How do you show that you truly know a college student through a gift? Give them something pertaining to what they base the majority of their personality around: their major. For the English major in your life, it might feel easy to throw a random book in their giftbag and call it a day. But you don’t have to add yet another random book to their pile. Instead, give them one of the gifts listed here.
1. A solid pen/their favorite pen
Most English majors, myself included, self-identify as pen nerds. We love pens; they fulfill a need to write rather than type. Plus, they make us feel cool when we spin them around in class. A good pen can make or break the writing experience. When buying for an English major, consider how smoothly the pen writes, how the pen looks (don’t forgo the aesthetics, English majors love a good-looking pen) and how comfortable it feels to hold.
Higher tier pens from brands like Zebra and Pilot set the de facto standard for a great pen for college students. The Zebra G402 gets the title of my personal favorite: glides across the page, incredibly pigmented and a stainless-steel barrel that makes it hefty enough to spin. However, most English majors designate one specific pen as their favorite. If they do, simply get them another one of those pens or a year’s supply of refills. Relatively cheap when compared to other gifts and bound to get a more genuine reaction, fancy pens provide an amazing gift for the English major in your life.
2. Leather Bound Notebook
I don’t know a single English major who doesn’t dabble in creative writing. In fact, most of us decided to become English majors because we dreamed of making a career out of writing in our youth. Thus, a high quality, bound notebook or journal makes a great gift. On top of that, it livens up a standard bookshelf.
“I’d really like a nice leather-bound book to write in because they look beautiful on my shelves,” William & Mary senior Riley Egan said. “They are nicely made, and I like to pretend like my writing is some ancient fantasy story in this official book.”
Even if your English major doesn’t enjoy creative writing, they will still appreciate a leather-bound notebook. They can take notes, journal, make it their diary, etc. If they don’t enjoy any of those things, they’ll appreciate the aesthetic of a leather-bound journal amongst the numerous books they need to read for class. A leather-bound notebook gives a lot of versatility to whoever receives it, and an English major will put it to good use.
3. Bookends
English majors acquire a lot of books throughout their college career. Speaking from personal experience, most classes will require anywhere from 3-7 books, whether poetry, novels or plays. As most college students will attest, dorm rooms lack space; the walls act as premium real-estate and anything that doesn’t need to take up floor space will not take up floor space. Many employ floating shelves or simply stack their books on their desks. Thus, bookends pose a great gift.
“There are lots of shelves I have that do not have sides. They’re just on the wall or just on a flat surface with no sides and you need sides,” William & Mary sophomore Giorgianna Heiko said. “In my room right now, my desk touches only one side so I need a book end for the other one.”
In addition to adding organization to their room, bookends also act as decor. You can get creative with the bookends that you choose to give. They can interact with the books themselves (taking the shape of people pushing against the books) or simply look cool with complex designs. Or you could choose more basic ones to save money. Either way, the book loving English majors in your life will appreciate whatever kind of bookend you give them.
4. An Audible Subscription
An English major’s primary job in college simply boils down to reading. Their class assignments consist of reading book after book after book. At a certain point, the words start blurring together and their attention span lags. An Audible subscription comes in handy here. Listening to an audio version of a book makes the reading process way more interactive—not to mention faster. Your attention deviates less when someone reads the content to you. And when attention does inevitably turn to something else, the audiobook playing in your ear still helps you retain information.
5. Bookmarks
Few things give English majors as much joy as a cool bookmark. A random slip of paper works as well as anything else. Some of us simply jam in whatever will fit into the book (pens, erasers, phones, other smaller books). A distinguishing bookmark takes it to the next level. A cool bookmark holds no more pragmatic points than a random slip of paper, but it does make us feel better. It feels more official, in a way. Many stores carry different kinds of bookmarks from just straight card stock to magnets. Or you can choose to go more personal and make a bookmark yourself.
6. Book off their reading list
All English majors curate a list of books that they want to read but will never get to. This list will sit there collecting dust until someone comes to put it to use. You can answer the call and make use of that list. Ask the English major in your life for their reading list, they’ll probably hand you a truly huge list. With just this list, you can plan out the next few years’ worth of gifts. This might seem like cheating, but English majors so rarely get the chance to read books just for enjoyment since they read so much for class. Get them a book they genuinely want to read.
7. Shakespeare Mug
Every English major takes a Shakespeare class sometime during their college career. At this point, a Shakespeare class acts as an unofficial prerequisite for majoring in English. They also drink a truly disturbing amount of tea, coffee or other hot drink for both the aesthetic and the comfort that it brings. Thus, a Shakespeare mug makes a great gift. All the better if the mug contains inside jokes or insults that only readers of Shakespeare will get
“I really enjoyed receiving a mug that had insults from various Shakespeare plays written on it,” William & Mary junior Cecilia Howell said. “It was a Christmas gift from my grandmother and it really made me appreciate all the courses I’ve taken studying Shakespeare.”
Even for those who hated their Shakespeare class, a witty Shakespeare mug still makes a good gift. It acknowledges the knowledge they toiled to obtain, and everyone likes understanding inside jokes. Shakespeare loving English majors will love it for obvious reasons and Shakespeare hating English majors will like feeling smart for understanding the writing. Though stereotypical, a Shakespeare mug makes a great gift.
