I tried to explain that I hadn’t written in it because I loved it so much and I didn’t want to ruin it. The pages were so nice, and sewn in, you couldn’t just rip them out. Whatever stupid thing I wrote down would be in there permanently. — Elissa Schapell, Blueprints for Building Better Girls

From The Millions, here are 12 Holiday Gifts That Writers Will Actually Use.

Our research shows that while gift-givers think they’re being more thoughtful by picking out expensive gifts, the recipients don’t appreciate the hefty price tag,” Dr. Flynn said. His experiments have shown that the price of a gift matters more to the giver than to the recipient, and that people like a surprise gift less than cash or something they picked themselves through a gift registry like Amazon’s wish list.

 Aiming for the Perfect Gift? It’s Much Closer Than You Think

A gift’s price matters more to the giver than to the recipient, and people like getting cash or something on their gift registry more than a surprise gift.

Does it make it even more obnoxiously cute to tell you that he arranged all the stuffed animals very carefully before sitting down among them to pose for the shot?