SantaThing 2023: Arrivals

Hey y'all, we're almost done with orders for all physical books for SantaThing 2023, so it's time to start this thread!

In past years, we've made a map tracking SantaThing deliveries, and we'll do our best to continue the tradition. If you'd like, feel free to post the following:

- Where you're located (not your specific address, just your city, state/province, and country or something identifiable for the map).
- Which bookstore your SantaThing order came from.
- The date on which it arrived.

I'll keep track of these and plot them on the SantaThing 2023 Arrivals map.

Let's do this!

Received my first SantaThing yesterday afternoon 11th December from Readings Bookstore. I’m in Flagstaff Hill South Australia, Australia and what a great surprise it was as I haven’t read this one. I’m from Scotland but even though I’ve been here since 1982 I still can’t get used to Christmas without snow but it’s unusually wet and cold here the last couple of days. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and thx again ISHTAR42 😊

Just received another two books here at Flagstaff Hill South Australia 12th December that I haven’t read from Ishtar42. Thank you so very much and I hope you get some good reading material too. Have a wonderful Christmas 😊

When will kindle books be sent?

Received a parcel from Readings this morning in Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

>4 debbie1215: We schedule them to be delivered on December 24.

>1 katemcangus: I received my first SantaThing on 12/9 from Longfellow to Southampton, PA!

>6 kristilabrie: It's the most wonderful day of the year. :=)

I received mine from Powell's today in Middlebury, VT. I'm super stoked! I'd never heard of either of the books I received before, but they look right up my alley.

Just one book so far, I think there will be another package coming too...

- Memphis, TN
- Powell's
- 2023/12/13

>10 ateolf: There will be, indeed!

Cambridge, MA
Longfellow's
2023-12-14

Thanks, huberK!

My first book has arrived! :-)

- Plymouth, United Kingdom
- Blackwells
- 15th December 2023

Really excited to dive in, thank you ejmam!

Rahway, New Jersey
Longfellow's
15 December 2023

Received my books today. My kind of book. Cannot wait to read them.

Pretty sure (the first of?) mine arrived today. Or, I bought a book from Blackwell's and forgot about it. (Not implausible!)

Seffner, FL
Blackwell's
15 Dec. 2023

Last package in:

- Memphis, TN
- Powell's
- 2023/12/15

Charlottesville, VA
Powell's
12/15/2023

Book arrived from Blackwells to Jersey. Looking forward to this one.

Los Angeles, CA
Powell's
Dec 15

And a lovely choice it was, right in line with my interests. I think there will be a second package later.

ETA: Second package arrived Dec 18.

ETA: Third (and I assume final) package arrived this afternoon.

So excited for my packages turning up!

- Burton-on-Trent, UK
- Blackwell's
- Package 1 - 15 Dec 2023
- Package 2 - 16 Dec 2023
- Package 3 - 18 Dec 2023
- Package 4 - 05 Jan 2024 (intriguing if they were all ordered at the same time)

So far I have one book that I kept meaning to buy and another that I've never heard of but looks excellent. Great choices QueenAlyss!

Got a package from Powell's, here in New Mexico. Thank you, Santa!!!!

Finn received 1 book from Blackwell's this weekend, Portland, Maine area. More to come, I'm sure! (I peeked at the pick and it's *perfect*!) :)

North Logan, UT
Powell's
December 16, 2023

I'm excited to see what I got, I'm going to wait until Christmas to open it.

Package arrived in Pittsburgh PA from Powell’s on 12/14. I didn’t peek before my husband popped them under the tree in my designated SantaThing sack 🥰

Wow all three of my books arrived today (18/12) in Wellington, New Zealand, from Blackwells. This is by far the earliest I've received my books, and for the first time I've peeked. Three fantastic choices!

My kids each received one book from their LT Santa on Saturday night (in St. Louis, MO) and immediately dove in!

>25 smileydq: It's good to have an accomplice/minion.

Received 4 packages from Blackwell's to Branchville, New Jersey. I'm very excited to open them!

2 books arrived at the end of last week in SE Wisconsin from Powell's :)

Mine arrived Saturday in Dublin, Ireland from Kenny's of Galway

Mine arrived today (Dec 18, 2023) in Montreal, Canada, from Blackwell's.

2 packages from Blackwell's for Petra arrived in Cambridge, MA (one on 12/16, and one today 12/18)!

Both of mine arrived from Longfellow's on Thursday 12/14!

I live in Northern New York.

