SantaThing 2016 is here at last!

It's that time of year again! This is our TENTH Annual SantaThing—I can't believe we've been doing this for an entire decade.

Check out the blog for full details. We've got a couple new booksellers on the list this year: Audible and B&N Nook.

The main SantaThing page lives here: http://www.librarything.com/santathing.php

Gift-picking has ended! If you didn't get your picks submitted for your Santee in time, don't worry—we'll be letting volunteer Santas make some selections for them momentarily.

Any questions? Post them in this thread, see the SantaThing Help page for FAQs, or email me directly at loranne@librarything.com.

Once again, my hat's off to LT member ladylenneth for running this year's Donations Thread with style. We had a grand total of 52* donated entries this year. You guys are amazing!

*And those are just the ones I know about!

UPDATE: SantaThing books have begun to arrive! Once you receive your gifts, feel free to let us know on the SantaThing 2016 Arrivals thread.

Continuing this here. We'll be releasing unpicked Santees for those of you who'd like to help in just a few minutes!

I'm around for about an hour if you need any Santas.

I'll be back around 4PM if there are still Santas needed (or any help, really)! :)

I'm here off and on and would be happy to pick for someone else.

I'm around, and would love to pick for someone else too! :)

I'm around and would be happy to help pick if needed.

"Bring 'em on!"

I am available

I'll be online and around for about three and a half hours, and I'd be glad to don a substitute Santa hat. (I might need help in case of little to no library overlap, or areas of interests I'm ignorant about.)

All right! Calling all volunteer Santas!

We have 24 Santees left to pick for, and we need your help. You can now go grab another Santee on the SantaThing page.

Click on a username in the "Needs a new Santa" list (they'll also appear with a "!" icon next to their username). Then, at the top of their SantaThing profile, click "Grab this member for yourself" so that you are their new Secret Santa.

Have fun, and let me know if you have any questions!

Andersonden is now taken.

What's the deadline to get these picked up Santee's in?

I forget, are used books okay?

>11 lorannen: I took someone in New Zealand with a private library (apparently I'm a glutton for punishment). She requests B format books (the 13cm x 20cm ones) would be preferable. How do I know what those are?

>14 MDGentleReader: No, they have to be readily available from the store itself.

>16 .Monkey.: They are, it just the only ones available are used.

>13 leahbird: No specific deadline in place, but ASAP is the general rule. If possible, by the end of the day today would be preferable. I'll set a hard deadline of midnight tonight Eastern time, so 5:00 GMT.

>14 MDGentleReader: No, we can't do used books, I'm sorry. Info on why here.

>15 owlie13: Whoa. I don't even know what B format books are. Let me do some research and get back to you?

>16 .Monkey.: the book has been out for awhile I would expect a good supply of used copies.

>15 owlie13: B format is what is known in the States as trade (5inx8in)

>18 lorannen: trade size in the States

>15 owlie13: Okay, so, that's a primarily-UK designation, used to indicate size of paperbacks. There's A-format (which is largest), B-format, and C-format (smallest).

As near as I can tell, C-format is akin to what, in the US, is called a Mass Market paperback. These are the sizes of books you see in grocery stores, airports, that kind of thing.

A and B-formats are both what we'd call "trad paperbacks" in the US. The B-format books are just a little smaller. So, does "smaller trade paperback" help?

In any case, your Santee does mention that they'd prefer this size, but it doesn't seem to be a requirement. So, don't stress out too much over sizes of books more than the titles themselves.

ETA: I'd stick with trade paperbacks, rather than mass markets.

>18 lorannen: darn about used. I'll have to get more creative.

>20 MDGentleReader: Thanks for your help!

>23 MDGentleReader: Yeah, I'm sorry. I wish we could do it—I love used books!—but for something of this scale, it would slow our ability to place orders to a crawl.

>22 lorannen: that was my gut reaction - good to know I was right! Thanks to all for the help.

Small request - next year can it be stressed (as a reminder) that if you have a Private Library, telling people to "look at your wish list" does NO GOOD.

>27 owlie13: Yeah, I feel your frustration, believe me. See also: "Look at my Goodreads" without a link to said account anywhere on LT...

I scooped up another santee from the unpicked list :) When picking for Audible, what price should be used? There is a list price, a member price, and most books also seem to be discounted on sale for members at the moment.

