Whenever I sit down to make my wish list for the holiday season, my family asks if I want anything besides books for some reason (books are wonderful gifts why can’t that be all I get?). Since they usually keep insisting I need more variety on my list, I look for book-related gifts so that everybody wins. This is the second part of our gift guide, focused entirely on ways to represent your book love in the real world, from props to clothes. (Missed part one? Check it out here).
Funko Pops are incredibly popular swag for nerds and while they don’t cover many books – mostly Harry Potter and Game of Thrones – there are incredibly creative people in the world who can make custom Funko Pops using bits and bobs from the regular Funkos and paint and other bits and bobs. There are several options where you can buy pre-made Funkos or request custom ones. We Recommend UK Funko Customs, A Page with a View, and Bookish Pops.
Jewelry and clothes are always a popular holiday gift, so why not make it bookish? You can get quotes or art or subtle symbols for your favorite books and wear them anywhere on your body – shirts, scarves, gloves, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, keychains. There are so many ways to wear your fandom – and they often have a lot of non-bookish fandoms too. Redbubble and Society6 are great places to check for your favorite fandoms and we also recommend Colorful Geekiness, Lilac Fox, StoriArts, Book Fiend, Bookshelf Tees, Literary Emporium, Book Clutch Store, and Jordan Dene.
A lot of book nerds have an appreciation for stationery – pens, pencils, postcards, notebooks, planners, stickers, stencils. It’s great to have them but honestly, it’s even better when it’s book themed. Redbubble and Society6 can again provide for you in these areas, but some shops we recommend are Icey Designs, MoxieDori, and Losers Ink.
What bookworm doesn’t love a warm drink? Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, there’s so much to love. So a great, bookish mug is always appreciated. This is another area where Redbubble and Society6 can be useful, since they have mugs and thermoses. But if you want to see exactly what you’re getting and maybe even customize, we recommend checking Marquis du Soleil and Art Russ.
Book boxes are great, but sometimes we’re not sure about the theme or the stuff in it and sometimes it’s just not in the budget for the month. Some bookish companies, however, will offer up individual goodies or entire past boxes, which means you can find out what’s in those boxes somewhere online. If that sounds intriguing to you, check out The Bookish Box Shop, My Fanmail Box, OwlCrate, and LitJoyCrate.