Haven't opened the box yet, but I got one from Powell's, that I think is from SantaThing

Arrived on 12/18 from Powell's

San Pedro, CA 90732 US

3 books 12/18 from Blackwell's

North West Arkansas

Package from Longfellow's arrived in Annapolis, Maryland, on 18 December.

Received two packages today, 12/18, in Topeka, Kansas. I suspected they were SantaThing books but I wasn't sure because I chose Blackwell's but the return address on both books was "Liberty Express Dist USA LLC," in Springfield Gardens, NY. ????

I couldn't stand the suspense so I went ahead and opened them, and confirmed they were from my LT Santa. They look excellent! :-D

>38 HeathMochaFrost: Blackwell's ships their stuff (in bulk, I assume) to a US distributor, who then does the actually mailing out.

Package for Maggievc

Melbourne, VIC, Aus
Readings
19-Dec-2023

I'm in Akron Ohio and my gifts from Powell's arrived today! Yahoo!! Thank you SantaThing!!!

SantaThing books arrived to my home in St. Louis, MO last night from Blackwell's. Happy reading to all!

Another two packages from Blackwell's - wow! Thank you to my Santa and to all the Librarything elves - I'm delighted. Merry Christmas to everyone - I wish you all happy reading and a great year ahead!

A second package from Powell's arrived today! (Akron Ohio) Huzzah!! (I posted yesterday's books after midnight, I'm realizing now. Definitely a one day difference between the two arrivals though)

Los Angeles Ca. A book arrived from Blackwell's. To be opened Dec. 25.

Erie, Pennsylvania
Received (1) package from Blackwells, on 11/19.
Waiting to open on xmas!! 🌲🎁 👀

Question- how will we know if there’s more to arrive? (Since it seems like some ppl are receiving multiple shipments, instead of one package containing them all)

I think my books arrived. I'm guessing that they are from this Santa swap, as I did not order them. One is a cozy mystery which is what I read. The other is not a book that I would ever have selected. I'm not happy about what I received. I feel like I should have taken my $30 and bought my own books!

Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)

I got one book today from Blackwells. I’m guessing there is another one on its way. Excellent choice and fantastic timing. Thanks to all the elves involved!

Arrived in Larksville, PA from Powell's.
Thank you to my Santa for the two awesome books.
I'm excited to read both in the new year.

A box from Powells has arrived in Lynnwood! Not opening it until Christmas morning. ;)

>25 smileydq: I LOVE this idea of a reusable sack for Santathing books - it’s tough for me as a singleton to wrap the books that arrive, without peeking. I am going to sew a book present bag for next year! Thanks!

>46 thulemander: Unfortunately there's no way to currently tell how many books/packages to expect without asking the staff at LT. But when Tim opens up the page on Christmas Day, you should be able to look at your entry to see how many books to expect -- given you don't mind ruining the surprise.

>47 IceQueenTN: Sorry to hear you were disappointed with what was chosen for you.

I'm hopeful the Blackwell-ordered books will come by Saturday but being up in the Pacific NW makes me furthest away in the U.S. except Canada above the West coast. If not, I'll check in after Christmas.

>54 TonyaJ: Fingers crossed!

I'm in Knoxville, TN and received my 4 books from Ingram. Looking forward to reading them!

>47 IceQueenTN: I also am sorry you were disappointed with one of the books you received. (I'm not LT staff or anyone other than a participant like you.)

It's funny, I have close to the opposite reaction to you. If it is a book I would have chosen for myself, I might as well have bought it myself. So I eventually give them all a try. Of course, sometimes it doesn't work for me.

>57 Capybara_99: I'm sorry too to read that, IceQueenTN - libraries need books and it could be satisfying to donate. There is bookcrossing and apparently, people are still leaving books with a note inside on park benches, etc. in their communities (which I always thought was very cool - just wait for winter to be over of course, LOL)

>52 katemcangus: Ahh, I see. I happened to receive a msg from a very kind LibraryThinger today, they had checked my secret santa page & let me know how many books to expect! Mystery solved :-

Cobourg Ontario Canada - I got my books from Blackwells just now! The postman knocked on my door and everything! I couldn't resist - I had to open the package! Thank you to my SS and all the elves who make this possible every year. Now to see if I can wait until after Christmas to start reading!

Thank you so, so much thulemander and helpers!! I'm so, so excited for these! I have only heard of one of them before and I love finding new things!

- Phoenix, Arizona USA
- Blackwell's
- One on 12/16
- Three on 12/20

For those who might be curious about titles:

The Path of Thorns
White is For Witching
The Bone Key
Senlin Ascends

Package for rodneyvc

Melbourne, VIC, Aus
Readings
21-Dec-2023

I'm curious - how many members total participated this year? I've been a member a long time and this is my first year. Thanks.

