Two great presents

The pre-Christmas period probably seems as though it was a hundred years ago. But let me jog your memory. On 4 December, I wrote about a book called Scroogenomics, in which Joel Waldfogel says Christmas presents are a waste of money because they destroy economic value.

You can read my post here, but the basic idea is that the receiver of a gift often values it at much less than the price paid by the giver. Economists call the difference between these two valuations the "deadweight loss".

A lot of normal people (that is, non-economists) find this reasoning distasteful. Surely, they say, we value not only the presents themselves but also the thought that went into finding them.

This argument was put forward by British economist John Kay in the Financial Times just after Christmas. It is also reflected in the English expression "it's the thought that counts".

So let me report on two presents I received, where I very much valued not only the gifts themselves but also the thought behind them.

Both were books and both were given to me by Business Spotlight and Spotlight author Ken Taylor (and his wife). The books present cultural insights, so I hope my colleague-blogger Rob Gibson will forgive me if I wander very slightly into his territory here.

The first book is Welcome to Britain: A celebration of real life. It is a marvellous collection of photos on typical aspects of British life such as dogs, birds, little trains, gardens, the seaside, pubs, picnics, graffiti and cafes. It is a joy from start to finish.

So is the second book, written by Ken Taylor himself, together with another Spotlight author, Paul Smith. German Secrets: Achtung to Zeitgeist is an amusing, insightful and loving look at German life, based on Ken and Paul's long years of working and living in the country.

The insights are arranged alphabetically and cover topics such as:

• Beate Uhse (the authors went in "purely for research purposes");
• Bosses ("If he doesn't sound like much fun – he's not supposed to.");
• Humour ("There is none. Or that's what you are led to believe.");
• Punctuality ("People are not really obsessed by punctuality in Germany. If you turn up to a meeting 30 seconds late, you may well be forgiven.");
• Small talk ("There is none. Especially in business.")

The book also includes a survey of how Germans see themselves. Some cliches are confirmed (punctuality, reliability, perfectionism); others are not (being reserved, lacking humour, being fluent in English).

Germans — and foreigners who have lived in the country — will find plenty to think and laugh about in the book. Teachers will also find it good discussion material for their classes.

Apart from the kind thought behind the presents — and no, Ken didn't pay me to say nice things, nor will I get any commission on sales— the three or four hours pleasure I got from reading the books shows that Christmas presents really can add value. But then you knew that already.