>29 sandstone78: Sorry, that was covered elsewhere, and I neglected to update the Help page. Use Member Price, please!

>30 lorannen: Will do, thanks!

jessicamhill has been gifted

I think this user - http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=211 - might need a new Santa, commented on it a few days ago and it appears no books have been picked.

>33 Chouffeblob: Unless they're appearing under "Needs a new Santa"—which this person is not—then they've already got a Santa, and their Santa has already entered at least one pick. Don't worry, we check every order against the Santee's budget before we place orders.

I used my lunch break to pick for 3 people in need of a new Santa. :) I didn't participate this year as I moved cross-country and majorly downsized, so I love getting the opportunity to spread a little cheer this way.

>35 stephivist: That's so great! Thanks for helping! I'm glad you were able to join in the SantaThing fun after all.

>33 Chouffeblob:
The single pick there is apparently already in the santee's library under an alternate title, according to the comments on that page. So yes, a new Santa is actually necessary.

Love seeing everything come together :)

>37 Petroglyph: Thanks for looking that up for me. I'll make them available in just a moment.

>39 lorannen: Okay, they're up for grabs now! Thanks again to you and >33 Chouffeblob:

I'm taking a break for lunch here for a bit, so if I don't respond promptly, don't panic!

Daedalus gifted. Phew, that was hard! French, Italian, and English titles selected. Hope I did it right.

That leaves only one, and leahbird is working on that one. We're doing alright here!

Looks like all are taken care of.
Amirite?

I will say one thing. I have learned more about different genres of books in the past week than I have learned in my entire life.

>33 Chouffeblob:

I checked just now. Form still not filled in, excepting partial first entry, which -- as noted -- Santee has under another title. Apparently SS is still needed!

>46 Limelite:
Apparently that santee has not been decoupled from their Secret Santa yet.

>47 Petroglyph: Nope, somebody else just picked them up quickly! I can confirm that they have a new Santa now. They just haven't updated the form yet.

I've got one more Santee on the list who needs a Santa—they just have a private SantaThing profile, so they're not showing up for everyone. If you're a mystery/thriller buff, they should be a good match for you! Let me know if you'd like to pick for them, and I'll set it up.

>49 lorannen:
Not me, then. Sorry!

>49 lorannen:
I'll give it a shot if you like

>49 lorannen: I like that genre, but I'm heading out of the house for my office holiday party. Hopefully someone else will pick them up soon! (If still available when I get home in a few hours, I'd be happy to try.

>49 lorannen:
I can look into them if noone else can

I am not well-versed enough in the genre to pick obscure, but good titles for someone whose library I cannot browse through. :-(. I do enjoy the process when I know enough to have a chance at picking a winner or two.

>51 Tropical-Library: I'll set you up! Thanks, everyone!

ETA: Sorry for the delay—I'm in the midst of the spreadsheet of Sherman's orders, so I got a little preoccupied. I'll be checking in here all night, though!

It looks like there's still one person in the unpicked category. Do you need someone to cover it?

Sorry I haven't been able to do back up Santa work so far today -- I normally enjoy it; but have been really busy until now.

>56 jburlinson: Thanks for the offer! But that one's been claimed already by another volunteer Santa. They should have their picks in later this evening.

>55 lorannen:
All sorted, please see your messages as I need to cover the extra

I could use some suggestions on this one:

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=99

Santa's two picks together are way over-budget. So, I'll be sticking with one of those and swapping out the other. Likely, Lilac Girls will have to go, though I'd love it if someone could find a way to keep that one in and find an alternate for the other pick (since Santa mentioned preferring Lilac Girls).

ETA: Normally, I wouldn't mention a SantaThing title in the public thread, but it's for a staffer's family member, who doesn't have their own LT account, so I'm not as worried about spoiling the surprise.

>59 lorannen:
Happy to have a shot

>60 Tropical-Library: Great! Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments!

I've been searching Sherman's web site. I couldn't find any of the books I thought might be suitable. Then I tried searching for Harry Potter and got no hits. Any hints on how to search for books at the Sherman's web site? I'd like to help.

>59 lorannen: I read a lot of history and historical fiction. I'm looking through all history and h.f. that I have marked as a favourite, but I don't think any of the prices will work to keep Lilac Girls. :-(

ETA: I'm using the list price from Amazon.com

>63 LibraryCin: Yep, that's the right way to do it!