8. Quill and Ink
Do quills make a practical gift for an English major? Absolutely not. But would they appreciate it for the aesthetic? Absolutely yes. This gift would give them something other than books to decorate their desk with—and it makes them feel fancy. A quill also comes with no obligation or expectations. If they want to learn how to use it, they can. But if they don’t, the quill can simply sit there and look pretty. English majors so rarely get gifts that can act as just decor which makes a quill and inkwell an amazing gift.
9. Bean Bag Chairs
Everybody wants to feel comfortable while doing their work, but English majors want this more than perhaps anyone else. Most spend hours upon hours staring at books. Unlike a laptop, simply setting a book in your lap or on a desk doesn’t automatically set your neck in a comfortable position. Reading in bed doesn’t provide a solution when the school provides a rock-hard mattress. For these reasons, get the English major in your life a giant bean bag. They can recline as much as they like and the beanbag will cradle them in any position they contort themselves into. For maximum comfort in the dorm room, give an English major a huge bean bag.
10. Glasses chain
If the English major in your life wears glasses, get them a chain for it. On top of providing functionality (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost my glasses), they give a unique aesthetic. Most English majors still hold on tight to the librarian vibes they picked up in middle school and glasses chains provide a fun and accessible contribution to that aesthetic. Not many wearable accessories cater toward English majors, and glasses chains make a unique one.
10 More Gifts for English Majors
English majors’ wit keeps you laughing, their knowledge knows no bounds and their wisdom flows in endless streams. Every once in a while, you might just feel so inclined as to show them your thanks for their wonderfulness with a token of your appreciation. CM has a list of gifts that any English major would love you forever for.
These 10 gifts for English majors might even make them happier than a fully-stocked library.
11. Keyboard
Many English majors tend to have a love-hate relationship with writing. It serves as a great form of expression, but writer’s block has stumped far too many people. Often, something as simple as a fancy keyboard engages the writer enough to inspire endless flows of prose. “I feel connected to history while using it,” Florida International University senior Kristy Bello said. For a more economical option, try a mechanical keyboard—the same feel with a modern look.
12. Book Collection
A bookworm always appreciates great new reads. And an English major will appreciate a set of literary classics to further adorn their stuffed bookshelf. For a collection of short classics to read at any time, try Penguin’s Little Black Box Classics Set.
13. Fountain Pen
Take a step back from your carpal tunnel and make your writing feel elegant and smooth. With more inks to choose from than you could possibly imagine—and the ability to combine them and make unique colors—you’ll never get tired. “There’s something satisfying about seeing your writing done in your own ink color,” FIU senior Richard Rahman said. Start with a Pilot Metropolitan, a pen both affordable enough for students and elegant enough for recent graduates.
14. Literary-Themed Pillow
Unfortunately, randomly strewn bookmarks and mugs and annotated books don’t count as decor. Help your English major spice up their home décor with a literary pillow. Featuring the covers of such classics as The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre or Peter Rabbit, these will bring life to any home. Tell your favorite old sport to lay their head down for a bit between chapters.
15. Funko POP! Figurine
These little figurines bring a pop (pun very much intended) of life into any room. Funko offers characters from movies, TV and real life. Some of their most popular include Harry Potter and Star Trek, but they also cater to some more niche interests like Joss Whedon’s Firefly or real-life figures like Elton John and Prince Harry. “They’re cute, they’re collectible and they add a nice decoration to your bookshelf,” recent FIU graduate Debbie Hernandez said. Start off your book lover’s collection with everyone’s favorite neighbor, Mr. Rogers.
16. Notebooks
Writers always need a place to jot down their latest ideas—besides coffee shop napkins. And in an English major’s mind, you can never have too many notebooks. Rhodia stocks their pads with high-quality paper with dot, grid, line or blank paper styles. This makes them the perfect place to jot down poem ideas, sketch some doodles or draft your first novel.
17. Wax Seal Set
Plenty of books, from fantasy to historical, mention rulers delivering wax-sealed stamps with personal crests pressed in from a signet ring. While signet rings may have gone out of style, the desire for such fancy embellishments most certainly has not. Find a seal that matches your favorite English major’s style and expect a fancy thank you note in the mail.
18. Personalized Mousepad
Considering the amount of time English majors spend procrastinating—er, um, working—at a computer, some personalized accessories go a long way for making that experience comfortable. “My students who I TAed for got me a mousepad with my name on it. Getting something practical, and useful, to that specific person is nice,” FIU alumna Erica Amaya said. You can also customize the mousepad with an image, making this a perfect way to remind your friend of that embarrassing selfie you have of them.
19. Grammar T-Shirt
Every English major will tell you: you can have my Oxford comma when you pry it from my cold, dead and lifeless hands. Let them show their Team Oxford Comma pride with a T-shirt that says it. This gift keeps on giving—this shirt will remind all your other friends not to make grammatical mistakes in the presence of the all-knowing English major.
*Updated on November 21, 2022 to include gifts 1-10 by Crystal Wang
