybe there should be an option of being able to ask questions via an intermediary.

>36 rodneyvc: - Plenty of folks asked questions of me, both in the thread and via comment/email/&c. :-)

But no, the shipping from Amazon.fr to the US would have been prohibitive.

My private one did leave notes about what she liked. The problem was that I was clueless because my interests were so different. I'm sure we were matched up because she had so few books in her library, but the ones on which we matched were the type she didn't want according to her write-up. I really needed suggestions. Let me just say that picking was not as enjoyable this year as last because of the mismatch.

Yeah honestly I'm not sure why we even have the option for private SantaThing profiles. I didn't think of it before we launched this year, but frankly I'm not sure they're particularly necessary. Picking for private libraries is hard enough (and, weirdly, most of the private ST profiles were not from folks with private libraries).

Probably still too expensive, but what about Amazon.ca? They have French books too....

This was my second SantaThing, and even though I haven't yet received one of my books I have no complaints. Great fun yet again, and I'm in for next year :-)

Having the choice of price ranges was great (especially as converting my NZD to USD for the sign up makes it a little expensive at times) and I think allowing a choice of supplier is also good. Book Depository and it's free shipping is especially good for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere where there is no regional Amazon option.

-I like the range of payment options. It let me play the picking game without investing as much (for $30 I could buy myself a book I know I want rather than take my chances).

-I like the range of bookstore options. Good to be able to support Powell's.

Not sure if I'll do it again next time (this was my second year) but it's fun following the threads.

I was a bit disappointed because I had carefully chosen three books that came in at under $30 - I think I had $1 or £2 spare, so it was close, but it was under - but then when it came time to order, apparently they were significantly *over* $30 and so my Santee only received two books. I felt like I was cheating her.

Other than that, everything was brilliant. My Santa chose wonderful books for me, my Santee was happy, I've friended both my Santa and Santee, I enjoyed making recommendations for other people, have received lovely messages from a number of these people, and I know at least one of my recommendations was taken up. It was a thoroughly satisfying experience - apart, of course, from my Santee getting only two books for her $30!

Long Live SantaThing!!!!!

Oh, and I know this is probably impossible, but I wish we could get foreign language books ... but the logistics would be a nightmare!

I agree with #25 about the pricing levels.

I was a little disappointed to get only one book for my $15, even though the book was (a lot) over $15. But maybe that's because it feels like €15 = 3 books. And I would like to know what my santee thought about the books I picked for him, so an inviting "thank your Santa" box somewhere would be nice. I would also like a language preference click-thingy next time. And I agree: private SantaThings are not fun and not necessary.

Other than that, I really liked my first SantaThing!

This was my first year participating, and I really enjoyed it. My Santa did a great job selecting things. I do have two small suggestions I don't think have come up yet - it sounds as if there's going to be a ST group (YAY!). Maybe there could be a FAQ list with some suggestions for being the best Santas and Santees we can be?

A couple that would have made me a less frustrated Santa AND helped ensure that my Santee was pleased with the selections made:

1. Use the star settings or add reviews to books you really enjoyed so that Santas have a better idea of what you like, not just what you have read/own


2. Add to and/or review/update your Wishlist so that the books listed are current (and some of them new enough that the Santa can locate them)

And maybe a gentle suggestion that saying "thank you" - or at least an acknowledgement of receipt - would be greatly appreciated? I know we paid for the books ourselves, but the LT staff put in a lot of time and effort making the process work, and the Santas put time and care into picking books, too. As others have said, it would be nice to hear how our selections were received.

I like the levels and the bookstore choices available - I'd never used BD before, and I was so pleased with their selections searching for my Santee that I've ordered a few books for myself.

I don't have much to add to the above, except to echo the appreciation of being able to select from multiple book sellers. Being able to support a bookstore like Powell's is a real treat!

That being said, it seems that there is always issues with Book Depository and price fluctuation. I picked two books for my Santee that were close to her price range, but when it came to buy books I was apparently way under, and another book was chosen that I personally wouldn't have picked. Is there a way to possibly rank choices for those who chose Book Depository? Such as, "Here are my main choices, choice A through C. Drop choice B if the price is over, add choice D if I'm under."

It might be too complicated, but it seems a lot of people have mentioned either having a book added or unexpectedly having a book dropped.

I still think it would be worth figuring out a way to have people "finalize" their selections and then order them immediately even if the picking period hasn't ended.

>48 _Zoe_: - Yes, ideally. Problem is, that means staff are ordering throughout the entire process, as people "finalize," rather than just at the end. And Book Depository is the only store where price fluctuations are really much of an issue (and given their purchase by Amazon, we have no idea what they'll look like next year in any event).

>49 jbd1: Well, it would depend how much time you're currently spending making adjustments when costs don't quite work out. It sounded like that was the major issue, so it might be worth spreading out the ordering to reduce the variation.

My picks on Amazon had a significant price jump after I had picked them. Like a $10 increase in one of the books. So price fluctuations aren't limited to BD.

>51 leahbird: - Well, BD accounts for the vast majority of the price changes. Others happen, but not nearly so drastic in most cases. For most of the non-BD cases where we had to make changes, it doesn't seem to have been because the prices changed. But yes, overall, ideally it would be nice to be able to have a "finalize" thing ... we could look at doing the orders midway through for those and then at the end for the remainder, for example.

This was my first year on LT, and my first ST, which I enjoyed!

Some thoughts:

1. The ST group idea is great! I got confused trying to find all the different areas as part of the process. I'm easily confused, perhaps, but having all the ST in one centralized location would be great!

2. A 'click here to thank your Santa' sort of option would be nice. I not only did not get a thank you, but not even an acknowledgment that my Santee got his/her books. It's a little discouraging to spend time trying to find just the right books, and not even get a 'thanks!'

