The little bookish gift guide

Getting presents for people is my favorite part of the holiday season, and of course, I think bookish presents are the most fun. To share the joy, I'm posting this little holiday gift guide, the first part of which is partly inspired by something cool I saw on YouTube: If You Liked This. I've picked out a few popular books and paired each of them with a lesser-known book, so if someone on your list liked one, they might also be interested in the other. I've tried to point out pretty editions where possible, to maximize the thrill of unwrapping! The second part of the post has some more generic, but still bookish, types of gifts that I've had luck with before. Clicking on the images will take you to the Goodreads page (or the Etsy page in some cases).

For the lover of space opera

If you know someone who loves Star Wars but hasn't read Dune, get them Dune! It's the darker (and more subversive) forerunner of the Star Wars trilogy. Shown above is the beautiful Folio Society edition (if I were to ever get an FS book, it would be that one), but you can get the regular paperback for a much lower price, pretty much anywhere. If they've already read Dune, get them The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge. It won the Hugo award some years ago, but then went out of print - but was luckily re-released this past October. Like Dune, it deals with themes of immortality and ecology, but in a way all its own that also interestingly foreshadows certain things in Star Wars.

For the young bibliophile unafraid of ghosts

 

One of the things that people seem to love about The Book Thief is how it explores the power of reading even in difficult circumstances. A book with somewhat similar themes is Awake and Dreaming by Canadian author Kit Pearson. It's about a young girl named Theo who escapes into literature and daydreams to get away from her lonely and impoverished life. I don't want to spoil it, but I'll mention that it comes to have a somewhat supernatural element. It is one of my absolute favorite young adult/middle grade books.

For the urban fantasy adventurer

In many of Neil Gaiman's stories, the fantastical is just around the corner from reality, and the world can be very dark although it's never completely devoid of light. If that sort of story appeals, then I would recommend Falling in Love with Hominids by Nalo Hopkinson. It is a short story collection that spans multiple genres, from horror to sci-fi to fairytale.

For the internet enthusiast

.... Which I guess accounts for all of us. It seems that the internet and virtual reality are becoming increasingly popular topics for sci-fi in the last few years, especially with the the arrival of Ready Player One. If you're interested in these visions of how computer-aided interconnectedness will shape our future, check out The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster. This novella explores a future where people turn to computers for knowledge, solace, food, everything. Blogs, Skype, YouTube, GrubHub, all imagined by E.M Forster in the year 1910. This isn't the lightweight joyride of Ready Player One, but a thoughtful and necessary complement to it.

For the traveler

 

Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories that focus on the many ways in which immigrants experience "otherness". The Arrival, by Malaysian-Australian illustrator Shaun Tan, is a graphic novel that takes on the same themes, but in a surreal setting. The story is told entirely through images rather than words. People who enjoy how Lahiri creates subtle, telling details in her prose might appreciate a similar quality in Tan's illustrations. And those illustrations are seriously beautiful.

For the one who doesn't mind some stressful reading

I'm sure that's not the best way of describing it, but the feeling of being trapped and subjugated that pervades The Handmaid's Tale (the Folio Society edition is actually affordable this month!) is very much present in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Shown is the gorgeous new Vintage paperback edition. 

For the Potter fan...

...I don't think the world needs another recommendation based on Harry Potter, but I'll point you to my list on the subject just in case. They're mostly focused on magical eduction, and they all gave me a little bit of a Potter fix. Each is a great read for wintertime.

Other bookish gifts

I've given and received a lot of notebooks over the years. I love pretty notebooks, but have a weird inability to write in ones that are too ornate. The brand that I found to strike the best balance is Leuchtturm 1917. They have a clean, beautiful design inside and out, combined with a lot of practical features: numbered pages, table of contents, pockets, and a bookmark ribbon.

Bookends come in a huge number of shapes and sizes. A few years ago I gave my mother, a bird lover, a pair of bookends in the shape of a quail family. I also like the idea of getting bookends that spell someone's initials.

Everyone has something that they're passionate about, and the chances are that there's a beautiful reference book to match it. This might sound weird, but I think books like these can make great gifts for children who have particularly enthusiastic interests. The encyclopedias of dogs, cats, and horses that I received as a child are still some of my most treasured books.

Bookmarks can be super cute stocking-stuffers. As long as the recipient isn't someone like me, who loses them constantly. :)

So tell me, what are some bookish gifts that you're looking forward to giving?