>62 MDGentleReader: Sherman's doesn't have a full catalog on their website, but they can order almost anything that's still in print. I use Amazon, and look at list price on the items to help budget.

>59 lorannen: I found a couple of books, put them in the comments. The two add up to less than the amount allowed.

>64 lorannen: Ah. I browsed their web site and found one on my TBR list and another that got good reviews that added up to less than the allowance. I can add a couple more in the comments.

Here's another one I'm kind of stuck on: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=180.

Removing the last one puts me ~$4 under-budget, and keeping it puts it ~$4 over.

>59 lorannen: I suggested a couple of cheap Dover Thrift Editions that would fit in budget with Lilac Girls, a couple of classics with a feminist bent.

I'm going to give a few suggestions, anyway...

>67 lorannen: what are the prices of the books listed?

>70 MDGentleReader: Ah, weird. I thought it used to display the prices saved to everyone? I guess perhaps not anymore.

In any case, the price on the last one is $8.

Alternate suggestions for one of Santa's picks for this one would be great: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=187.

They're both the same price, and both in the same series. I feel like going the "all books from one series" route isn't a great idea.

ETA: As it stands, Santa is about $2 under-budget, as well.

>72 lorannen: I threw some suggestions in there, but didn't check them all against the library. I'm afraid they aren't very inexpensive, either. Sherman's is expensive!

>72 lorannen: I also gave one suggestion.

>72 lorannen:
Couple of suggestions made

This one's tough: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=207. The first selection is, in my opinion, probably the right one, but it doesn't leave much room in the budget. If someone can suggest something that only puts me $1 or so over (rather than $6, where we currently are), that would be amazing.

>76 lorannen:
Ignore my suggestions. I overlooked the List Price on that first selection. I'll keep looking, though

>77 Petroglyph: Thank you!

>76 lorannen:
Book Depository have a copy of Man Called Ove at a list price of $8.94 -- will that solve the problem?

They also have The Colour of Magic at $11.16

>79 Tropical-Library: No, I find Book Depository's list prices very inaccurate for final order totals—Amazon's are moreso. A Man Called Ove shows up on the latter for $16.

>81 lorannen: That may be because they are selling both UK and US books - and those list prices above look like the UK books ones converted to US$....

>81 lorannen: I don't like the list prices! I put some books up, but they are all probably too expensive.

>82 AnnieMod: Aha! That makes sense.

>83 MrsLee: You and me both! They're a struggle, for sure.

I've got a fair bit of room to work with in the budget on this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=313. I'm looking for something around $10. Their tastes are just very much not in my wheelhouse, and I'm at a loss.

I have to substitute out one of Santa's picks, as noted in the comments.

>85 lorannen: Might be a bit less than you're thinking, but I've mentioned one biography. I might be able to suggest others, as well. Give me a bit more time...

>76 lorannen: H.G. Wells 'The Time Machine' - $3.00 list price on Amazon!

>85 lorannen: And suggested one more biography, but probably a bit too much in price!

>87 EllAreBee: Boom! Well done!

Okay, I think I'm good on the Sherman's orders. I may get started on Book Depository tonight, but may end up having to take care of some other things, instead.

Either way, I'll definitely have more need for suggestions tomorrow morning! Thanks so much for all your help!

>8 Limelite:/ made suggestioms

Err. >85 lorannen: made suggestions

Sorry for the delay in getting my last one done. Got stuck at work later than I planned. Hopping on now to wrap that one up!

>93 leahbird: Great! Thank you!

>94 lorannen: All done. I saved the easiest one for last. ;)

Hooray! And with that >95 leahbird: , everyone has now had books picked for them!

Don't worry, my requests for suggestions will keep coming until ordering is done.

Okay, I'm on to Book Depository orders today! Here's the first one I'll need help with:

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=21. $8 left in the budget.

Deleted

>98 MDGentleReader: Please comment on the page, aside of being easier for Loranne to keep track of in one place, the members can see it here!

>97 lorannen:
I've left an $8 suggestion

I made the exact same comment both places.

>101 MDGentleReader: Thanks! But please don't leave comments containing the title here. We don't want to spoil the surprise for any members who might stumble across their own entry being discussed.

I will delete my comment here.

Another I could use help on: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=141. $10 left in the budget.

Santa has quite a bit of extra money to work with on this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=423. Have to remove most of their picks. So, lots of room for recommendations! I've got about $38 left to work with.

