If you have a bookworm in your life, you know that they absolutely love receiving books underneath the Christmas tree. After all, the chance of them leaving the house without a book, or several, in their bag is highly unlikely.
The obvious gift for an avid reader, therefore, is most likely to be a heavy tome, the latest gripping thriller, or perhaps a classic love story. There is just one problem with this.
Do you know whether the book you are about to pick up from the bookshop is one that they haven’t already read? Is it a book they are guaranteed to enjoy? Have you considered that their already bulging bookshelves and ‘to be read’ pile might need to be finished first? (Although on a side note, this is a worry that will keep your bookworm up at night!)
Do not panic!
We have created a list of perfect presents that will help indulge your bookworm’s passion for literature while providing you, the sender, with an alternative gift option to the usual book haul.
15 Gifts every bookworm wants this Christmas (2020)
Buy your Scratch Poster here
#1 Scratch Posters
Everyone loves a good list. Whether it is a checklist of things to achieve by a certain age, a tally of countries visited, or a good, old-fashioned collection of reading material to get through; when faced with a challenge we all want to succeed.
Scratch posters are therefore the perfect gift. Not only are bookworms obsessed with books, but we are also obsessed with lists and have a fear of missing out (FOMO) when it comes to making sure that we are keeping up with fellow bibliophiles. Challenges that we set ourselves each year through a book club or on a platform like Goodreads are great but, it doesn’t detract from the fact that we want to appear to be well-read.
Scratch posters offer bookworms a visual list to achieve, and normally included classics titles or books written by an author with considerable talent.
#2 Yoshi Bags and Accessories
Books, books, books – we are obsessed with them. No longer do we just want to see books in libraries we now want a bookish lifestyle to match and that includes the accessories we wear.
Yoshi has taken this obsession and created a whole line of bags and accessories for book lovers to swoon over. With a selection of bags, purses, pencil cases, and keyrings, whether you are looking for something to match formal work attire, or are after something more unusual to stand out from the crowd; Yoshi’s designs are going to grab a book lover’s attention.
#3 Book Gift Sets
Not quite completely book free, these book sets from Literary Emporium not only contains a classic book to read, but they also include a stylish t-shirt and an enamel pin.
If you don’t want to purchase the set then the t-shirts, along with sweatshirts and other bookish memorabilia are available individually which means you can tailor your gift to suit the book nerd you are buying for.
#4 Book Therapy Course
For those serious about taking their book addiction to the next level, perhaps a course in how to become a bibliotherapist would appeal. Bibliotherapy uses the treatment of books to improve mental wellbeing and is something that many are choosing to turn to.
For those not wanting to do the course, a bibliotherapy session is also available meaning that your bookworm could fill in a questionnaire and receive a selected reading list completely dedicated to their own needs and reading preferences.
#5 Book Subscriptions
Subscription boxes have become more popular in recent years, and now you can purchase one containing pretty much anything considered a hobby or an essential beauty treat.
Book Subscription boxes are now also available and vary vastly. From romance to classic, fantasy to feminism you can now choose from one-off purchases to yearly memberships and you may receive boxes either monthly or quarterly.
Two of our personal favourites include The Wordy Traveler, which looks at literature from around the world while The Travelling Reader specialises in literature from around the UK and includes locally products gifts.
#6 Headphones
Books don’t just come in physical form anymore, audiobooks, along with podcasts, are also becoming more and more popular. Book lovers now enjoy being able to complete daily tasks or undertake fitness regimes while listening to their favourite books. Therefore not only are audiobook subscriptions a great festive present but for those wanting to splurge noise-cancelling headphones would be the ideal gift for those that love to listen to rather than read the written word.
#7 Reading journals
Journaling is the process of keeping a diary and while it used to be that people would keep a daily diary of events, today, journaling now encompasses so much more.
It has become an art form where people curate colourful pages of notes often including pictures on all manner of things including the books they read. The idea is that book nerds can write down their inner thoughts on not just the novels but also the characters and plot lines, as well as the feelings that the words on the page generate all within the pages of a beautiful book-themed journal.
Journaling, in general, is a form of self-care with mindfulness at its centre and is believed to increase memory and communication skills, while the idea behind book journaling is to retain more information about what you read.
#8 Bookish candles
Reading by candlelight may not be ideal, unless using a kindle with a backlight, but creating a relaxing atmosphere to read in is essential. You can now buy candles named after famous books and authors, or scents that have a bookish theme for those that love the smell of old books, bookstores, and libraries.
#9 Decorative Book Ends
No discerning bookworm’s collection is complete without a stylish set of bookends. Most book boffins bookshelves will be crammed full and overflowing, so it is highly likely that their collection will have spread across to other surfaces. Therefore, to keep their collection upright, a nice set of bookends could lead to Instagram-worthy cupboard tops.
#10 Luxury bookmarks
Bookworms are known for their versatility with bookmarks. From receipts to wrapping paper it is quite likely that you will find whatever is close to hand tucked inside their latest read but that doesn’t mean that a nice bookmark isn’t appreciated.
#11 Bookish T-shirts
Book fandom is real and nowhere is it more evident than in the choice of clothing that people choose to wear. T-shirts are now a favourite item of clothing for any hardcore book geek to highlight their fictional allegiance or to proudly promote their reading preferences to the world.
#12 Throw Blankets
With the weather turning, snuggling up under a thick throw blanket while drinking a frothy hot chocolate and delving into the pages of a book is the favourite past-time of a bookworm so why not make the throw blanket a literary-themed one.
#13 Sofa Cushions
Just as a t-shirt makes a statement, so too does the soft furnishing in one’s home. If you have already surrounded yourself with fine novels to read then chances are you would be extremely happy to receive some bookish sofa cushions to relax into.
#14 Kindle
I am not about to start a book v tech argument here but some people genuinely enjoy reading on a kindle. I for one have found that I benefit from having a device where I can load 100’s of books onto at any one time, making it far more convenient for me when travelling.
Bookworms no longer need to wait for a book to be delivered or to visit a bookshop when they have a kindle, all they need to do is switch on their Wi-Fi and any books ordered will automatically appear in their library. You can also subscribe to receive unlimited books each month.
#15 Book Sleeves
This is indulgent I know, but as someone who never leaves home without a book, I hate the fact that the front cover or pages can get damaged in my bag. That is until I received a couple of book sleeves last Christmas. Now, not only do I never go anyway without a novel, my novel never travels anywhere without being placed in a sleeve to protect it.
Of course, if you do decide to top up the library of books you book lover already has, that isn’t a bad thing either but hopefully this gift guide won’t be too mind-blowing but instead offer up some alternatives for the bookworm in your life this Christmas.
Are you a bookworm? What would you add to make this the ultimate Christmas list?
Disclaimer: Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through them, we receive a small commission.
If you are based within the UK or the US and intend to purchase books for the bookworm in your life this Christmas and would prefer to support independent bookshops, then you can find a full list of all our book suggestions on our bookshop page.
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