3. Please keep the $10.00 option: not everyone can afford $20 or more for a gift.

4. Lastly, I'd like to shout out a GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all who were involved, the Santas but especially the staff who put it all together.

I'm not sure that making each Santee say thank you is reasonable. Sure, I would have liked to know what my Santee thought about the books I'd chosen, but mandatory gratitude would leave me wondering if it was sincere.

Yeah, not _mandatory_, but making it easy would probably get a lot more thank-yous. I did thank my Santa, but only after my Santee thanked me - it probably wouldn't have occurred to me otherwise. A button on the Secret Santa page would make it simple, and remind people of the possibility.

@55 my thoughts exactly

(55) That's what I was trying to convey, thank you.

I never heard a word from my Santee (who did indeed receive the books since they were catalogued), nor my Santa.

I sent two messages to my Santa but got no response, which is rather unsettling, especially as both messages were highly positive. The first that my books would be late, but I didn't really mind and I knew I'd be happy with what I got. The second I sent when I received them thanking her for doing a great job.

Otherwise, I think the group will be a great idea, and I'm not sure what more we can do to get folks to interact.

Just a reminder - not all SantaThing packages have been received.

59> I'm not cataloguing my book until February or the other ones arrive, just in case my santa hasn't read where I've said I haven't got them yet, and is looking at my catalogue to see if it's there. Just in case!

(But I haven't even really opened the package yet. I checked that it was just one book in the envelope and pulled out the packing slip to see if it had a clue to whether others were coming, and that's about it...)

I was a little confused about whether we could go over the price limit, whether we should stay under and keep shipping in mind, and so on. I picked two books from Amazon at the $30 level but was about $7 under. The staff found another book, but that put them over, so…

By the way, does anyone have the link to the SantaThing page? I kept losing it.

My first year on LT and so my first year in Santa Thing. It was a great experience and I thought really well organized, considering all the variables. It was great fun picking for my two Santees, both of whom responded positively and right away. That was kind of dangerous though, as now I have all kinds of new wishlist items, after looking at their libraries.

My Santa was inspired with her choices for me, as well as with some followup suggestions and now I have a new friend and a new library to plunder virtually, as well as an even bigger wishlist!

All of which goes to say that for me the Santa/Santee matching programme worked very well.

This was my first year also on both LT and Santa Thing. I had a blast with it. My books were late, but I didn't care. The official date means nothing to me, just that I was so excited like a 5 year old and could hardly wait. My Santa made great choices, which I thought was pretty cool. I really can't think of anything I would change about the experience. So many choices are available. The only thing I would change is my OWN behavior! I don't think I made very good choices for my Santee, altho I sure tried. Her main genre was something I am totally unfamiliar with, but we had lots and lots of books in common in other genres, so that was ok. However, next year I think I will choose one book from my Santees wish list, and choose the others myself. That way they will at least for sure get one they want. I didn't do that this year because I was enjoying the choosing so much. I really appreciate all of the stafff's work and my Santa's also! It was fun reading about everyone's experiences. Thanks!

I had chosen *4* books within the contribution range for my santee but, days away from SantaThing book requests closure, the BookDepository site had upped the prices, therefore letting one of the books go. Is there a way to keep the prices at the same level once the choice has been made final (i.e. that once choices are made and final, the supplier should have the order, rather than getting rid of books after a last minute rise)?

>65 soniaandree: - see above, messages 48-52.

Thank you! Yes, the suggestion @52 is a valid one! :-)

This was my first year participating in LibraryThing and I had a great time choosing books for my Santees, all of whom responded with how much they liked their books. I also felt that our Santas made great choices. My family and I all loved the books we recieved. The fun thing is that these were books we would probably not have chosen for ourselves, yet they match our tastes perfectly. A huge thank you to all the LT staff for making this possible!

OK, so I realise I'm a month behind the end of this discussion, but surely it's never too late to add my piece?

I have finally had a few hours to myself for recreational purposes, so I've been catching up on LibraryThing things (including thanking my Santa - I've known I've needed to, but have been largely operating from my mobile, where it's harder to type - so don't give up hope, if you haven't heard from your Santee yet!)

I'm fine with the $ levels and choosing options, but (being my first time) I didn't initially understand (ie I realised after sign-up closed) that I was picking what would be spent on ME and which store MY books would come from, I chose based on how much I thought I could afford to spend on a stranger, and which store I preferred to shop from. Perhaps next year this could be made clearer? (Somebody suggested FAQs, maybe a page for "new to SantaThing"?)

As others have said, I'm disappointed not to have heard how my choices were received, my Santee logged in to the tracking map quite early on, but hasn't catalogued the books or sent any messages... I think in particular I'm disappointed because I wrote several paragraphs (well, maybe a short essay...) on each choice I had made, and why, and other things I'd considered but rejected, and why, and "what I wanted to select for you if I'd had an unlimited budget"... I put a lot of effort into that and some feedback would've been nice. My Santa just said something like "I hope you like the books I chose for you"!

One of the most fun aspects for me was making recommendations for other Santas, definitely keep that! (the only recommendation made on mine was for a book I already had, and had catalogued!)

And I totally agree with the second half of #32's comments: the fun of trying to choose something surprising that will be well-liked! It is certainly easier to make selections when a library is well-catalogued, perhaps with a wishlist and some reviews and ratings; in fact I realised this around the sign-up stage and it motovated me to tidy up my profile a bit ("doing unto others", as it were).

Reading over what I've written, perhaps I sound a bit negative, but I'm definitely not, I'm just trying to provide useful feedback. I LOVED SANTATHING and can't wait to get on board the sleigh again this year! Thanks to my Santa and all the elves!