Package with at least two books received from Powell's today (12/20--at least that's when I got it, but I hadn't checked the mail in a few days) in Minneapolis, MN. I think it's my only Christmas gift this year so I'm going to try to wait until the actual day to open it. But it's soooo hard to wait!

Last year my wife told me she was tired of opening my SantaThing packages and wrapping the books. This year I just wrapped them up myself, packages unopened, and put them under the tree. She told me I was being silly and I should just open them!

I've gotten 3 separate packages from Powell's for me here in DC. Unsure if that's all of them or not, but definitely excited to dig into them!

I went to my mailbox yesterday and I recieved a package from Blackwell's! I did not know what it was and I opened it. When I realized what it was I quickly put it back in the envelope. It does look like a really interesting book!

One package
Boothwyn, PA 19061
Blackwell's
12/20/2023

Yesterday I received a package from Blackwell's, in central New Jersey. Very excited to see what I got!

- Munich, Germany
- Blackwell's
- 19 Dec 2023 (all 4 packages arrived together)

>63 TonyaJ: We had 384 entries this year, with 348 LibraryThing members participating!

I received my books! Thank you to my Santa!

>70 katemcangus: WHOA! All that book love!!

I can't remember the exact date I received my gift, but it was shortly after the order was placed in early December. I live in Auckland, New Zealand and received the order from Time Out Books. :)

I received my package from Powell's Books on Monday, December 18. I'm in Madison, WI and was delighted to receive two books that I have never read! Thanks Secret Santa.

I'm anxiously waiting for my package. I can't wait 😊

Final package from Blackwells received today!
Erie, Pennsylvania 12/21

Neato MAGNETO!! BOOKS were in my mailbox today from Blackwell's in their packaging, 12.21.23, which was large enough to fit the not small package in. I had been waiting for a USPS informed delivery notification so it could have been in there earlier than today.

I am in Gresham, Oregon. TWO Books. I didn't peek but will check in on Christmas Day and give thanks to my Santa.

I'm in Melbourne, Australia, and I received a parcel of two books from Readings today (Friday 22/12). There was also a note that indicated that they only sent the items that were in stock, so I am expecting another parcel soon.

I received my package from Readings in Melbourne. Both books look very intriguing. Thanks to my Secret Santa.

I'm in Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia.

Another Blackwell's package for me arrived in central New Jersey yesterday evening, along with a Powell's package for my mother.

My books arrived in Pittsburgh, PA from Powell's today.

My santa did an amazing job, thank you!

You'll find me in Medford, Maine, enjoying my lovely book sent from Longfellow Books. It came on or around December 9.

My books from Blackwells came today in Tennessee! Omg. This is, by far, my favorite Santathing year yet. I love the books so much! Thank you so much to my Secret Santa. 🥹

>70 katemcangus: I have yet to receive my gifts. Have all gifts been shipped out?

Two packages from BookPeople arrived today in Omaha, NE! Great choices for my daughter and me!

A package from Kenny's arrived in Ottawa today. So glad it came in time for Xmas!

>84 Jennsbookfix: There's a comment on your SantaThing page that the order was placed on Sunday evening, Dec. 10th. I don't know if LT gets tracking info for any or all of the orders, but the Powell's page shows the books your Santa chose as In Stock in several locations, and shipping in one to three days after they're ordered. I hope you get them tomorrow!

>85 knerd.knitter: Great!! Mind should come from that store!!

>65 Stevil2001: not at all silly. I don’t bother wrapping them but do put them under the tree in the brown shipping package.

How are you UK deliveries coming along? Doesn't seem many on the tracking map? Today was the last normal delivery day and I'm bookless :-(

>84 Jennsbookfix: Yup, everything has been ordered and sent. I'm sorry they haven't arrived yet.

>90 reading_fox: I'm so sorry your books haven't arrived yet! This was out first year using Blackwell's, so we'll be sure to review all deliveries after the fact to see if we should move forward with them next year.

Package arrived from BookPeople today in Indianapolis, IN.

Happy to see all the arriving packages. Is there a possibility to see, if the Santee has received their books, if they don't write it here?

And how are your Kenny deliveries going? 2 arrived as far as I saw on the thread?
Can't wait for my books! 😊

Thank you bagejew for the books! I didn't check the mail yesterday but 2 packages from Blackwell's were there this morning! I'm in Yellowknife, NWT. I am looking forward to these reads!

Mine arrived today from Bookpeople!

