Samantha Schoech is a writer focusing on gifts. She spends her time finding things that combine quality, beauty, usefulness, and delight.
Although it may seem counterintuitive, buying books for your favorite book lover can be tricky. They’ve usually got that part covered with a teetering TBR (to be read) pile. But still, one aims to support this noble pastime. Our favorite gifts make no assumptions about preferred genre or taste: There’s a lap blanket for linguaphiles, a bookish baseball hat that’s sublime in its simplicity, and a candle meant to smell like an intoxicating old library. Here’s to inspiring, supporting, and enhancing the joy of turning the page.
Need more gift ideas for book lovers? Check out our guide to the best reading lights, our favorite book subscription boxes, and a DIY-book service, Storyworth, that editors love.
Bookish burn
Exquisitely elegant but expensive, this black wax candle has notes of birchwood, leather, and cinnamon. Though its scent is said to evoke an old library, when the candle is lit, it’s actually subtle and lovely.
No one needs an exorbitantly priced candle that claims to smell like an old library. Yet, as a gift, Byredo’s Bibliothéque Candle is a sublime offering, especially for a bibliophile. Housed in a smoked black glass jar, which is handmade in France, the candle is intended to evoke leather-bound books, parchment, and history. Really, though, it smells lightly fruity, like an orchard in the spring, supported by weightier scents like birchwood and patchouli. The opaque jar is almost heirloom-quality—supervising editor Hannah Morrill now uses hers to house makeup brushes. Our guide to the best scented candles has other (less pricey) options that are equally transporting.
Reader’s tee
A pre-shrunk, 100% ring-spun cotton tee printed with the booklover’s bedtime mantra is a welcome wardrobe staple for the literati.
The Inkwell Threads One More Chapter Tee identifies sleep-deprived book worms in a crowd. And considering this is a novelty tee, the quality is great: It’s pre-shrunk and cut from ring-spun cotton (a long-staple cotton spinning process that creates fine, smooth fabric). All sizing is unisex. Note, however, that because it’s individually printed, it can take a while to arrive.
Literary listening
This audiobook service has a similar fee structure and selection to others we’ve tried, but each purchase supports a local bookstore. Plus, the in-app recommendations are a cut above the average algorithm.
If your book lover has more time to listen than read, consider a Libro.fm Gift Bundle of credits for audiobooks. Libro.fm stands apart from services like Audible because each purchase supports an indie bookstore of one’s choice. One credit buys one audiobook, and bundles are available for 2 to 24 credits at a time. There are tons of recommendations on the Libro.fm site, including nuanced, helpful lists compiled by real booksellers.
Bibliophile’s blanket
Microfleece blankets are printed with up to 30,000 words from more than 200 classics, including Frog & Toad and Pride & Prejudice.
Litograph Throw Blankets feature thematic designs that are created using blocks of text from more than 200 classic books. All blankets are white, printed with a choice of up to 11 inks, and the feel is more luscious and sheepskin-like than with most fleece blankets we’ve tried. Looking at it from a few steps back, The Princess Bride blanket shows Inigo Montoya, but get closer, and you can actually read William Goldman’s original text. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes depicts a silhouette of the great detective, rendered in Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1882 text. The company also makes shower curtains, tote bags, pillows, and more, but the throws are the best option for curling up with a good book. Custom orders are available, and though they don’t feature a thematic design, the simple block-text blanket would make a wonderful gift for a writer (you’ll just need a file with up to 20,000 of their words).
Illustrated stacks
Your favorite bibliophile will love this artful, colorfully illustrated compendium of book stacks and other bookish ephemera from artist Jane Mount.
May be out of stock
Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany is the book lover’s equivalent of a design junkie flipping through Architectural Digest or a fashionista thumbing through Vogue. Jane Mount’s whimsical tome features aspirational and deeply satisfying illustrations of books, book stacks, collections, and stores. Mount curates her paintings thematically—think “Book Club Darlings” and “Formative Faves”—and each stack serves as a helpful and beautiful book-recommendation list. And there are other book-adjacent delights that bibliophiles would appreciate, like drawings of famous fictional meals, author workspaces, and charming bookstore cats.
Say it loud
This non-gusseted cotton canvas bag is a simple, sturdy vessel for carrying books and proudly declaring one’s passion.
Encourage the book nerds in your life to be loud and proud about their love. The flat Out of Print Book Nerd Floral Tote measures 15 by 17 inches (about the size of a large laptop), and it has a long, 11-inch shoulder strap and one interior pocket. If you’re confident enough in the recipient’s literary preferences, you could also fill it with a big book haul before giving it to them.
Reading tracker
With this hardcover journal, which can be personalized for free, your favorite bibliophile can keep track of reading lists, opinions, and reactions.
Your favorite book lover might think they can remember every book they’ve read, but they likely don’t—especially if they’re truly voracious. The 192-page Joy Reading Journal helps readers track reading lists and jot down thoughts, ratings, and impressions of each book. There’s space to review 32 books and eight pages of reading wish lists, so this is a more tactile and lasting keepsake than a spreadsheet or an Instagram grid. It comes in 11 different design-friendly colors (with free personalization on the cover). If the first journal goes over well, it could make a lovely annual gift.
