Wishlist

Dear Classmate (now I sound like Karen Montevirgen),

You probably have no idea what to give me for our Christmas exchange gift. I understand. The temptation to ask the person whose name I've drawn out from that used ice cream plastic container borders on irresistible. What 200-peso gift could possibly make someone smile? This whole guessing-game exercise gets stressful, so I want to make your life easier. Here's a list of book titles I'd be thrilled to have. They need not be brand new. There should be some of them in stores that sell second-hand books.

• Amsterdam (Ian McEwan)
• Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (Judy Blume)
• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
• Midnight's Children (Salman Rushdie)
• Money (Martin Amis)
• The Plague (Albert Camus)
• Rabbit, Run (John Updike)
• Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)
• Soledad's Sister (Jose Dalisay, Jr.)
• Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe)

A simple note written on the book would be swell; I like reading people's thoughts in their own handwriting. If you don't find any of these titles, I'd love to have a wireless mouse, too. Or a car. Merry Christmas!

. . .

UPDATE (12/20/2009). I got Soledad's Sister. Thanks, Mik! That penguin on the note was awesome.