Where do you inscribe a book?, That you did not write Options

[noblekinsman]

Where do you write "to ..." from... if you are giving a book as gift. It is a paperback. The options are:
1. as soon as you open the cover
2. on blank sheet, on next page with title of book
3. on page that says "By Paul Bowles" and has all his books listed
4. On the page that has "Paul Bowles" The Sheltering sky in fancy lettering, a backdrop of desert and "with a preface by the author"
5. on page opposite copyright where it says "For Jane"

[arnab]

i usually write "stolen from arnab chakladar" on about 37 pages at random, starting with the first.

[shyama]

Don't know whether it's the way NK, but I've always done it on the page inside which carries the title of the book.

Arnab, you sure do have lots of time...

[vAtraT]

Where do you write "to ..." from... if you are giving a book as gift. It is a paperback. The options are:
1. as soon as you open the cover
2. on blank sheet, on next page with title of book
3. on page that says "By Paul Bowles" and has all his books listed
4. On the page that has "Paul Bowles" The Sheltering sky in fancy lettering, a backdrop of desert and "with a preface by the author"
5. on page opposite copyright where it says "For Jane"

I, too, suffer from this existential dilemma. Most of the time, I settle for the title page -- usually the second page. (The first one is often a blank and thus inviting you to write profusely. But there's something more authentic about ruining the title page with one's chicken scratches, establish one's literary-mindedness AND prove one's philanthropy.)

i usually write "stolen from arnab chakladar" on about 37 pages at random, starting with the first.

I happen to have one of these books. On the back of it, though, it has a sticker that says Boulder Public Library.