I adore scrolling through online stores and adding all the pretty things that catch my eye to my wishlist. With holiday season around the corner, I’ve been looking through them all to figure out gifts for my partner. However, it turned out to be a bust as everything was book-themed and he is not as avid a reader. 

But everything was so pretty, so I figured I would at least share a few things that might make the perfect gift for a reader (or just plain book hoarder) in your life. 

Despite never having enough space on my bookshelves for bookends, they are a favourite of mine. The planter one would be perfect for a bibliophile who also owns seven succulents (unsurprisingly, me). There are also several options out there for fandom-specific bookends, like the Lord of the Rings one here.

I have to confess. There are around twenty odd mugs in my kitchen cabinet, which is nineteen more than is necessary considering there is only one person in the flat who drinks hot beverages of any kind (me). So, I might be biased when I say a book-themed mug is an amazing gift. It is extremely versatile. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate – yes to all of that. It can also double as a pen holder or a bookmark holder, which is even better for a booklover. I have an adorable TARDIS mug (a little too big for coffee) on my bookshelf that holds all my bookmarks, and I love it.

Sticky notes and tabs are brilliant stocking fillers, especially for serious readers and academics. Transparent sticky notes have upended the whole debate over whether or not it is appropriate for readers to write on the margins of books. I’ve been using them for the past six months to work through Cain’s Jawbone (which, by the way, is an excellent gift for a friend you want to drive mad). 

I bought The Ultimate Reading Challenge a while ago after spotting it on YouTube. I won’t lie – the gifts are not the best in quality. However, the prompts are pretty good, and the ‘book’ helped me climb out of a reading rut. Plus, it’s fun rewarding yourself with a little gift every time you finish a prompt. A more unconstrained option is a reading journal. No prompts, just well-organised sections to track your reading and jot down your opinions.

We’ve all heard of subscription boxes. There are several book-themed ones out there, some of which are quite expensive. For a more affordable option, there are several sellers who curate secondhand (sometimes even vintage) books along with other treats which add up to an amazing unboxing experience. 

Despite being a common ‘back to school’ item, pencil pouches are very useful to your average reader who probably has an unnecessarily large number of pens and pencils. But if it does feel too childish, tote bags will definitely be well-received. I love my tote solely because it can easily hold eight books (which is the maximum my local library allows me to borrow at any given time).  

I could go on, but I do have to end this post at some point. And that was a excellent half a day spent window shopping in the name of research.

Which reminds me, I still haven’t found a gift for my partner.