Gifts for book lovers in the US

Do not guess at a novel

Readers are hard to buy books for. They have read the one you picked, or own it, or have opinions about the genre. The gifts that work hand them the choice. That is why this list is mostly e-readers, gift cards and things that live next to books.

An independent bookstore gift card is the simplest good gift. Birchbark Books in Minneapolis is Native-owned and ships books; Atomic Books in Baltimore suits a comics and zine reader. Both arrive by email, so they also work as a last-minute fix.

E-reader or paper

An e-reader suits someone who reads every day, travels, or has run out of shelf space. The Kobo Clara BW is the plain choice. The Libra Colour adds colour for comics and cookbooks and works with a stylus, sold separately. The BOOX Go 6 runs several reading apps, which helps someone who buys from more than one store, at the cost of more settings.

One thing to ask first: where do their books live now. Kobo devices do not read Kindle-store books. Someone with a big Kindle library would be starting over, so a gift card is safer for them.

The Supernote Nomad is for a different person: a reader who also writes. It is a notebook first and an e-reader second.

Small things for readers

Under a modest budget, buy something that sits beside the books: the Frog and Toad tote for library runs, the Austen tea tin, a bookmark, a pair of Fourth Wing socks for a fan. None of these needs you to know what they have read.

Storyworth and the guided memoir are a separate idea. They are less about reading and more about getting a parent or grandparent to write their life down. They only pay off if the person keeps at it, so give them to someone who likes to write.

Timing

Gift cards and Storyworth go out by email the same day. E-readers ship quickly from Kobo. Indie bookstore orders still travel by mail once the card is spent, so if you want a physical book under the tree, order it in early December and let the shop handle it.

Questions people ask

What do you get a book lover who has everything?

Give them a choice instead of a title. A gift card from an independent bookstore like Birchbark Books or Atomic Books lets them pick and supports a shop they may not know. If they read every day and are short on space, an e-reader is the bigger gift, as long as their books do not all live in the Kindle store.