>1 katemcangus: Dvdwhynot? Here, my SantaThing just arrived:
Albuquerque, NM, USA
Book People, Austin, TX, USA
12/23/23

The two reads are just what I would love to be introduced to, thank you!!

Got my books from Book Oeople today—probably yesterday since I didn’t check mail yesterday. Really looking forward to starting on them!!

Seems a lot of people got Bookpeople packages yesterday! Mine arrived in Atlanta, GA yesterday morning. Very thoughtful choices that I am excited to read!

It's Kindle Delivery Day (aka Christmas Eve). Many thanks to James_Knupp for an interesting and quite diverse selection!

>94 PersephonesLibrary: Your books were ordered on December 5th. Here's hoping they arrive soon!

My books arrived quickly, and I’ve almost finished one of them. My SantaThing did an outstanding job selecting for me; books and authors new to me, and subjects right up my alley! Sincere thanks to my Secret Santa.

My package arrived today in Athens, OH, from Longfellows.

I would like to give a very hearty thank you to lowelibrary, my Santa, for her inspired choices of books (LT, there were 3 not 2 books in the one package) based on my pretty much stream of consciousness of what I like:

* The Fireman - Joe Hill
* Fifty Words for Snow - Nancy Campbell
* A Haunting in the Arctic - C. J. Cooke

I have no family left as my brother passed in September, no in-person good friends to speak of, which is why I wanted to do SantaThing this year. This is so heart warming. Thank you for facilitating, LT - Thank you, April.

Even though your books may arrive after Christmas members, enjoy them to the fullest. Tonya

>1 katemcangus: I am from near Wiener Neustadt in Austria, I got my books from Kenny's, and while I can't remember the arrival date exactly, it was December 20th at the latest. It was very early this year! It was so hard not to open the package. I'm also really content with my Secret Santa's selection.

>105 library_mistress: Hi from Vorarlberg! I am glad you liked the choice! One book was switched w/o my knowledge but I hope you will enjoy the selection! Happy holidays and happy reading time!

Hi all, so excited!!
- Albuquerque NM USA
- Book People
- Dec 23rd

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers and Station Eternity

>91 katemcangus: Maybe today? 😞

Hi everyone!
My package ended up showing on Dec. 21st!
- Granby, MA USA
- Powell's

To whomever was my Santa, the 3 books are perfect! Thank you so much! :)

Hi everyone!
My package ended up showing on Dec. 21st!
- Granby, MA USA
- Powell's

To whomever was my Santa, the 3 books are perfect! Thank you so much! :)
Skippy Dies, The Hunting Party, and The Girl from the Other Side

THANK YOU, SANTA!! I love my books!

- Tooele, UT
- Book People
- Christmas Eve...Ahhhhh! Dec. 24

Was my 8th year participating in SantaThing and I've NEVER been disappointed! Thank you >1 katemcangus: and everyone at LT!

My Kindle books arrived on my email on December 24 in Indiana. Amazon has changed their exchange policy on ebooks though. It used to be an easy process, resolved quickly by a few clicks. Not anymore!

I received an ebook from my Secret Santa that I already own and tried to exchange it. Talked and chatted with two Amazon customer service representatives for over an hour and was unable to make any progress. LibraryThing apparently has to use the purchase code to make an exchange. Amazon wouldn’t allow me to do it. I finally messaged Kate for help, so will see what happens. Caveat emptor if you are gifting Kindle books! Apparently they can no longer be exchanged for a gift card or a different ebook.

I'm in San Antonio, TX and my package with three books arrived today, December 26th.

Three fat books that I can't wait to dig into!
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

>112 LadyoftheLodge: I think that will keep me from participating in the future. The easy book substitution on kindle was important to me.

The books have landed in Fort Myers, FL USA on 12/26. Yay!

>114 dianeham: That is the same reason I requested Kindle books. I am running out of room for print books. I found out about this new Amazon policy from a thread on Goodreads. As I see it, it is embarrassing to have to ask the person who sent the gift ebook to revoke the code and select a different item for a gift for me.

Still no sign of my books from Kenny's, hoping for them to arrive by friday.

My books arrived and I am very happy about the selection! Thank you, Secret Santa!

Two of them (Anne of Green Gables - what a lovely edition! and Secret Garden) have been on my wishlist for a while. I haven't heard of the "Accidental Tourist" yet, and have never thought about reading "Thorn Birds" - so I am looking very much forward to those as well.

Thank you!
And thanks to the LT-Team for organising!

