Believe it or not, Christmas shopping season is upon us! I always aim to start early–with Christmas shopping, decorating, and Christmas-letter writing–, so I’m not scrambling at the last minute. Unfortunately, I don’t usually succeed, but the head start does make the last week before Christmas a little less stressful. I hope I can make your gift shopping even easier with this holiday gift guide featuring the best gifts for the readers or book lovers in your life.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from a link, I may earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Shop Local
I’ll start with an important note. Where to shop? Yes, it’s easy to click away on your computer. I do it all the time. But the best place to start is on Main Street at your local shops. I live in a town with lots of great “mom and pop” shops. They are my go-to for much of my holiday shopping. I realize not everyone lives close to such awesomeness, but be creative as you support your local businesses this holiday season.
19 Best Gift Ideas for the Readers in Your Life
Books Are My Love Language T-shirt
This t-shirt will go over so well with the book lover in your life. The reviews are great and the design is so cute! Plus, you get bonus points for unique-ness and supporting an artist.
Lumos Knitting Light
I love this light for knitting while my sweetheart and I watch movies or when we’re taking a road trip, but it works great for reading in dark spaces too. It charges with a USB instead of needing batteries, so that’s a plus.
Leather Book Weight
This Leather Book Weight from Levenger keeps pages in place. I love to use a book weight when I’m reading at the kitchen table and eating my morning oatmeal. Maybe pair this with some book-inspired snacks, teas or a coffee mug for the reader who just can’t put the book down long enough–not even to make and eat breakfast.
Novel Tea Literary Blends
Just like the name, each of these teas features a clever pun like Don Quixotea, Man of La ManChai, Pippi Oolong Stocking, and Pride and Peppermint. They’re delicious and the artwork on each tin is beautiful, too!
Mugs for Readers & Writers
Slip a special mug, a box of tea, and a book into a gift bag or basket and you may have your book-lovers dream gift. Finding the perfect mug to go with the book is the fun part! If you were choosing for me, I’d love this Charles Dickens mug. Check out the rest of this company’s products, and you’re sure to find something fun.
Here’s a Cute Mug for Writers. In fact, everything from Carrot Top Paper Shop’s Etsy page is cute and perfect for book lovers. This is just one of the adorable mugs she has designed. Definitely visit her page to see what else she offers! It could be your one-stop-shop for Christmas gifts for all the readers in your life.
Bookmarks Featuring Classic Heroines
For the women in your life who loved the childhood favorites Little Women, Little House on the Prairie, or the Secret Garden. These Carrot Top Paper Shop bookmarks are perfect for stocking stuffers or to tuck into a card (really, check out her whole shop to see all of the lovely bookmarks and gifts). And bookmarks might just be one of the best gifts you can give to a reader. A pretty bookmark is so much more inspirational and lovely than a post-it note folded in half or the bookstore receipt, right?
Book Plates
For the reader who just can’t stop loaning out her whole library, I recommend these lovely adhesive book plates. They can be adhered to the inside cover of your books where you can sign your name.
Book Dart Line Markers
A great stocking stuffer idea, these Bookmark Line Markers work great when you don’t want to write in a book or you want to remember the spots where you marked a favorite quote or an impactful point. I use these most often with nonfiction books, but I also love to mark favorite quotes in fiction books so I can write them down later.
Blue Light Glasses
These Blue Light Glasses won’t help with books, but they will help with reading on the computer, iPad, or certain Kindles that emit blue light. This is the perfect gift for loved ones who are always reading articles or searching for the next book late into the night. I haven’t studied all the research, but I believe the blue light is not great for our eyesight or our sleep. These will help!
Bookshelf Pouch
This adorable pencil pouch pairs perfectly with your TBR stack. Your friend or loved one can keep all of her favorite pens, highlighters, book darts, post-it notes, and bookmarks all in one place, ready for the next dive into words.
Bookish Tote Bag
This Kate Spade tote features a stack of books including Pride and Prejudice, Gulliver’s Travels, and Through the Looking Glass. (I’m not normally a big KS gal, but I’d be happy if this ended up beneath my Christmas tree!) It would make a great bag for book shopping or toting around stacks of books when you can’t just pick one to bring.
A Book Journal
If you have an inkling that your reader friend might like to keep track of her reading, then a book journal makes wonderful gift. A book journal to track all your reading habits. She also has one for young readers.
Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books by Tony Reinke
This book is a practical guide based on the Gospel for creating a balanced reading diet. Tony Reinke encourages readers to read a little bit of everything–fiction, non-fiction, Christian, and secular–and equips you to get the most out of every book. This is not a scary academic dive but an approachable book for people who love to read and even for those who aren’t sure about reading.
Games and Puzzles
In my experience, readers also love games and puzzles. Sometimes. If yours does, then here are a few great gift ideas. This is a geeky language game based on Richard Dryer’s book Dreyer’s English. Here’s a great place for high quality wooden puzzles, and you can choose the number of pieces! And this “All the Books” puzzle would delight your bookish friend.
Bookish Subscriptions
For a gift that gives books all year long, you might consider a membership subscription service like the Book of the Month Club or an audio service like Audible (where you can gift an entire year or one book). New to me is LibroFm where you can purchase credit bundles and this benefits the local bookstore of your choice.
Kindle
If you’re looking for a more generous gift for the reader in your life, I definitely recommend a Kindle. For some, it’s not a replacement for physical books (the weight in your hands, the smell of the pages, the feel of the paper as you move through the story!), but it’s still a wonderful thing for traveling, reading without a light at night, and always having another book at the ready. I love to use my Kindle when reading in bed because it’s super lightweight.
Gift Card
One of the best gifts for the reader who has everything is a gift card to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or best of all, your local bookstore. I don’t know about you, but as a reader, I love browsing the shelves for my next adventure or learning experience. I am never disappointed with a giftcard to a bookstore. Maybe pair this with a local coffee shop gift card, so your reader can shop for books while they sip on a latte. Mm, lovely.
A Book
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without a book! If you’re stumped, you might find some inspiration to help you pick a book in this post, this post, or this post (if your reader is a little one).
Just for fun! If money is no object . . .
For fun, here’s where the wealthy might buy their bookish gifts. Check out this first edition of The Christmas Carol from the Rare & Antique Book Shop. And honestly, if you have this kind of cash, or even if you just have a few pennies, then I’ll humbly suggest a gift to a local charity. Here’s my favorite mission organization where the beautiful message of God’s love in Christ turns a bah humbug life into a redeemed one.
Looking for more ideas? Here are some of my favorite places to find gifts and gift ideas:
- Uncommon Goods. They have lots of unique things and you can search for “gifts for book lovers” or “gifts for cooks.” Whoever you’re shopping for, they’ll have something unique that you wouldn’t find at Target.
- Etsy: Of course, Etsy! Again, you can search for “gifts for book lovers” or “gifts for readers” to find anything you can imagine. Many things handcrafted or from small business owners like Carrot Top Paper Shop.
- One of my favorite bloggers/podcasters is The Modern Mrs. Darcy has oodles of lists and ideas and bookish talk.
Still looking for a fun idea? Check out these posts…
- 11 Thoughtful Gifts for Christians
- Meaningful, Heirloom Gift Ideas
- 6 Old-fashioned Gift Ideas for Spring
I hope you found this gift guide for book lovers helpful and inspirational as you begin your Christmas shopping (start early!). What else would you add? What do you think are the best gifts for readers? Happy Christmas shopping!
Pin this post for later!
