Gift Ideas for the Book Lover
Christmas is a time of gift giving, family bonding, home cooked meals, and…reading? For some people, YES! I am one of those nerds that prefers a Barnes and Noble gift card to a Sephora one. My name is Ashley and I am a bookstagrammer in addition to a lover of all things reading! I’m here to bring you gift ideas for the book lover in your life.
My booksta (@ash.dio.reads) has allowed me to connect with authors and publishers from all over the world, and has given me a platform to connect to so many like minded people. Reading has been something I have loved since I was a bracefaced, Edward obsessed, Twilight nerd (as we all were). I have to admit, reading became a huge trend in 2020, and I think we can credit that to spending almost an entire year inside of our houses.
Today’s Post: What to Buy for the Book Lover
The good news? With the huge increase in creators on booksta and booktok, you have probably seen or experienced how reading is the best hobby! If you have a book lover in your life and you want to spoil them this upcoming holiday season, get ready!
In today’s article, we are going to cover all things giftable in the world of books:
- Book Subscriptions as a Gift
- Bookish Gifts (something other than a book itself to buy for a book lover)
- Some of my favorite reads
- Preorders to get excited for
Give a Book Subscription as a Gift
Book subscriptions are one of the most fun parts of being a reader. There are tons of subscription services out there for food, clothing, pets…. So of course there are some really great ones out there for books, too! I have two favorites that I get each month that I highly recommend for you.
BOTM is probably the most popular book subscription service out there. They are known for their curated section of new (and early!) releases and low prices. If you know someone who constantly has their nose in a book, giving them the gift of BOTM will save them money in the long run, even after your gift runs out.
How this Book Subscription Works
The great thing about BOTM is that each month you get five new releases (some of which aren’t even released to the general public yet) to choose to be your “book of the month” (creative, I know).
Here is where it gets good. Once you select the book that came with your subscription, you can “add on” up to 3 other books at an extremely discounted price! If for some reason you / your gift receiver isn’t interested in any of the books available, you/they can skip that month at no cost to you. There is no limit to the amount of months you can skip, so the entire subscription is risk free!
How to Give the Gift of BOTM
Get 33% off your first month by clicking here to try it yourself!
If you are wanting to give a subscription to a friend (or significant other… hint hint), there are three month, six month, and 12 month packages available. Using my link (click here) still gets you a discount when you sign up. At the end of the package, you and your recipient will both be given the option to renew. If it is a gift for someone that is typically tough to shop for, this could be a great yearly thing!
Use ASHDIOREADS for 15% off your first month
The Book Drop is another fun subscription service. It surprises you monthly with a book in your chosen genre, while supporting indie bookstores at the same time!
This subscription service is based out of Bethany Beach Books in Delaware, which is a woman-owned independent bookstore. Aside from supporting small businesses, the fun part about this subscription is that after you pick your preferred genre (or two), you get a surprise book in the mail with a description of what it’s about and a fun bookmark!
Gift a Book Drop Subscription
Once you choose your genre(s) of choice, you can choose either a 1 month ($17.99), 3 month ($52.99), 6 month ($104.99), or 12 month plan ($210). These books ship out and arrive mid-month. I personally love this because BOTM arrives at the beginning of the month, so this gives me a little surprise in the mail a few weeks apart! To get 15% off your first month, use code ashdioreads at checkout!
Bookish Gifts
There are so many cute and personalized gifts you can get on sites like Etsy, where everything is handmade and/or personalized! Some of my favorite things that I have found on Etsy range from custom prints to personalized embossers.
Click on the photo or the caption below to see more details.
Favorite Books Print
These custom prints can be made to showcase your favorite books. This is a great gift, especially if you frame it! It shows that you pay attention to your friend’s favorite books, or that you’re just super good at stalking their Goodreads account.
Custom Book Embosser
If you have a friend who has a somewhat large collection of books, or sometimes jokes about their “home library”, consider getting them a custom book embosser! This cool gadget can be customized with your friend’s name or nickname, and once assembled, they can stamp the first page of every book they own to make it more personalized. Personally, I think these are the coolest little things, especially if you end up donating some books in the future! It would be a fun surprise to whoever gets their hands on those books next.
Bookish Clothing
Reading requires a cozy atmosphere. Think a warm-light lamp, a scented candle, and a comfy sweatshirt. Minimal bookish apparel is a major trend right now, and I found some cute sweatshirts that would make for a great gift!