ETA: This is an Amazon order, rather than Book Depository. I'm not placing orders for the Amazons until later, but I wanted to get a jump on this one.

>104 lorannen: I've left some suggestions for this one, but I think the NZ fantasy suggestions are going to be too pricey.

How much is left for #107? Are the 4 titles listed still viable or did you have to remove some of them?

>107 lorannen: I made a couple of suggestions and would like to make more, but have an appointment. I'll revisit later to see if there is a need.

>109 jburlinson: $38, so most of the budget. Updating that post!

>111 lorannen: OK -- I made a couple of suggestions. Hope they help.

Thanks everyone! I'm taking an early dinner break over here, but I'll be back with more in an hour or so.

Mistake post.

And I'm back with more requests for recommendations!

I had to remove one selection from this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=37, and there's $10 left in the budget.

I'd love some help with this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=56. Santa has extra money: $8 left in the budget.

>115 lorannen:
This one seems to have a few suggestions now, but have added one for 116, a writer's memoir

Scratch the one I initially posted in this message. I found an existing recommendation that works!

Thanks to everyone who's been helping me today!

>118 lorannen: So 116 is all good too?

>119 Tropical-Library: I see some more suggestions left there, but I haven't returned to it yet. If you have something in mind, it couldn't hurt to add!

Here's one with quite a bit of room in the budget: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=89. About $25 left over!

>120 lorannen: :-) I already have, which is why I was asking. Shouldn't you be in bed??

>121 lorannen: Have made some suggestions, hope they help

>122 Tropical-Library: Ah, so I see. Thank you! I try to get all the way through all a given store's other orders before coming back around to those I needed help with. Trying to maximize my chances of not having to ask twice. :) If you don't see a comment from me that says "Done," then I haven't placed the order yet.

I'm just about to clock out for the night. I just wanted to get through a few more Book Depository orders first. SantaThing hours are long, though, and I can guarantee you that this isn't the latest you'll see me up this week!

>122 Tropical-Library: Take care of yourself -- you're doing an awesome job

I've put a suggestion in as well. Hard for me to tell what the dollar price would be.

All right, I finally came across some more that I need your recommending help with: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=106.

$6 left in the budget.

And there are a lot of great suggestions on this one, but I'm struggling to find any in large print, which is a requirement: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=108

$10 in budget.

Another: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=229.

$9 left in budget.

This one's tough, and very much not my wheelhouse: non-fiction. http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=231. Even trickier—there's only $5 left in the budget.

>130 lorannen: Trying to help with the nonfiction, but with only $5, it's a tough one!

>131 LibraryCin: Yeah, I'm debating about just switching out the current selection for the other title Santa mentioned wanting to order. There's a nice edition of that that would cover the whole budget.

I looked but couldn't find anything for $5 except a curry cookbook - didn't think she'd like that one.

>130 lorannen: I just sent a p.m. I thought of one, but it's just slightly above the $5. The other thing is, though I believe it gets good reviews, I've not read it myself (though I like the author)!!!!

ETA: The reason I've not posted the recommendation on the page is because I've not read it myself. :-)

...G'ah! As I look closer, it's YA. I hadn't realized. Maybe it wouldn't work?

>135 LibraryCin: Yeah, I don't think YA is quite what we're looking for, unfortunately.

All right. I've looked at what I could recommend for science or nature. Let me look at history....

I'm afraid I'm not having any luck with history for the price, either. Sorry!

>138 LibraryCin: Thanks for the extra effort! I think I'll just go with Santa's other pick, which will do nicely. I'd hoped to try to squeeze in another book, but I don't think it's in the cards this time.

>139 lorannen: No worries! Too bad we couldn't come up with something, but what do you do!?

>140 LibraryCin: Yeah, it happens.

Off for a bit of a dinner break. Back with more later!

>129 lorannen: If you're still looking for a book for this one -- I've added a suggestion.

>142 jburlinson: Yes, thank you!

Sorry, I've been out of it - family crisis over the last few days. Are you all still looking for suggestions for Carolann544? I left an idea just in case. Unfortunately, I tried some ideas for charliemarlowe and came up blank every time.

Do we think there are going to be more folks needing books, or is that about it?

>144 saroz: Oh, not even close! I'm just about done with Book Depository orders, but tomorrow I'll be starting on Powell's, then the Amazons! Plenty more to come.