27.12.2023
1 package with 4 books by Kenny's
Hohenems, Austria

My Kindle books arrived on the 24th of Dec and I am delighted that I had not heard of any of the books before - looking forward to discovering new great reads.

- Tsnori, Georgia (that's where I was when the books arrived)
- Amazon Kindle
- 12/24/2023

I also picked up the first book for my daughter from the post office today. The others are on the way from London to Tbilisi - it looks like there are two more packages coming.

- Tbilisi, Georgia
- Blackwell's
- 12/27/2023

Thanks to our Secret Santas and the amazing Santathing elves!!!

I received my books from Powells today. Thank you to my Secret Santa.

Everything the Darkness Eats
Never Whistle at Night

Still no sign of my books from Kenny's, also accidentally spoiled the books for myself since i didn't know they are visible now :(

I forgot to post that I received my books. I think it was around 12/16 or so, I was too excited to notice what book store sent them! I live in Massachusetts and the books arrived in a simple padded envelope.

I have never heard of the books I received but am pleasantly surprised as they piqued my curiosity. Since I am an eclectic reader it would be hard to disaapoint me. :)

Thank to kristilabrie for fixing the problem with my Kindle book gift. Happy and healthy new year!

One package has arrived in Stockholm, Sweden.

Another package has not (yet).

Got my Blackwell's package in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in Dec 29 or 30. Can't remember which now, but it was between Christmas and New Year's.

Thank you so my Santa!

Update: my daughter has received all 3 of her books:

The Haunting of Aveline Jones by Phil Hickes
Pony by R. J. Palacio
Hush-a-Bye by Jody Lee Mott

They were under the Christmas tree on the 1st of January when Tovlis papa (the local Santa) brings them in Georgia.

- Tbilisi, Georgia
- Blackwell's
- 12/29/2023

Another package arrived in Stockholm, Sweden from Kenny's.

Last of four books arrived today with me in Glasgow, Scotland from Blackwells! Thank you so much katemcangus - will be sure to check out the other recommendation you left me as well!

>128 thebookmagpie: I hope you enjoy! Happy reading!

1 of four arrived UK (blackwells) the other 3 are deemed lost and being resent ~ 7more days. These things happen.

>130 reading_fox: Did you contact Blackwell's yourself to arrange this? Did it require an order number or anything? (I am awaiting two book in Los Angeles. If I hadn't received the first book Dec 19, the delay wouldn't seem that long to me.)

The last of my family's SantaThing books arrived in St. Louis from Blackwell's just now!

>130 reading_fox: I'm glad to hear they're resending the lost books.

I eventually got three books from Blackwells - one arrived December 19th and the other two came about a week ago. I’m in Ontario, Canada - I was pleasantly surprised to get one before Christmas. I thought the others were backordered or perhaps just taking a more scenic route but maybe they were re-ordered? I didn’t report anything.

>131 Capybara_99: - Yes I contacted Blackwells directly. I had the order number from LT staff when the tracking showed "delivered" but I hadn't received them. Blackwells were helpful.

>135 reading_fox: Thanks, appreciate the info.

YAY! My 4th book from Blackwell's arrived in Gresham, OR (Jan. 10). I am well pleased. This book is:

Damsel, by Elana K. Arnold (and incidentally has been made into a film starring Millie Bobby Brown).

Just discovered this thread. I'm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I think I got them on Dec. 27 from Blackwell's, in two separate packages. (I had something else to wrap up for Christmas for my mom (the recipient), and so it gave her something else fun to look forward to afterwards.)

Thanks to my Santa, who did a great job picking! She doesn't have either, and they're exactly the sort of thing she's into, and she seemed really excited to read them!

Thanks also to the LT staff who dealt with Amazon being silly and not being willing to do eBooks as gifts in Canada anymore.

And thanks to the other commenters who gave even more suggestions! I've passed the thread along to her--all of the recommendations look like things she'd be into.

This was my first time participating, although I've looked at the discussions other years. It was a lot of fun for me and for my mom, and it'd be fun to do it again, although Amazon's thing with eBooks in Canada puts a bit of a damper on it. (I am grumpy with Amazon over this, but not with anyone else involved, who all did a great job.) It looks like my Santa had actually originally managed to find a nice selection of 4 books with quite some variety on the eBook budget, and this is obviously harder to do with physical books.

The books finally arrived today from Kennys, Im in Croatia, Osijek-Baranja County.

I had pretty much given up hope but today it happened! My book arrived!! Thank you secret Santa, and Blackwell, and whatever bottleneck mailman might have carried the package on horseback or whatever! :)

>140 sippan: Lol. I'm so glad they arrived!