Department stores finally threw out pumpkin themed toys and big bags of candy. They welcomed the ornaments and fairy lights once again. The weather slowly becomes colder and ugly sweaters are back in stock. The best time of the year arrived. However, the stress of finding gifts for everyone in your family and friend group comes to light as well. More specifically, finding gifts for your favorite bookworms in your life proves difficult. What if they don’t like that specific genre, or they already read that book? Your cute gift idea gets ruined. The bookworms in your life deserve something a bit more thoughtful.
Check out these 10 literary themed gifts for book lovers that are not just more books
1. Personalized Library Stamp
When checking out a book from the library, librarians tend to write down your name on the front page to keep a record of where the book goes. Similar to this idea comes the gift of a personalized library stamp. Mostly sold on Etsy, these library personalized stamps usually say “From the Library of” and the bookworm’s name. A fantastic gift for any bookworm to make their small at-home library feel special, personalized library stamps make a perfect option. Customizable by design and name, the book stamp will transform their collection. Usually, most stamps come with the ink themselves, which diminishes your worries about finding an ink pad. Find these personalized library stamps on Amazon!
2. Wood Bookmarks
All bookworms know how difficult keeping track of your bookmarks proves. While purchasing new books, they always snag a couple free bookmarks on the counter, but paper bookmarks fall out of books quickly. Most of the time, book lovers leave them in unfinished books, never seen again. To end this cycle of losing paper bookmarks, wood bookmarks present a fantastic alternative. Amazon sells woodmarks with various designs and themes. The options create an endless list, especially when it comes to their holiday-themed woodmarks.
Although a paper bookmark seems simple, woodmarks will last for a much longer time and it won’t easily fall out of the book. Woodmarks carry heavier, each created with a different design. The holiday and winter themed woodmarks turn out perfect for a simple gift for a bookworm. Definitely make sure to check to purchase a wood bookmark so your book lover keeps track of where they are in their read!
3. Kindle
While the feeling of purchasing a fresh new book will never top anything, it can develop into an expensive habit for bookworms. Kindles offer the same, if not more, selection. Bookworms will enjoy reading from a Kindle without wasting money or driving to a bookstore to indulge in their addiction With a Kindle, readers do not need to worry about enlarging their bookshelves yearly due to their spending habits. Their new device will hold thousands of books without occupying much space in their room!
“My Kindle has been the best gift I have received. It helped me actually want to read more without the burden of purchasing a book,” said Silvia Dzhugaryan, Junior at California State University, Northridge. “It’s much simpler than anxiously shopping at a bookstore. It takes up less space in your room, and I think the best feature is that you can easily look up a word you don’t understand in the Kindle Dictionary.”
Kindles prove an amazing gift for book lovers. It gives them easy access to all the books they want to read at any given time of day. This also reduces the stress of finding a book light, because Kindles automatically brighten the book all day long. If your book lover seems sick of wasting money on paper books, this makes way as a great gift option!
4. Reading Journal
As old school a reading journal may sound, bookworms will love this gift. Whether it be 10 books or 60, keeping track of each book they read every year will turn into another great hobby. A reading journal allows a book worm to keep track of books they read, while also writing descriptions on whether or not they liked it, short summaries of each book and a daily reading tracker. Readers will always come back to their reading journals to remember their likes and dislikes about a specific book as well. A reading journal creates excitement for book lovers because it will help them remember what each book or series entailed.
5. Book Easel
A book easel completes a reader’s desk. While holding their book in place, it also acts as a bookmark. It will allow the bookworm to keep their current read in the same spot without losing it, while also making the space look extremely cute. A wooden book easel makes a great option to keep the colors neutral and classy.
“I purchased a book easel for my room to just leave my book in a place where it wouldn’t get lost,” said Colleen Harris, sophomore at UCLA. “I can pick it back up anytime I want, and leave it in the same place when I need to do something. The book easel is a simple decoration for my room as well.”