As long as there isn't a "Done" comment from me on the SantaThing profile yet, I haven't placed the order, and more recs couldn't hurt.

I hope everything's okay with the family.

Here's another I need help with: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=444
$5 left in the budget.

All righty! I've finished my first pass-through of the Book Depository orders. Tomorrow morning, I'll be finishing up those I needed recommendations to help finish up, and taking care of Powell's. It's quite late here, so I'll be on a bit later than usual tomorrow.

Everything's fine, thanks - just needed sorting out. :)

Left a $5.71 suggestion on that last one...

I found one. Not ideal, but she has 5 books by the author and it meets the price. http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=231.

ETA: >130 lorannen:

>146 lorannen: recommendation made - in budget

>128 lorannen: searching for large print on book depository under $20 produces nothing available :-(. Only hope is a large print book that a large print search doesn't show in? I do not like bookdepository.com's search capabilities.

ETA: I was wrong about above, I'll keep looking.

>146 lorannen: left an in budget suggestion based on books that should be borrowed from me.

>128 lorannen: I tired every author in books that should be borrowed from me and found nothing at a reasonable price. Perhaps some who knows mysteries better than I do (I tend to read cozies, specifically not wanted) could search large print thrillers under $20 and in stock to see if anything is at all possible. I tired looking some up and they are not in LT or got terrible reviews.

>128 lorannen: Maybe a crossover YA title would work? The typeface is usually larger than adult fiction, although still smaller than large print. The price point would be just about right. I left a few suggestions just in case.

>154 cbl_tn: That's a good thought! I'll check them out!

Thanks for all the recs, everyone! I'm putting in the last of the Book Depository orders now!

All right, Book Depository orders are DONE. I'm moving on to Powell's, and I'm sure I'll be in need of more recommendations soon.

Got one! Most of the Powell's orders have gone really smoothly so far, so I haven't had any pop up until I was already halfway through.

Anyway, I could use some suggestions on this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=272

$15 left in the budget.

>157 lorannen:
I added one but it may be a bit too cheap. Let me look at what else I can find.
Actually the new book is exactly on budget - so added another link and a few additional ones just in case. :)

And another: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=375.

$7 remaining in the budget.

> 157 I added one, but I am not certain that I am the best recommender for this reader. Mind you, I enjoyed the book I recommended and it fits the price and the one of the genres mentioned...

Here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=392.

$14 left in the budget.

>161 lorannen:
Left a couple of suggestions that total $13.97. (I've never gotten that close before!) :)

>161 lorannen: Hi. Added a suggestion for 13.32. Close enough?

>164 jburlinson: Absolutely! Thanks to both you and -Eva-!

>157 lorannen:

Posted a suggestion for that Santee on profile pg. Meets price cut-off @ $14.95 and is unique.

>159 lorannen: -- added a suggestion for $6.00

All right, that's Powell's done! I'm going to take a break, and will be back and starting on Amazon orders this evening.

>168 lorannen: yall are on a roll!

I'm back and I need your help! Here's one with $5 left in the budget: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=81.

Here's one for which I need some children's book suggestions: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=92.

$17 left in the budget.

>171 lorannen: I've left a few suggestions here for you - hope there's something helpful.

And another one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=101.

$21 left in the budget.

>173 lorannen:
Left some suggestions.

This one's difficult: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=111

$5 left in budget.

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=121

$14 left in the budget.

Okay, that's it for me for tonight. I'll be back bright and early in the morning.

Suggestions made...

>175 lorannen:, >176 lorannen: suggestions made

Suggestions made

Still need a $5-$6 suggestion for this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=81.

>181 lorannen: left a suggestion

I left a suggestion!

>182 Helenoel: and >183 fabaceae: Thank you!

This one should be easy for folks to help with: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=158

$20 left in the budget!

>185 lorannen:
Made 2 suggestions -- seem to be on target with her tastes.

>185 lorannen: I also left some suggestions. I accidentally left the prices in, is that ok?

Shoot, I left prices in, too. So sorry!

>187 zjakkelien: and >188 EllsieFind: That's all right! Don't worry about it. It's just not necessary to include that info on further suggestions.

Here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=184

$7 left in the budget.

>189 lorannen: Thanks! I guess people can find the prices anyway, but it feels a bit weird to have it there. I just put it for myself, trying to get close to the amount you mentioned.
>190 lorannen: Left a suggestion. Difficult with no directions and very few books in the library...

