The holiday season is upon us! And that means spending time with family and friends, stuffing your face with delicious food,… and freaking out over gift shopping. What would your cousin like? Did your mom drop any hints? Why did you wait so long to get started? AAAAAAAARGH! But don’t despair, I am here to help you find the perfect gift for that booklover in your life with my ultimate gift guide for readers!
Books, obviously
Let’s start with the obvious idea: books! (I mean, what would a gift guide for readers be without them?) Unfortunately, there are so many of them and you’re not sure what’s already on your bookworm’s shelf, or what they like to read. You could just get them a gift card for their local book store, but that’s a bit impersonal, if you ask me. A better idea is to check if they have a Goodreads account and see what’s on their Want To Read list.
Then again, I use that Goodreads shelf for all the books I want to read, including the ones I already own. So my boyfriend and I came up with the following solution. I created a shelf called Most Wanted Books and filled it with books. All he has to do, is look at this list and choose which one(s) to get – and if the book is a sequel, check on my shelves which edition I own, so he gets the matching cover. This way, he knows he’s buying a book I really want, and it’s still a surprise to me!
Reading accessories
Now that your bookworm has some new novels to dive into, they might need some accessories to make reading more comfortable. There are tons of these, in all shapes and sizes, but here are some suggestions:
Disclaimer: I don’t receive any form of compensation for this post. I’ve bought all the items you see here with my own money. Except for the page anchor, book seat and jewelry, those are not my own photos.
Bookmarks
Because dog-earing pages is the worst and using candy wrappers is just begging for stains. You can go for the classic rectangular paper, with an illustration or a quote, or you can pick something fancy. A quick search on Etsy will show you bookmarks made in leather, wood, ribbon, metal or beads. They come in all shapes and sizes and most fall in the range of 1 to 20 euro.
Page-holders
While bookmarks are useful between reading sessions, these page-holders are for use while reading. Most models have a hole for your thumb, so you can hold your book open with one hand. They are often made out of wood, but there are plastic ones as well. Price range: 3 – 20 euro.
Go hands-free
Or, for the full hands-free experience, check out page anchors and book seats. The first are fancy-looking metal pins you slide between the pages and then the anchor holds the book open at the right page. A book seat is a mini bean bag for your book to rest on. It comes with a glass plate to hold open the book without blocking the words you’re reading. These are a bit pricier: book seats cost about 30 euro on Amazon, for an official page anchor it’s 45 euro.
Creating a cozy atmosphere
If there’s one thing bookworms love, it’s curling up in a cozy reading nook. Here are some ideas for gifts that can help them get comfortable:
Candles
It’s no secret I’m slightly addicted to bookish candles. Reading a book while a matching scented candle is flickering, is my idea of heaven. A quick search shows there are countless shops selling scented candles inspired by books. There are glass jars, tins, small candles, big ones, with or without glitter on top, layered candles,… You name it. So look around and you’ll surely find a candle inspired by that book or series your booklover won’t shut up about. Prices range from 5 to 20 euro, depending on the size.
Tea, coffee, hot chocolate
Another addiction of mine (and many other booklovers with me), is tea. I have a kitchen cabinet that I can barely open anymore without bags of tea falling out. Again, there are tea and coffee blends inspired by every book you can imagine. Prices range from 4 to 10 euro.
Mugs
Okay, your booklover is brewing a hot beverage, but now they need a mug to put it in. Don’t despair, Etsy and Society6 are here to help! Just search for “bookish mug” and you’ll find a seemingly endless list. Some read “One more chapter” or “Go away, I’m reading”, while others feature quotes and designs inspired by specific books. From Jane Austen over Harry Potter to Strange the Dreamer, you name it and there’s a mug for it! Prices range from 10 to 20 euro.
Pillowcases
Nothing says “cozy” like a pile of pillows to sink into. Luckily, there are tons of gorgeous designs available on Etsy and Society6. The latter offers pillows starting at 20 euro. On Etsy you can find pillow covers starting from 10 euro, but you’ll need to buy a pillow to fill this cover as well.
Venturing out into the world
Even die-hard introverted bookworms need to venture outside from time to time. To go buy more books and pretend to be a functioning human being. The real world can be a scary place, so help your favourite booklover with some of these items:
Tote bags
If your bookworm is anything like me, they don’t like traditional purses. Those make me feel like an old lady and most of them are just plain ugly. Anyway! I prefer using a tote bag, because there’s plenty of room in them for a book. And this won’t come as a surprise to you: you can find hundreds of different designs inspired by books. Prices range from 10 to 30 euro, depending on the size of the bag and the shop.
Book sleeves
You know what bookworms hate even more than spoilers? Damaged books. And because we take our books everywhere, they are at risk. So make your favourite book lover happy with a book sleeve. It’s like a little padded jacket to keep your paper baby safe. Take a look around on Etsy or just ask Google for some help, and you’ll surely find one that’s perfect. One thing to keep in mind: these sleeves come in different sizes and big books don’t fit in the smaller sleeves. Prices range from 15 to 30 euro.
Jewelry
Now that the books are safe, your bookworm can think of their own look before leaving the house. And what better way to proclaim their love for books than wearing jewelry inspired by them? Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings: you name it and there’s tons of book-related examples. Once again, Etsy and Google are your best friends. Here the price range is a bit wider: from 2 euro for the simplest bracelet to well over 100 euro for the biggest charm bracelets you’ve ever seen, but the average price is somewhere between 10 and 25 euro.
And there you have it, my gift guide for readers! A long list of possible gifts to make the book lover in your life very happy. What are you buying for them? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
