Despite popular belief, bookworms aren’t very easy people to buy presents for.
While they may be known to devour books of all shapes, genres and sizes, these are books they’ve actively chosen themselves. Filled with a sense of purpose and literary desire, they’ve made their way over to a local bookseller and browsed the stacks until they feel that magical click - this is the next book they are going to read.
Non-literary folk might find it difficult to search the stacks for a book their dear friend will actually like, and there’s nothing worse than a brand-new book sitting on a shelf unread.
The only comparable fear when buying a book for a literature-loving friend is that they will have already read the book before. That half-smile and dreaded, “Oh I love Donna Tartt – no, no, don’t worry! I don’t have this cover actually!” We can’t be buying dastardly duplicates for those who we claim to know and love.
Fear not, for there’s a better way to buy for bookworms. Think not about the book itself, but the accoutrements required to create the perfect reading atmosphere. When you picture a fairytale-like reading nook, what do you see?
We, for one, would start with an extra large candle - one that casts the ideal amount of light for late-night reading. Perhaps it has an aroma which elevates the natural scent of book pages, or maybe it brings the outside in by mimicking the smell of fresh midnight rain.
Next, we’d want to be tucked up in a fleece blanket, potentially even an electric one, with fluffy socks adorning our feet. If the candle isn’t providing the ultimate atmospheric lighting, your friend might benefit from an additional lamp which rests between the back few pages of their book.
Nevertheless, bookworms aren’t always at home when reading - contrary to the reputation librarian-types have garnered. Travel reading accessories are a surprisingly lucrative business, offering a brilliant array of aesthetically pleasing, themed and practical items to make reading books on the move an even more pleasant experience.
We’ve curated a selection of the best gifts for bookworms to buy now. Keep scrolling for literary goodness.
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Maison Margiela Replica Whispers in The Library Candle 165g
Finished in a frosted glass jar, this luxurious candle contains notes of vanilla, cedar, pepper and benzoin. The perfect gift for lovers of The Secret History and If We Were Villains, Maison Margiela’s Replica candle series seeks to capture memories of forgotten places and spaces between layers of wax. Whispers in The Library will bring forth an aroma of paper and waxed wood, as though you’re sat in an Oxford library in 1997.
Buy now £55.00, LOOKFANTASTIC
Classic Book 360 Degree Reading Light
Available in an array of classic literature covers with the option to create your own for just £8 more, this wonderfully calming reading light doubles up as a brilliant piece of décor for your literature-loving friend.
Buy now £39.96, NOTHS
Magicteam Sleep Sound White Noise Machine with 40 Natural Soothing Sounds
While we tend to lament the presence of rain, we can’t deny how relaxing the pitter-patter of droplets on our windows is when we’re tucked safely inside. If it doesn’t happen to be raining when you settle down to read, this brilliant white noise machine will certainly do the trick. Equipped with 40 naturally soothing sounds including waves, bonfires, crickets, rain and more, this handy little machine has both timed and continuous play settings.
Buy now £24.99, Amazon
Bright Shapes Index Tabs (Set of 2)
For those who find annotating books to be blasphemous, these lovely colourful index tabs are sure to be a backpack essential. A fantastic way to keep track of favourite quotes and passages before passing on a beloved book for a friend to read, sticky notes are a bookfiend’s best friend.
Buy now £16.00, Papier
Personalised Leather Corner Bookmark
These ingenious, personalised leather corner bookmarks prevent beloved page-savers from falling to the bottom of your bag – or worse – the tube platform. Offered in a range of calming hues including lilac, mint green and blush pink, these are going straight into our virtual basket.
Buy now £10.50, NOTHS
Papier Reading Journal
Believe it or not, this isn’t a special cloth-bound edition of an old French novel. It’s a beautifully crafted reading journal by Papier, designed specifically for personal reviews of books – with pages dedicated to ratings, wish lists and more.
Buy now £24.65, Papier
Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle
Get crafty with your cocktails thanks to Tim Federle’s cult classic literary-inspired recipe book. With drinks including The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose, The Last of the Mojitos, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margarita, Vermouth the Bell Tolls – and so much more.
Buy now £2.78, Amazon
Enamel Bookmark Bookworm
Did you really expect to click through to a gift guide for bookworms and not see an adorable, kitschy and oh-so-punny bookmark? No chance.
Buy now £30.00, Wolf & Badger
My Secret Library Book Nook DIY Kit
Featuring a miniature replica of a secret library with warm LED lighting hidden inside, this incredible book nook is sure to enliven any bookshelf. Like a luxurious Lego set, this is a DIY set which requires assembly – making it the perfect night-in activity.