I mean people know what their amount was anyway, so it's not like knowing which books cost what is really a big deal. ;)

>190 lorannen: lorannen: Left a suggestion.

Here's one with a whole $30 to spend: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=199

And I could use a $5 suggestion (or alternate pick) for this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=201

That's it for me for tonight (yes, it's early, but I've got a prior commitment this evening). I'll be back early in the morning, and ordering all day!

@lorannen: Left a couple of suggestions on the $30 one that would get you up around $25. Sorry, best I could think of, really!

>194 lorannen: sorry, my suggestions are in her goodreads library.

Thanks for all your help, elves! I'm back and working through the rest of the Amazon.com orders today.

Have we started the arrival thread?

Here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=214. I'm definitely adding Tropical-Library's suggestion that's already there, because it's a great pick and a personal favorite :)

$18 left in the budget.

>200 mellymel171328: Yep! Just this morning! Thanks for reminding me to link to it here!

The SantaThing 2016 Arrivals thread is here! Once you've received your books, chime in on that thread with your location, and I'll add you to our nifty map!

>201 lorannen: Left a couple of suggestions.

>201 lorannen: Left a suggestion

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=225

Looking for an $8 suggestion to round out Santa's budget on this one.

>205 lorannen: - made a recommendation on the post.

I'd love some help with this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=241.

Currently, there's only $4 left in the budget, so I think I'll need to swap out one of Santa's current picks. Something in the neighborhood of $8-12 should do nicely.

Here's one that I've had to move to Amazon.ca: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=248.

$9 USD left in the budget, which is around $12 Canadian.

>207 lorannen: >208 lorannen: - left a suggestion for each

Thanks for the help, everyone! That's it for me for a while, but I'll be back with more this evening.

>201 lorannen: Am I missing seeing her library to make sure she hasn't already read what I'd like to suggest? I don't see it...

ETA: I posted my recommendations, anyway, with a note that I couldn't see whether or not she's already read them.

>211 LibraryCin:
Looks like she hasn't added any books to her catalogue. Tricky.

>211 LibraryCin: That's what I thought. Thanks for confirming. I posted my recommendations, anyway.

>208 lorannen: Had a bunch of historical fiction I could have recommended, but the prices were a bit to high on most, but I did recommend one that comes in at a lower price point.

Suggestions made

Thanks for the recommendations! >211 LibraryCin: and >212 Petroglyph: yes, that Santee doesn't have any books in their library at the moment.

Here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=277

Only $5 left in the budget.

If it's too tricky to come up with at $5 book, I've got a backup plan, but that involves swapping out two of Santa's picks for an existing suggestion, and I do my best to keep in as many of Santa's original selections as possible.

Couple of suggestions made

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=294

$6 left in the budget for this one.

>219 lorannen: But wait -- another suggestion :-)

This one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=342 has $6 left in the budget.

Looking for $30 worth of recommendations for this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=363

Deleted this one. I found a workable suggestion.

Here's another: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=417

$6 left in the budget.

All right! That's it for me tonight. I've finished my first pass through the Amazon.com orders—I've just got the few that I needed suggestions for today, which I'll knock down tomorrow morning. Then it's on to the international Amazons, .co.uk, .ca, .de, etc.

>224 lorannen: Left a suggestion that fits quite well in the budget.

Thanks so much for your help, everyone! All Amazon.com orders are done. Moving on to Amazon.co.uk now!

Would love some suggestions on this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=119.

Looking for something in the neighborhood of £21 or £6. One of Santa's picks has to go, unfortunately, and those are the amounts I'll be left with depending on which one.

>228 lorannen: A couple of possible ideas suggested

>228 lorannen: Suggestions made

Here's a big one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=79. Santee already had most of Santa's initial picks. $58 CDN left in the budget.

I'm onto Amazon.de now, and here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=60

€23 left in the budget.

>232 lorannen: Added some

Thank you, everyone! I'm pleased to say that ALL orders for those of you who chose to receive physical books (as opposed to ebooks or audiobooks) have now been placed, and many are on their way already.

Once your books have arrived, don't forget to tell us about it in the SantaThing Arrivals discussion!

I'm signing off for tonight, but will be moving on to ebook orders tomorrow afternoon.

Ah, I spoke too soon. I've just heard back from my contact at Sherman's and I've got a number of books that need replacement options, due to availability issues. I'll be posting links to those shortly.

