The new Harry Potter book

It's that time of year--the holidays--when everyone presents the puzzle of themselves to one another, like it's either a gift they're glad to give or happy to get rid of.

Reciprocity is deemed the most difficult concept to define. One definition is that reciprocity is the struggle for power between the question and the answer; another defines reciprocity as what sunlight does to water and what water does to sunlight. Both definitions are essentially alchemical, a combination of good science and speculative philosophy.

Opening a gift is an act of reciprocity, as is giving a gift. People who lived in the old country believed that you couldn't truly own something until you gave it away; people living in the new country believe that you never truly own something unless it's valuable enough to be taken from you. In either case, re-gifting is not a crime.

Sometimes families are locked into the way they see each other, and this sight doesn't budge though it makes way at times for occasional feelings of real love.