Book easels can display your favorite book easily right at the top of your desk. A chic way to display some of your book collection, readers can change the book that sits on their book easel as often as they’d like. A woodmark presents a great option for readers who constantly lose their bookmarks. A book holder makes sure you pick up and continue reading where you last left it.
6. A Candle that Smells Like Books
Walking into a bookstore never fails to excite book nerds. Not only because they want to purchase a new read, also because of the refreshing smell every bookstore contains. Each new book contains their distinct smell. For some reason, bookstores all smell the same. The smell of paper, dusty shelves and wood comes together to create the scent we all distinctly know. While reading a book and relaxing at home, a reader can miss the smell a fresh book can bring. Not to worry! With this candle readers will transport back into their book shop within minutes, and they can imagine their current read came directly from the book shop. It smells exactly like paper, which your book lover will enjoy immensely.
7. Sticky Tabs
Readers always love to annotate the books they currently obsess with Sticky tabs for reading turn into a great option for readers who love to annotate books and readers who keep track of their favorite moments. When looking for the right sticky tabs, ensure each set features various colors, as book lovers will want to dedicate a particular color to a specific topic. Sticky tabs also help our readers stay engaged with their current read and allow them to stay focused and entertained.
8. 100 Books Scratch Off Poster
At the beginning of each year, the most avid book nerds will set a goal of books to read by the end of the year. However, this goal proves difficult when the book they pick up turns boring or unusual. They cannot finish their purpose, and this process becomes a disaster. To help ease the worry of finding what books to read by the end of the year, purchase the 100 books scratch-off poster for your book nerd. Filled with iconic books, this poster will ensure the readers that they reach every goal they want. Scratch off the little circles and uncover what literary work lies underneath.
9. Book Themed Tote Bag
This tote bag creates a perfect gift for the bookworm that always travels with a book. On Amazon, you will find various tote bags with different styles, all in a book lover’s dream. You can personalize the bags by saying their name and “library books.” Additional variations include a personalized bag with their name followed by “book club.” This will turn into the perfect gift for fast readers who want to finish their current read on the go or simply for readers who always love reading anywhere they sit.
10. Book Charm Necklace
For the bookworm that loves jewelry, a necklace with a book pendant appears as the perfect gift. Whether it be gold or silver plated, that discretion we cannot determine, the reader will love this simple necklace. With various styles, you will indeed find one that suits your book lover. Personalized with their initials, a heart pendant next to the book, or much more. You can also insert a picture of their favorite book on the necklace. Amazon shops appear advanced. This simple necklace will turn into the highlight of their days.
If 90 percent of your texts consist of enthusiastic recaps of the book you just finished, you always oversleep because you stayed up way too late to finish the new book you found the night before and you probably own enough books to outfit a small library, you need these items. If you opened your closet, you’d probably have at least a couple book-themed t-shirts and tote bags. And you’ve definitely asked for books on your Christmas wishlist. Face it: You’re obsessed with books, and I’m right there with you.
Set up these 10 book-themed accessories to showcase you or any book lover you know’s love for reading.
11. Literary Themed Teas
We all dream of starting our morning with a chill, #aesthetic cup of tea alongside a good book. Take it to the next level with this box of literary-themed tea. Each little bag of English Breakfast Tea comes with a unique quote from a different author on the tag, drawing from childhood faves and classic authors alike, including Alice Hoffman, C.S. Lewis and John Steinbeck. So get ready to read ‘em and steep as you start your morning off right. And they’ll look classy AF resting in your favorite mug.
12. Fun Bookmarks
You’ve gotten lost in a new book, unable to put it down as you race towards the finish, but then your alarm goes off and you have to go to class. Of course, the easiest way to save your place is to fold the corner, but sometimes your books look way too pretty to crease. Place a sticky bookmark on the page, and all sorts of cute animals from frogs to pandas will greet you when you come back.
13. The Mew Yorker Blanket
What better way to warm up during winter days than to curl up on your couch with a blanket and read? This blanket not only combines two of the best things in life—cats and books—but takes it to the next level with some serious punnage. So settle in for a cozy afternoon, because—let’s be real—you’re not going to want to get back up until you’ve finished your favorite book (and the next one, and the one after that).