>234 lorannen:

*sigh* We discussed in the other thread why going over budget for my Santee and you still chose to remove the book that I was really trying to fit when I added more money for her....

http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=67

$19 left to spend on this one. Remember, Sherman's goes by list price.

>236 AnnieMod: Ack, you're right, I'm sorry. I'll make it right.

>238 lorannen:

Thanks :) And get some rest - the work week starts in a few hours :(

>239 AnnieMod: Of course! It's an easy enough fix—I'm sorry I goofed.

And what was that thing James Dean said about sleeping?

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=129

$24 left in the budget for this one.

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=200

Looking for an $8 suggestion for this one.

And for this one: https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=223, a $15 suggestion (or combination that amounts to it). I'm surprised the current pick is unavailable, but so it goes...

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=261

A total of $18 left on this one.

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=289

$13 left in the budget for this one.

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=331

$18 remaining in the budget.

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=337

$10 left over on this one.

https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=349

$22 left for this one.

Looking for a $9 suggestion to round out this order: https://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=358

Sorry for the deluge—they all came back to me in one spreadsheet. I'm clocking off for now, and will return to these tomorrow. Any and all recommendations are appreciated!

Wish I had time to help tonight, but it is my bedtime. I won't have time again till Monday evening, so I'm sure it will all be done by then! Good luck finishing up!

Some suggestions but >243 lorannen: is a broken link or something

>241 lorannen: >242 lorannen: suggestions made.

Bunch of suggestions made

>252 Tropical-Library: Ah, I think that's a private SantaThing profile. Sorry about that!

Just curious... when I first picked books for my Santee my amount to spend was $30, then a few days later it jumped to $35. Any idea what caused this? Everything still worked out.

>256 Daniel.Estes: from running the donation thread I can take a small guess. >255 lorannen: please correct me if I am wrong. Every year LT donates to the donation thread for those who can't afford ST thing. I know this year they had some extra donations that didn't have a home. So I believe they spread it out a bit. Perhaps to even out the -5 that happens for shipping sometimes.

>256 Daniel.Estes: >257 mellymel171328:
If it was a non-US Amazon, there was a bit of a bug in the algorithm (it pulled the $5 for delivery from the sum when it should not had had done that), It was fixed a few days into the process.

>257 mellymel171328: and >258 AnnieMod: are both correct. Looking at your Santee, >256 Daniel.Estes: , I can tell you that yours fell victim to the short-lived Amazon bug.

>259 lorannen: + all, thanks everyone for the answers! And thanks for jumping in and recommending some great books.

So, I just noticed that people's lovely packages have started arriving and that spawned a question in my greedy eager mind; for those of us who picked Kindle as their option, are they set to be delivered on the 25th?

>261 -Eva-: Good question! As in years past, ebook (and this year, audiobook) gifts will be set to be delivered at midnight the 24th. This is to ensure that Santees the world over receive their gifts on, if not before, Dec. 25th. It will vary a bit depending on where you are geographically, since gifting time is set relative to LT time, rather than yours.

>262 lorannen:
Yey! 24th is when I celebrate, so that's perfect! Thank you for all your hard work!!

I was expecting a package I'd ordered over the weekend from Amazon. I found a package from Amazon on the porch and opened it. It was not the order I was expecting, but it was my SantaThing package. I'm off to thank my Secret Santa for the two cookbooks. I really would have waited to open them if I'd known they were SantaThing packages. Usually USPS delivers to the side of the house, but these came to the front door just like UPS does for my "Prime" deliveries.

Arrivals thread is http://www.librarything.com/topic/243588

I made it through quite a few Kindle orders until I hit upon one where I need help. Santa's got $5 left in the budget here: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=49

Also, my thanks to >265 MarthaJeanne: I thought I'd posted that link here, as well, but I see I only updated my first post!

For this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=128

I'm looking for an under $6 suggestion to pair with one or two of Santa's original picks.

>268 lorannen: Left a suggestion (and a second one that won't work financially but still I like and wanted to recommend.

Here's one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=136

Have to take out one of Santa's picks, so will have ~$6 to work with.

>270 lorannen:, suggestion made.

Would love some help with this one! http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=227

$36 in the budget.

>272 lorannen: I made one suggestion for you. There is still room for more though.

>272 lorannen: I left multiple options. I seem to be either $1 over of $1 under, though when I do the math depending upon how I combine the books I thought the person would enjoy.

