Giving gifts feels great, but shopping for them can be stressful. We’re here to help you reduce the anxiety and bring some of the fun back this holiday season. Our roundup of bookish gifts focuses on presents to entertain, delight, and inspire the family, friends, and colleagues on your list. And to help reduce the pressure on your wallet, items start at $10, and everything is under $50.
Gifts under $10
‘Read’ Earrings ($8.50)
LitJoy’s glittery red “Read” earrings are made of acrylic and metal alloy. Measuring just over 2.5 inches in length, they are a both bookish and stylish accessory.
‘Happy Books’ Seven Year Pen ($9.95)
The Happy Books black-ink ballpoint pen from Seltzer Goods in Asheville, North Carolina, won’t end up in a landfill when it runs out of ink. It’s refillable—a rarity these days for a ballpoint pen. But by the company’s estimation, you won’t be gifting the refill any time soon. They call their pens, made with recycled materials, “Seven Year Pens,” referring to how long the ink takes to run out.
Noname Book Club Gift Membership ($1–$10)
The Noname Book Club (founded by rapper Fatimah Nyeema Warner, who goes by Noname), chooses two books at a time by Black and Indigenous authors and other writers of color. The club’s chapters span the US, including inside prisons and jails. Noname sends incarcerated members of the book club the books for free and helps them take part in book discussions by mail. A Noname Book Club gift membership for $1, $2, $5, or $10 a month helps keep the club’s jail and prison outreach program thriving by helping to cover postage costs. Gift recipients can also enjoy extra perks, such as early access to the book announcements.
Gifts under $15
A Book You Can Clean Your Glasses With ($12)
Books and microfiber cloths both make the world a little clearer. These microfiber cloths from Nerdwax look like book covers while they clean dust and smudges from eyeglasses and digital devices. Choose from Alice in Wonderland, Frankenstein, Little Women, and several other titles.
One Thousand and One Nights: Pistachios and Apricot in Goat’s Milk Chocolate ($12)
The Middle Eastern folktales collection of the same name inspired the One Thousand and One Nights chocolate bar with pistachio, apricot, and goat’s milk made by Open Books Chocolates. Open Book offers 17 fair-trade chocolate interpretations of well-known titles. The bars can be found in a number of brick and mortar shops across the US, as well as online.
Literary Trivia ($12)
Chronicle Books’ Literary Trivia puts a bookish spin on game night, with 140 multiple-choice question cards about the characters, plot points, and authors of books from around the world. Weighing less than half a pound, this game easily goes wherever the party’s happening.
Gifts under $20
Open Book Dinner Plate ($18.95)
The Open Book Dinner Plate and other tableware pieces from the The Library of Congress celebrate the form of the book. In addition to the dinner plate, the ceramic collection features a dessert plate, cup and saucer, and platter. Each are available separately. Choose one piece or a mix to go with your gift recipient’s existing dinnerware.
101 Seeds for Library Joy ($19.99)
101 Seeds for Library Joy by Rebecca Hass (ALA Editions, 2024) imagines joy as a tiny seed that can be planted and grow in the library. Readers will find new ideas, approaches, and activities they can call on in the new year, whenever the day needs more connection, empowerment, or well-being.
Adult Book Checklist Bundle ($8–$19.99)
Each genre-specific recommended books checklist that Free Period Press has created is almost like having your own personal librarian. Librarians indeed provided input on the Adult Book Checklist Bundle ($19.99), which includes “50 Cozy Reads,” “50 LOL Reads,” and “50 Romance Novels.” Each checklist leaves space for readers to note the date they finished the book and to log a review. Single checklists ($8) and bundles ($14.99–$19.99) are also available for genres including LGBTQ+ fiction, science-fiction, tween and teen novels, and early-reader picture books.
Hemingway Soy Candle ($17 for the 4-ounce size)
Nightshift Wax Co., which makes the Hemingway Soy Candle in St. Petersburg, Florida, is one of the many small business working to get back on its feet after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The candle is named for author Ernest Hemingway, who lived his later years in the Sunshine State. The scent includes “old paper, wet ink, leather, and teakwood.”
Gifts under $25
Vintage ALA: Jogging Shoe Tote Bag ($20.49)
Fans of all things retro and runners who love reading will get a kick out of this Vintage ALA tote bag with the classic 1980s jogging shoe campaign logo and the slogan “Jog your mind—run to your library.”
Classic American Authors print ($21)
A great conversation piece for a living room or office, this illustrated chart of pays tribute to 12 notable American authors, including Ray Bradbury, Ralph Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Zora Neale Hurston. Below their portraits, hand-lettered text notes each author’s contribution to literature.
Marvel Super Graphic: A Visual Guide to the Marvel Comics Universe ($22.95)
Chronicle Books’ Marvel Super Graphic takes a deep dive into the data on the Marvel comics universe. Comic book lovers are in for hours of fascinating information depicted through beautiful infographics, from a map of Marvel countries and kingdoms to the Venn diagram of comic book catchphrase categories.
‘Everyone Is Welcome at the Library’ and ‘Todos son Bienvenidos a la Biblioteca’ T-Shirts ($24.95)
The bright yellow union-made Everyone Is Welcome at the Library T-Shirt and Todos son Bienvenidos a la Biblioteca T-Shirt from Raygun celebrate the library as a safe space. They both come in adult sizes XS–XXXL. Raygun also makes apparel for kids and infants; the “I Read Banned Books” T-shirt ($20) comes in children’s sizes and poet and activist June Jordon is quoted on the “We Are the Ones We’ve Been Waiting For” onesie ($20).
Gifts under $50
Personalized Book Embosser or Stamp ($24–$49.50)
Readers can keep track of books lent to friends and family with a personalized book embosser or stamp. Nine options are on offer for the center of the design and the “from the library of” text is fully customizable.
