Best Gifts for Book Lovers (That Aren't Books)
Buying for a reader is supposed to be easy. Then you remember they've probably already got the book you were going to buy them, possibly in two editions, and you're back to square one.
The way round it: buy something that celebrates the books they love, rather than another book to add to the pile. Everything below is hand-drawn in the Design Smith studio in Norfolk, and most of it started life as a genuine bit of shelf-envy over someone's Penguin Classics collection.
For the one who colour-codes their shelves
The Penguin Clothbound Classics prints (£60.00 each) are drawn straight from the spines of the actual clothbound editions, split across four prints covering books 1 to 76 — so you can pick the one that matches the titles they actually own, or start them a set.
For the one who is always halfway through three books at once
A Book Notes A5 notebook (£9.75) gives them somewhere to actually track the three books, with a hand-drawn shelf of well-read spines on the cover. Practical, unlike most gifts on this list.
For the quote collector
If there's one particular line that means something to them, the Portable Magic card (£3.50) takes its name and message from a Stephen King quote on books as, well, portable magic — there's a limited-edition print version too (£30.00) if it deserves a frame.
For the reader who's also owned by a dog (or cat)
Every classic gets funnier with a dog or cat wedged into the title. There's Lord of the Fleas (3.50) and The Very Hungry Labrador (£3.50) for the dog camp, and A Tale of Two Kitties (£3.50) and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Cat (£3.50) for the cat camp — part of a set of ten, all £3.50 and blank inside, so it doubles as a birthday card or just something to leave lying around for someone to spot the joke.
For the specific obsession — Tolkien, Lawrence, and the rest
Some readers only really collect one thing. There's a Tolkien card (£3.50) and a Tolkien print (£45.00) drawn from well-loved Middle-earth volumes, and the same treatment for D.H. Lawrence — a card (£3.50) and a print (£45.00) of battered, well-worn volumes gathered from different publishers. If they'll take any classic going, the 100 Best Novels of All Time print (£60.00) covers the Guardian's list, numbers 1 to 20, spine by spine.
For the one who reads at the kitchen table
Not every gift needs a frame. The Joy of Reading tea towel (£16.00) carries twelve hand-drawn book quote illustrations inspired by classic Penguin cover design, and Penguins and Pelicans (£16.00) does the same with the iconic paperback spines themselves — there's a print version too (£60.00). Come November, the Christmas Library tea towel (£16.00) is a nice seasonal alternative, running from Dickens to Dear Santa.
For the classics purist
If they'd rather have the spines than the story, the Classics card (£3.50) features the iconic black Penguin Classics editions, and the Observer Guides print (£60.00) covers the full rainbow of Observer's pocket-sized series, published between 1937 and 2003.
Wrapping up
Everything here ships free across the UK, and cards come with a matching kraft envelope, so there's no separate wrapping to think about.
For more, the full Books and Reading Cards collection runs to more than forty designs if none of the above quite fits.