Bookends
Bookends are used to display books on a shelf in an eye-catching way. With so many beautiful options online, you can find any kind of bookend to match your home’s aesthetic! Click the pictures below to see more details about any of the items listed.
Resin Bookmarks
Bookmarks are a vital part of reading. If you still dog-ear your pages, I am sorry, but we cannot be friends. I will use anything: a bag of chips, a used tissue, a candy wrapper….anything, before I intentionally crease a page in my book to save my spot. Anyway, if you’re like me and love a good bookmark, consider getting a beautiful resin bookmark for you or your bookish friend from Etsy!
Some of the Best Books for People who Love to Read
One of my favorite things ever is to recommend books to my friends and family. That is the whole reason why I made my book-instagram! I love discussing reads, even if someone didn’t like it as much as I did.
I am going to link some of my all time favorite reads and their synopsis, as well as some reads that are yet to come out but are highly anticipated.
Some of my Favorite Reads
This is one of my all time favorite books, if not my FAVORITE book ever. I remember I read this on a plane and finished before I landed…that’s how engrossed I was! There is an amazing movie adaptation with Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried, but the book is even better than the film! Told in the POV of the golden retriever main character, Enzo, this book explores love, loss, and family dynamics in a way that only a loving and loyal canine can.
Wow. I think about this book everyday. I mean, anything by the author, Christina Lauren, is bound to be good. However, this book absolutely blows any other book in the contemporary romance genre out of the water (just my hot take opinion).
If you love a good friend to lovers/ second chance trope, then this book is for you! Aside from the sweet romance, it’s so much more. It’s a story about family, grief, firsts, and heartbreak. This story is simple in a way that the author didn’t need to come up with an insane plot and flashy characters to make their reader feel comforted and cozy. It’s just beautiful as is. You have to pick up this book!
If you love scary movies and true crime podcasts, chances are you are probably a fan of thrillers as well! The Whisper Man by Alex North is a go-to thriller that I will always suggest to people. It follows a single dad who moves to a new town with his young son to start fresh after his wife’s passing. Young boys begin going missing and talk of a “whisper man” starts to surface around the small town. I can’t say too much or I will give it away, so make sure to give this spooky read to your thrill-seeking friends!
I am sure you have heard of the terrible but widely publicized Stanford Rape Case, where Brock Turner raped an unconsious woman at a party back in 2015. The woman in this incident remained anonymous for some time, but when the case went to trial, she decided to take a stand. She went viral after her victim impact statement and developed a massive following for doing everything in her power to hold Turner accountable. Since then, she has helped hundreds of sexual assault victims with her writing, her mentorship, and her online platform where she has a multitude of resources to help people seeking assistance in recovery. Her book, “Know My Name,” is an amazing memoir of her experience from before the rape to after the trial. This book is not only beautiful, but also SO important!
Books You need to Pre Order
If you pre-order a book for someone, it’s like a Christmas gift when it arrives on their doorstep months down the line! I quite literally always have pre-orders coming in the mail. Each time one finally arrives on my doorstep, it’s like Christmas morning all over again!
Release date: January 18, 2022
This is a highly anticipated read from the queen of contemporary fiction, Mrs. Colleen Hoover. I don’t know too much about this book, but anything by CoHo is worth a read. This story follows a young mother going through some hardships and is in need of a shot at redemption. She returns to the town where her daughter lives in hopes of rebuilding that relationship, but gets caught up in a whirlwind romance that could ruin everything she is working to restore.
Release date: March 8, 2022
The author of this book, Greer Hendricks, has written some of my favorite thrillers, including “The Wife Between Us” (which is so so so good). He is one of the top Goodreads authors in his category, and you really cannot go wrong with his writing. This thriller follows a couple who seek the help of world-renowned therapist, Avery Chambers, to help fix their marriage. When Chambers enters their life, though, things take a turn for the worse, and their marriage seems to not be the only thing that they are bound to lose.
Release date: May 3, 2022
You guys, Emily Henry is like, MY FAVORITE rom-com writer. No lie. She has the most relatable, hilarious, contemporary romance reads with just the right amount of fun and spice…I. Love. Her. After major success with “People We Meet on Vacation” and “Beach Read,” Emily Henry has another book coming out in May 2022 about a literary agent and an editor and their tumultuous…. relationship? These two buttheads disagree about almost everything under the sun, but they have to work together for the sake of their careers. There is not too much of a synopsis of this book online yet, but I know it’s going to blow my mind.