- snip -

My bad! Nothing to see here. Please move right along.

>275 Petroglyph: What a relief!

I'll post an update re: >275 Petroglyph: when I've got more info, but in the meantime:

I could use some recommendations for this Santee: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=315.

$25 to work with.

>277 lorannen: recommendations made. My YA historical fiction recommendations were my strongest.

I'm a bit stuck on this one—Santee has a neat, but challenging request: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=380.

$8 left in the budget.

>279 lorannen: Suggestion made.

>279 lorannen: one misfire but then I found a suggestion that will fit perfectly.

Need some help from the children's book experts out there on this one: http://www.librarything.com/santathing_thing.php?id=454.

$20 left in the budget.

Thanks for your help, everyone! That's all the Kindle orders DONE.

All that's left are the Audible, Nook, and iBooks orders, which I'm going to save for tomorrow evening, as it is way past my bedtime.

>279 lorannen:
Oops, that is me.... I was wondering if my request would land me on this thread. :) Thanks to the suggesters and to Loranne, of course!

>284 -Eva-: No worries, we've got you covered! You'd think that selecting Kindle as your store would guarantee no availability issues—it's digital so it's hard for it to go out of print, right? But alas. It happens to the best of us.

And I am pleased to finally report that every last single SantaThing order is now DONE.

All orders have been placed, and all books should be on their way to their new homes soon, if they aren't already.

I'll be off for a week and a bit, and only checking email sporadically for a while, so if I don't reply right away, don't panic!

Have a wonderful holiday everyone, and thanks SO MUCH for all your help!

Huzzah for Lorannen!

>286 lorannen: Congratulations and thanks for all your hard work in making SantaThing the successful and enjoyable thing that it is!

>286 lorannen: Hooray! Enjoy your break. You deserve it!!!

>286 lorannen: Thank you for all your hard work, enjoy your break! :)

>286 lorannen: Great Job and thanks for all that extra work to make our Holidays special. Have a wonderful rest of the year!

Yes congratulations and thank you!!
And Merry Christmas too!!

I hope you have a great week off lorannen and thanks for managing Santathing!

Thanks Santa, LT elevs and everyone.

Can I peek and find out my Santa yet?

Well if you go to the top of the post and follow the link, you'll see it's not open to view yet. You can of course peek whenever you want, though.

Many thanks, >286 lorannen:, and all the other ST's Little Helpers!

Ho ho ho! Thanks for all the kind words, everyone.

I've got the SantaThing page set correctly so you can click on your ST profile and view your Santa's picks, as well as their username.

Go to the SantaThing page, and click your username under "Your SantaThings" to see your SantaThing profile. Let me know if anyone has trouble accessing that?

I'm also working on sending profile comments to everyone, but that will take me a while, since I have to do it manually—this is usually Tim's area of expertise, and I can't find the right process to run to send it all at once.

>297 lorannen: lorannen: Thank you for all your hard work on SantaThing. I didn't realize, in the first couple of years of my participation, that once the orders were in that, if the selections weren't available or already in the Santee's collection, you had to do so much work making sure folks got something special. You definitely go the extra mile! All the helper elves are awesome, too.

Thank you, lorannen, for all the work you did to make the 2016 Santathing a success.

I'm very happy with my books.

Thank you, Lorannen, for all of the work that you do to make the Santathing special for all of us here at LT. This is just one more thing that makes LT such an enjoyable place in our lives. I hope that you had a nice holiday and are able to get some sleep - I've seen the late hours that you have kept during these past few days.

The Santathing exchange was super fun. I am glad that I participated, thrilled with the selections I received, and hope that it continues next year! Happy New Year LibraryThing Members!

Pretty sure I've participated in SantaThing since the beginning, and this might have been the best year yet. Thanks, LTers, especially lorannen.

Love the books my Santa picked out for me, obviously a lot of thought and effort was put in. I received my books Thursday, December 29th. Delivered to Healdsburg, CA from Powell's Bookstore. Could not be more thrilled! Thanks for all the hard work you all put in:)

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your kind words. I had a fun—if busy—holiday, and am back at last. I've got the arrivals map up-to-date finally, and am now catching up on email and such. So, if you emailed me or sent me a profile comment in the last week and a half, and I haven't gotten back to you yet, don't worry! I'm working on it.

Happy new year, one and all!