Buy now £84.98, Etsy
Tom Dixon Set of two Swirl stepped bookends
These gorgeous Tom Dixon bookends also double up as candleholders for all your mood lighting needs. Just don’t use them as candleholders while they are next to your highly flammable literature.
Buy now £225.00, Matches
Tee Books 60cm Vertical Bookcase
A collection of these hovering bookcases is sure to transform any personal library into a magical, mystical environment.
Buy now £69.00, Tee Books
Olympia Le Tan Navy The Last Tycoon Book Clutch
Combine your interests in luxury and literary through a beautiful, embroidered clutch bag by Olympia Le Tan. This second-hand Fitzgerlad option is available for significantly less than the traditional retail price thanks to Hewi.
Buy now £742.50, Hewi
Commodity Book Expressive
Dupe of: Le Labo Santal 33 Eau de Parfum (50ml, £157)
It may not save you a whole lot on the RRP of Santal 33 but if you subscribe to the motto that every little helps or you want to prove a know-it-all fragrance guesser wrong, Book should be on your radar.
It comes from Commodity, a unique fragrance brand that puts the concentration of its scents under your control. As such, the aroma comes in three different potencies; Personal, Expressive and Bold. The Expressive is the most akin to Le Labo’s bestseller with its notes of cedarwood and sandalwood.
What’s more, it comes in a handy 10ml travel size so if you want to get your scent on when you’re jet-setting, add that to basket too.
Buy now £130.00, Commodity
So’Home Wilmslow Sherpa Fleece Lined Throw
A lovely soft throw in a rich tartan check, this rustic-look blanket is an ideal winter bedfellow or couch companion. The reverse is covered with cloud-like sherpa fleece, comfortable and cosy against the skin.
Buy now £35.00, La Redoute
The White Company Super Soft Faux Fur Hot Water Bottle
Providing a double whammy of heat and warmth, this bottle is ideal for particularly frosty times. Just imagine snuggling up with this heated-up faux fur.
Buy now £35.00, The White Company
Bose QuietComfort 45
The QuietComfort series has been going for a long time, and has very much settled into a groove. The QC45s from 2021 look similar to, and share drivers with, the QC35II phones released in 2019, and they look rather like the QC35s from 2016... an update to USB-C charging (a five-minute charge yielding 2.5hrs of playback) is good to see on the latest models, but that’s probably the most noticeable of the updates on these noise-cancelling wireless headphones.
Not that that’s a bad thing, however, as these are incremental upgrades to something that’s not broken. The headphones fold up nicely for storage, and are comfortable to wear. Noise cancelling makes use of six microphones, four of which are beamforming, and a single button to switch between transparency levels. There's no aptX support, but Apple’s AAC and the more generic SBC codec should mean support for most devices.
Sound quality is excellent, with a slight overreliance on high and mid tones that will send you to the Bose Music app to correct. Once you’ve tuned them to your liking, the noise cancelling can show you what it’s really capable of, your music well isolated against any background sounds that might sneak through, and with a pleasant emphasis on speech tones that means podcasts are clear, with no muddy overemphasis on the bass.
Buy now £319.95, Amazon
Hightide Timber & Brass Pencil
Crafted by Japanese brand Hightide, these timber and brass pencils are a delicate and stylish option for the note-taker who prefers a pencil full o’ lead. Despite the sleek and balanced American cedar wood casing, the lead is 2mm thick, making it a strong and robust tool no matter the writing task at hand.
Buy now £17.00, Cult Pens
Parker 51 Ballpoint Pen Forest Green with Gold Trim
The model originally used by poet Dylan Thomas, the iconic Parker 51 is a fantastic mid-range contemporary option for book-lovers and book lovers looking to elevate their writing game. Available with a ballpoint or fountain pen tip, we’re partial to the perennially stylish forest green and gold trim design.
Buy now £90.00, Cult Pens
Ember Temperature Controlled Mug - White 295ml
Getting the temperature right for a cup of coffee or tea is an art. Most times when we brew our morning cuppa, we either end up with burnt lips or a lukewarm liquid because we forgot all about it. This smart mug keeps your hot drinks at the perfect temperature regardless of how long it takes for you to drink it.
The ceramic mug features a stainless steel core with sensors that are set at 57 degrees (but can be adjusted to anywhere between 50-62 degrees). These sensors will activate as your drink cools and work to maintain your drink at the optimal temperature. The built-in batteries will keep your drink warm for up to an hour and a half or all day if the mug is placed on its charging coaster.
Buy now £124.00, Amazon
