Everyone who knows me knows what an avid reader I am. For many years, a  book was ALWAYS the perfect gift for me. Now, however, I pretty much only read ebooks and I am not alone in that choice. As more and more people are reading digitally, book giving has gotten a bit more complicated.  While gift cards are an option, some people think that a gift card is too impersonal. And what if you really want to give someone a specific book?

For that someone who now only reads ebooks, one solution is gift an ebook to them directly. Kindle book gifting allows allows you to:

• Send your gift instantly via email.
• Give a gift that can be read on any device
• Give a satisfaction guaranteed gift. The recipient can exchange for a gift card if they have already read or don’t want the book you’ve selected..

To give an ebook, simply select the book you would like to give from the Kindle store. As an example, I am using Teresa Frohock’s excellent dark fantasy, Miserere, as an example.

On the Kindle book page, scroll down below the buy button to the section that looks like this:

Click the “Buy for others” button. A page pops up that looks like this:

(Click picture to enlarge)

Notice that there’s a picture of the cover of the book you are buying on the left side of the page. You simply fill in the recipient’s email address and, if desired, you can personalize the message sent with the book. The “From” field is pre-filled with name on the account and can be changed to read something like “Mom and Dad” if you prefer. At the bottom, you can set the delivery date for anytime up to a year in the future.

The right side shows the total cost of the book and the method of payment. You then click the yellow “Place your Order” button to order the gift.

The fine print: The availability may vary by country/region. If this title isn’t available for your gift recipient, Amazon will exchange your gift for an equivalent value Amazon gift card. If you have selected “Now” as the delivery date, your payment will be processed and your gift will be delivered immediately upon clicking “Place your Order”.

How about you? Would you rather give a specific ebook or a gift card to someone? And which of the two do you prefer to receive?