14. Book Cover Phone Case
Some people prefer to carry their entire library on their phone. Whether you collect Kindles or iBooks, with this classy leather case your phone will look exactly like a miniature version of vintage, leather-bound books. You can even DIY personalize it. Just take a thin gold sharpie and some fancy letter stencils to recreate the title of your favorite book on the cover.
15. Lord of the Rings Candle
Ever wondered what Middle Earth smelled like? From the sharp, clear air of the Misty Mountains to the cozy home of Bag End, movie and book enthusiasts alike will be transported to their favorite settings in the books. And they’ll look super cute on your bedside table when you start that hundredth reread of The Hobbit.
16. Banned Books Socks
Don’t lie. We’ve all read books we weren’t supposed to at some point. Show some solidarity with a cute pair of mismatched socks featuring the titles of books that have been banned at various points in their lives. From James and the Giant Peach to 1984, these socks are the perfect piece for both Banned Books Week and, well, pretty much every other day as well. After all, censorship isn’t going to fight itself.
17. Folding Book Lamp
When you were a kid, your parents would always warn you against reading too late at night—mostly because they didn’t want you up past your bedtime with your nose in a book. Now you’re (technically) an adult and you can stay up all night reading if you want. No one can stop you. Stay true to your childhood self and light your nights with a lamp in the shape of a folding book. And the best part? You can even draw or stick your favorite book on the wooden cover.
18. Tequila Mockingbird (and other book themed cocktails)
What better way to kick off Pride and Prejudice night with your squad than to make them all Austen-themed drinks? Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist provides a whole list of punny cocktails for classic and contemporary literature, perfect for any self-avowed book and booze lover. It even has snacks and non-alcoholic drinks for more PG-13 nights, like “The Deviled Egg Wears Prada” recipe and a pear juice, lemonade and ginger ale mix called “Pear the Wild Things Are.”
19. Shakespearean Insults Day to Day Calendar
Shakespeare is easily one of the most savage authors of all time. From bizarre insults like “pigeon-liver’d” and “stock-fish” to the classic “Villain, I have done thy mother,” Shakespeare has a drag for just about everything and everyone. This calendar features hundreds of his best for day-to-day usage. After all, who hasn’t wanted to call that one kid who never contributes to your group work a “cream-faced loon?”
20. Book Themed Throw Pillow
At the end of the day, there’s no better place to read a good book than lying on your bed, head propped up with a pillow. Whether you stick it on your couch as a cute statement piece or stack up on your bed to create a comfy place to nestle into, this pillow perfectly encapsulates why we love to read so much. So crack open your newest read and settle in. It’s a good day to be a book lover.
More Gifts for Book Lovers Even Better than a Book
21. LED Clip-on Book Light
This gift will surely please any book-lover who just can’t put their book down at night. No need to turn on the blazing overhead light at midnight to read your favorite book. Simply clip the light onto your book and read through any hour of the night. “My book light is my favorite book accessory because I like reading at night when it’s dead silent. It holds my page for me and I get to turn off the light,” said Florida State University senior Chris Wooton.
22. Motivational Wall Décor
You know that feeling when you look up from your book for the first time in hours and stare at the grey wall looking for answers? Fill that void of grey with minimalist-styled reminders telling you that you, indeed, are freaking awesome and should continue gaining those brains.
23. A Bag for All Your Books
Carry your books in style and show off your brains to anyone who passes by. This book tote blends the perfect amount of humor with style and functionality. Safe to say whoever you gift this to (yes, that includes yourself) will be uniquely styled for their trips to the library and Panera Bread.
24. Inspirational Mug
This one seems like an obvious bet, but no book-lover can pass up a mug that reminds them to “Rise & Slay” today. The early morning reads can feel tough without a cup of coffee or green tea to wake your brain up. Use this inspiring mug on the mornings when you just can’t get with the program.