Team author
These unisex crewneck sweatshirts bear the names of famous writers in cool block letters. But only four authors are featured, so this is a stylish yet limited tribute.
Sports fans rep with jerseys, while Swifties and the Beehive collect concert merch. The best option we’ve found for bookish types is the Loup Author Sweatshirt, a perfect gray crewneck emblazoned with black block letters. Though the excellent options are limited (current designs include J. Didion, N. Ephron, J. Baldwin, and T. Morrison), the sizing isn’t: It ranges from XS to 2X. These sweatshirts are printed in Brooklyn; if a specific design is sold out, email to get on the list for the next batch.
Illuminati
This chic, compact device offers the most light settings of all our picks. And it has a power indicator, so you know when to charge it.
Chances are good that the book lover in your life stays up late reading or reads in dimly lit tents, rooms, and cars. Help them pursue their passion and preserve their eyesight with a personal light source. The tiny Glocusent Bookmark Style Reading Light is our favorite book light because it’s so lightweight and easy to carry. It twists and adjusts, so the light covers a full page, and it has simple buttons for changing the brightness and temperature of the lighting. This lamp is so small it can clip to a paperback without weighing it down, and it folds flat to fit in a pocket. It comes in five cute colors.
Parlour game
In this interactive literary game, players must write convincing fake first lines of famous books.
A few years ago, I was given this game (designed by actress Daryl Hannah), and it has since become my favorite post-dinner party game. For each round of Liebrary, a different “lie-brarian” draws a card and reads the title, author, and synopsis of a classic, such as Catch-22, The Wind in the Willows, or The Hound of the Baskervilles. The other players then write a fake, but plausible, first line. When the librarian reads them all out loud, high hilarity—along with some real head-scratching—ensues. Steps along the board are earned by either faking out the other players with your believable opening line or voting for the correct one; bonus points for cracking up your opponents. Unfortunately, Liebrary is not available in most stores, but it can be ordered online and is often found on eBay.
Bragging-rights poster
This scratch-off chart depicts 100 must-read novels, from Don Quixote (1605) to Girl, Woman, Other (2018). It’s a visual flex for an avid reader.
Deciding what to read next can be hard, especially for book clubs. But the Pop Chart Scratch-Off Print (100 Essential Novels)—half reading list, half show-off list—could help. Once your book-loving pal has read a book, they can scratch off the gray coating to reveal the colorful cover art underneath. Maybe your reading recipient will tackle them in order, or maybe they’ll point randomly to a book with eyes closed. No matter how they choose, the well-curated list of 100 great, classic, and often less-predictable novels will always point toward a fantastic read (or re-read).
A book of their choice
When you purchase from this online book vendor, you also support a favorite local bookseller.
A gift card will allow your bookish friend to pick out exactly what they want to read. With a Bookshop.org Gift Card, they can also choose the indie bookstore they’d like to buy from and support. If they can’t choose just one indie store, Bookshop has a general fund it divides among all participating shops. So far, it’s raised more than $30 million for the cause. Like the real brick-and-mortar bookstores it supports, Bookshop.org has sections for browsing, best-seller lists, and bookseller recs.
Bookish ball cap
When your favorite bibliophile wears this adjustable cotton cap (from a beloved indie bookstore in Brooklyn), they can show the world they’re Team Books.
The Books Are Magic Hat is as cute as a rosebud, and it also offers literary cachet since it represents the beloved Books Are Magic independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Owned by novelist Emma Straub (a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient), Books Are Magic celebrates all things bookish, fun, playful, and community-oriented. The cap, which comes in five colors and has an adjustable brass buckle, has “Books” embroidered on the front and “Are Magic” on the back. It’s simplicity personified, and even though it comes in adult sizes, Hannah’s 6-year-old successfully stole and joyfully wears hers.
Books on the regular
This original subscription service has members choose a book from six or seven basic, albeit well curated, options each month.
Book of the Month is one of our favorite book subscription services for those who prefer an element of control. Each month, this service offers readers a choice among six or seven recently released hardcovers in a range of genres, including romance, mystery, sci-fi, narrative nonfiction, and literary or historical fiction. This service is not personalized, and it tends toward the commercial, but there are often some literary gems. BOTM requires members to use the app or website each month to make their choice, but it’s easy to skip a month or to cancel a membership; $20 a month includes shipping for one BOTM-branded hardcover. Subscribers can get up to two additional books per month, for about $17 each. If this service doesn’t feel quite right, we recommend others in our guide to book subscription boxes.
We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.
This article was edited by Hannah Morrill and Jennifer Hunter.
Meet your guide
Samantha Schoech
Except for the time she gave a boyfriend her mother’s old toaster for Christmas, staff writer Samantha Schoech has a reputation as an excellent gift giver. She lives in San Francisco with two teens, two cats, a geriatric betta fish, and a bookseller husband. Her first book of short stories, My Mother’s Boyfriends, is coming out in 2024.
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