What’s great about being
a book lover, is it is usually something people know about you, whether they
are family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, or that guy that always takes
the same train as you.
We stack our books
messily and beautifully in our homes, we tell our colleagues about a crazy weekend
of reading and sipping tea, and we fit a chapter in during the bus ride.
The good thing about having
bookworm friends, is they’re very easy to buy for. The great thing about being a bookworm, is the number of
wonderful things out there made for us – getting crafted, written, painted,
etc.
The downside is the impact
on our bank accounts. We’ve all been there, which is why I’ve titled this post gifts, but, like, treat yo’ shelf.
1
Books
Obviously, we start with
books. Since I discovered Book
Depository, I have rarely strayed from it. You might have heard
of it, if not, this is your gift. It’s my number one place to go. Reason 1 –
great prices, much cheaper than most book stores. Reason 2 – free delivery
worldwide. For gift-giving, the receiver can make and share a wishlist. If you
want to make it a surprise but you don’t know what books they have read or
would like to read, check their Instagram, and then who they follow for
recommendations and, if they have one, their goodreads account. Or you can shop
by genre or author. If you’re really stuck but know a few of their favourites,
I suggest hard covers.
The only downside to Book
Depository for us Down Under, is it ships from the UK, and although the speed
of the delivery is not bad, you’ll still be waiting a week or so. If you’re
wanting to get the gift here sooner, I suggest Booktopia.
They have great prices and a flat shipping rate of $6.95 for anyone in
Australia and New Zealand, and they ship from Australia so quicker
delivery!
If you like it a bit more
traditional, there’s always a gift card from the local bookstore. The books will
cost a tad more, but the gift is the walking and browsing part. There’s a bit
of lost magic on those shelves.
2
Book Subscription Boxes
A favourite of mine, as this is the gift
that keeps on giving. There are heaps out there and lots of different kinds
depending on what they (or you) like to read: Fairy Loot
(YA), Tea
and Book Club (choose between a new or vintage book
box), Novel
Tea Book Club (books and tea, where could you go
wrong?), Cratejoy
(nearly endless options here), Owl
Crate (YA), The Unicorn Crate
(YA Fantasy), and if you want to check out what kinds of goodies you get in
each, search the tags on Instagram or Youtube for unboxings.
You
can decide how long you want the subscription for, or most will offer an option
of just one box. Some subscription boxes will continue to charge you, however,
if you don’t cancel.
I
had The YA Chronicles
and I was so thrilled with it, I never felt the need to venture out. Every
month, they deliver a newly released YA book and some goodies. The goodies
often came from small businesses, and there was always a healthy mix of items including
candles, tea, bookmarks, fanart, jewellery, etc. They are also based in Australia,
making them one of the few subscription boxes I could open before the spoilers reached
my Instagram. One of the best things, from my personal preference, is that you
pay upfront. No automatic charging, no need to cancel, just pay for how many
boxes you want from the beginning.
Don’t forget, you can
make up a Book Gift Box yourself which can be lots of fun. I did this once, for
my sister. It included two books (from my recommendation list), some tea from a
favourite shop of mine, a candle, and a bookmark, but you can fill yours with
chocolate, coffee, stationary, socks, anything!
3
Book related subscription boxes (without actual books)
Subscription boxes are so
popular at the minute, there seems to be something for everything. For
instance, subscription boxes can be book
themed without including any actual books. It sounds silly to write, but us
bookworms love our merchandise. Lootcrate.com includes a number of different
‘geeky’ subscription boxes, one of which is all things Wizarding World,
packed with a bunch of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts themed merch.
If tea might be their
thing, you can subscribe to a monthly tea box. The
Rabbit Hole offers this from Australia. It’s a little
pricey, but it’s hard to get passed a name like that! Lastly, Frostbeard
Studio offers a subscription box for themed candles! What?
Madness!
4
Art
I will probably talk
about Etsy
a
few times in this list, but this link is specifically for book-inspired art.
There are a whole bunch of different styles based on different quotes, with
handmade or digitally designed pictures and quotes. One of my favourite
collections I have found here are The
Harry Potter Vintage Movie Posters, beautiful art that’s a
little different from what you might find anywhere else.
5
Candles
Candles are always a
great go-to for book lovers. Like tea, they just go nicely with books. There
are a heap of great book-themed candles you can purchase, if you want to
venture further than your local Dusk.
Frostbeard
Studios is one of my favourites, with a great selection of
book-themed candles, from ‘Old Books’ to ‘Pumpkin Juice’. They have Wax Melts, too,
if that’s preferred, plus beautiful packaging. If you’re looking for some more
specific to your friend/parent/sibling/partner/acquaintance, then I can suggest
Library
Lights on Etsy, which have a great selection of character
themed scents. Not to mention, candles are a great addition to your book-themed
Instagram pictures. All about that nice packaging.
6
Makeup
This sometimes sounds odd
to people, like makeup and books don’t go together, and I thought I was out of
the majority by loving both, but I discovered a few websites and shops that
haven proven I am not alone in this. Storybook Cosmetics
is run by three sisters passionate about all-things-geek and makeup. You may
have seen their wand inspired makeup brushes (or a knock-off product as these
quickly became very popular). Their original line sold out, but you can check
out their second line here.
You can also find other gems in their brush line like Secret
Garden, Quill
and Ink Eyeliner, What's
in a Name? Rose Brushes, or BullsEYE
Brush Set (they’re shaped like arrows and come in a little
quiver!)
If you’d prefer some
colours to play with, you can purchase one of their eye shadow palettes, like Wizardry
and Witchcraft, or the whimsical and colourful Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory palette. Both come shaped and
designed like books! So you can stack your bathroom shelf as you do your
bookshelf!