25. Noise-Cancelling Ear Buds
Sometimes you just can’t wait finish that last chapter of your book while in public surrounded by noise. Book lovers who have sparks of literary imagination in crowded surroundings are sure to fall in love with these noise-isolating ear buds, compatible with android phones and iPhones. “I have to use noise-canceling ear buds when I read because I can literally hear a pin drop and it distracts me from visualizing a scene in my book,” said FSU junior Jesse Hap.
26. Neck Pillow
Anyone with a stiff neck and a love for books will happily benefit from a neck pillow. Read your favorite book on the airplane, in your bed, in the car or on a bus in stylish comfort with a pillow to support your neck. Don’t let an uncomfortable position stop you from diving deep into your book.
27. Comfy Blanket
Your reading session can’t reach its full potential until you wrap yourself up in a chunky and comfy blanket. Team up this blanket gift with the memory-foam neck pillow above to provide the perfect circumstances for a cozy reading session. After all, books go hand in hand with comfort.
28. Bath Tray
Make your reading experience that much more magical while bathing in a steamy bath. This bath tray holds your book for reading, your phone for distractions, and a glass of wine for relaxation during an ideally warm reading session. Kick your wet feet up and mix a few drops of lavender essential oil in the tub for a cozy night with a good read. “My brother bought me a bath tray for Christmas and It’s so helpful because I’m a bathtub enthusiast. I believe your daily problems are solved in a hot bath. The tray lets me bring my wine and my Kindle into the tub,” said FSU senior Lindsey Muller.
29. Book Socks
Talk about the cutest gift presentation possible. These socks are sure to satisfy all book-lovers to the max. No reading session will succeed with cold toes. Pair a chunky blanket with these socks for the most warm and cozy reading session.
30. Audible Membership
This gift sounds mundane compared to the previous options, but your bookworm will surely appreciate an audiobook membership for the times when they just can’t physically read. An audible membership ensures discounted audiobook prices for easy and cheap listening sessions in any circumstances. “My boyfriend bought me an Audible membership on Amazon, and I kind of laughed at first but I’ve listened to way more books that I thought. It was really thoughtful of him,” said FSU junior Daniella Echeverria.
31. Floating Book Shelf
Embrace your inner modernist and use these invisible book shelves to give the illusion that your books float against the walls. Showcase your books proudly with a set of floating book shelves to avoid the inevitable clutter that comes with being stuck in a tiny dorm room. These look super futuristic, setting your room in the year 2050.
32. Wooden Book Page Holder
Everyone has experienced that one comfortable position that you desperately want to lie in while reading, but unfortunately you need your hands available to hold your book open or else your pages will take to the wind. These page holders serve as the perfect, pocket-sized gift for anyone wanting to keep their page open while multitasking or taking a bath. The book lovers in your life will forever remain thankful for this one.
33. Monopoly Vintage Bookshelf Edition
A unique rendition of Monopoly, features a board and cards that are embellished with classic literature facts and quotes. Instead of getting sent to jail like in regular Monopoly, Bookopoly sends you to go watch T.V. as the game’s ultimate consequence. “Bookopoly is fun for us bookworm nerds who don’t necessarily care about buying and selling properties in Monopoly. It was honestly a fun way to learn with friends and a bottle of wine on the weekends,” said FSU junior Kaylee Meyers.
34. Personal Library Kit
Do you ever have really profound thoughts pop into your head, but later when you try to remember them they’ve already escaped, never to be remembered again? This gift will help any profound thinker to remember their thoughts by jotting them down on this pocket-sized vintage-style notepad. “My aunt bought me a small library kit and I keep it in my backpack for when I’m walking around campus and I think of interesting story ideas for my writing. It’s come in handy more than any other gift she’s gotten me,” said FSU sophomore Meghan Kelly.
**Updated on March 23, 2018 to include list items 21–34 by Lauren Dellarocco
**Updated on November 17, 2022 to include list items 1-10 by Sarah Nalbandian
