You’ve received one, admit it. An overly sentimental inscription written in a book of fairy tales from your Aunt Myrtle. A gruff inscription from your father. Or a giggly inscription from your sister with way too many exclamation points.
A book inscription sounds like a lovely idea, preserving a moment, creating a memory for the book giver and receiver. The reality turns out to be much different: awkward, stilted phrases found on secondhand books.
Recently, the local chapter of the AAUW held a huge book sale. It’s one of my favorite book related events in my hometown and a great opportunity to pick up some terrific books at even better prices. My parents enjoy this event, too, and picked out a book to give to my husband, who is a big fan of University of Delaware football. 
So far so good. It’s a bit dated, but that’s ok. We open it up and discover this:
To David: Hope the operation was a success! Best Wishes – Jaime Young
Poor David! What kind of operation is it where people give you books about football and hope it’s a success? I blush to think…
I am hoping to make this a regular feature of Biblio-filia – please feel free to send me photos of the awkward inscriptions you find!
biblio-filia.com 
Very interesting idea. About contributions? Embarrassing. (Comment should be in red.)