If you prefer lipstick,
check out their Liquid
Lipsticks in which you can find Adventure, Fantasy, Horror and Romance. (Horror being my personal favourite). If the Wizardry and
Witchcraft Eye Shadow Palette struck your fancy, don’t forget to accompany it
with Wizardry
and Witchcraft Liquid Lipsticks in shades Merlin, Potions, Sorcerer and Salem.
Some of their products
are still in the works, but you can follow them on Instagram for updates and
makeup inspiration.
For all the classic
horror fans out there, LASplash Cosmetics have their Classic
Horror Collection currently in stock with lipsticks, lashes
and eyeshadow inspired by fictional legends such as Frankenstein, Dracula and
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde. They also carry a great range of Lip Products
with stand-out names such as Athena,
Aurora, Dragon’s Blood, Villainous, Queen of Hearts, Nagini, Mermaid’s Tale, Sirius, and Poison Apple. Continuing
with our favourite wizard, you can purchase Felt Tip Liners named Lumos, Potion,
Wizardry and Cloak, or their Wickedly
Divine Eyeliner with shades such as Luna,
Hermione, Goblet, Divination, Half-Blood, Dementor, Patronus and Phoenix.
For a little extra, you
can purchase Lipliner shade Calligraphy,
or their aptly named Dauntless lashes
and mascara. Not to mention their recent Gatsby
line.
Or if you want something
simpler, a Book
Themed Makeup Bag never goes astray, and if they’re not
fussed on makeup, hey, hey, it’s a pencil
case.
7
Tea
Tea, yes, wonderful tea.
The perfect companion to any book. Let’s all have some tea, and some biscuits,
in our tea cups.
Check
out Literary Tea
for some book themed tea. Or Literary
Tea Company on Etsy for ‘Tea Potions’, a themed ‘Tea
Caddy’ and themed ‘Tea Infuser’. If you’re after some book mugs to go with it, try The
Literary Gift Company (actually, try them for a lot of things,
they have some great stuff).
8
Book Sleeves
If you’re like me and
didn’t know these existed, you might have the sudden desire to buy ten of them.
Etsy has a huge number of listings of these great gifts including Alice
in Wonderland Book Sleeve or a simple Fox
Book Sleeve. They’re the perfect companion for
keeping your books in good condition while they sit in your bag until you need
it.
9
Book marks
If you decide on a book
subscription box, it’s guaranteed to make the bookmark collection grow. Ink and Wonder
have a beautiful collection of wooden bookmarks, with quotes from popular
books, Disney films, and film and television. I cannot emphasise enough
how beautiful these deigns are, and you can check out their other items like
pins and accessories, not to mention, yes – a subscription box.
If you’d prefer, you can
find character inspired magnetic bookmarks from Etsy, at 1107
Studio shop. Some of my other favourite designs come from Behind the Pages,
which not only sells bookmarks but a heap of other book-themed gift-worthy
products.
10
Apparel
If you find yourself
searching for bookish gifts, you’ll probably come across Litographs.
From scarves to tote bags, you can purchase designs from over 200 titles. The
designs found on Litograph are made using text from the stories you love, and are
customisable, depending on the colour that suits best. You can find more apparel
on Redbubble or Society6, and more details about those two below.
11
Apparel, home décor, stationary, stickers, device case,
and more!
Redbubble
and Society6
needed their own point. Both sites have heaps of items you can choose from:
pillows, t-shirts, stationary, etc, all printed with original designs. You can
find artwork from your favourite classics, to new releases. Designs range from
simple quotes to fanart. And if your gift-receiver (or yourself) are fans of
the Raven Boys, like me, well aren’t we lucky Maggie Stiefvater has her own
Society6 store where you can purchase her Original Art.
12
Pins
Pins!
Bookish pins for that bag you take wherever you go. Pins are popular at the
minute so there are a number of stores to check out such as Literary
Emporium on Etsy, the
aforementioned Ink
and Wonder,
and Punky
Pins
(which have a large number of pins about books, tea, coffee, body positivity,
self-love, cats, and some sassy phrases that represent all of us).
13
Jewellery
The
Literary Gift Company have a great selection of book themed
accessories. Rory
the Fox Handmade is a gorgeous Etsy shop with a number of
‘geeky’ themed necklaces. I was lucky enough to come across this shop during my
first Supanova experience and have kept an eye on it ever since. If you want something
with a little more edge try Bookish
Adventures Etsy shop for metal stamped bracelets featuring
quotes from your favourite stories.
14
Bath bombs and soap
Yep, this is a thing. Geeky Clean offers a number of geek-inspired cosmetic items
including Sorting
Bath bombs, The Dreggs Bath
Bomb,
Butterscotch
Beer Vegan Lip Balm,
and Dragon
Breath Fabric Spray. They also have a range of products
outside of the ‘Bookish Realm’ including Pokemon and D&D. Behind the Pages
stores a beautiful range of soaps, lip balms, body milk, body scrub, lotion,
perfume, face masks, shower gel – all inspired by popular characters. My
favourites include Manon
Lip Balm, the Mia Lip Balm (which, unfortunately, was discontinued,
sorry I brought it up), and Rhysand
Goats Milk Soap. There are many I haven’t tried yet but
the selection is huge – from Mister Kindly, to Draco, to Lila, to Ronan, and
the packaging is beautiful (Instagram worthy).
If
you found a gift for that bookish someone in your life, well, I’m glad. If I’ve
just given you more ways to spend that hard-earned money, well I’m not sorry.
If there’s products or stores you like, let me know in the comments. I would
love yet another place I can spend days obsessively window shopping for until I
finally cave and buy the thing.
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