The other day I was wondering why bookstores don't sell more gift editions. When you take a chance on a new book, you're probably glad it's a paperback, because you don't want to spend a lot of money on something you might hate. But if you love it, you might want to give it as a gift to a friend and the paperback edition's not so good for that. And, personally, I think modern hardbacks are a pain to read and hardly any less ugly than paperbacks. One solution would be for publishers to produce gift editions, maybe boxed, of their previous year's bestsellers in time for Christmas. And just as I was thinking these thoughts I got an e-mail from Anna Lewis at CompletelyNovel talking about their new service: personalised copies of out-of-copyright classics. I haven't tried it out yet, but it has to be worth a go. I'm going to slip into infomercial mode and pass on what Anna says about their service in case you're interested.

Customers can:
- Upload their own photo to feature on the cover
- Change the name of the characters
- Add a dedication
- Preview their design before buying
And that's not all. Get 10% off the regular price by using the discount code 'XMASPROMO'.
Go here to learn more.

So there you go. I haven't totally worked out my ethical stance in passing on info like this. I doubt I'd do it for some corporate behemoth, but CompletelyNovel are little and indie and very not-evil, and those are all admirable qualities. Hence the plug. Let me know if you use their service and what you think of it.