The ultimate gift guide for bookworms of all kinds
Believe us, it’s a novel idea
I have a substance abuse problem. My addiction started when I was in school, in the darkest corner of the library. Loitering in the aisle of classic literature, my tiny frame struggled to pick up books heavier than my school bag. That’s where I discovered my drug of choice: the musty and equally dusty smell of old books, a thousand times better than Gucci Bloom.
Chronic book sniffers and the reclusive cult of bookworms will nod in agreement. They’ll also agree that outsiders, i.e non-bookworms don’t know what to gift our kind. We own three copies of our favourite books mostly because our friends think gifting books — favourite books — is the safest option to make book nerds happy.
Well, wrong answer. Unless it’s an autographed first edition.
We’ve shamelessly scurried the internet for things — utilitarian and uselessly fascinating — that gel well with bookworm personalities to give them a high that only the smell of old books usually provides.
Bookmark our shopping guide that includes a novel that unfolds to become a lamp, a scented candle that bottles the book nerd’s favourite fragrance (you know which one) and a pair of prism glasses for the lazy readers who care about (book) spines.
A gift guide for the picky bookworms you know
When they write as much as they read
This book-shaped box from Penguin is a timeless piece of history. The box consists of 100 postcards with iconic Penguin book covers that span decades and genres. The box thoughtfully documents the art of cover design over the years.
If your literary enthusiast friends love writing letters too, they might thank you with a postcard. But chances are, these will never see the inside of a postbox because they’ll obsess over the postcards and save them for themselves.
Amazon.in, ₹1,501
A whiff of second-hand bookstores
Over the last couple of years, sniffing has become an essential part of one’s reading experience.
The candle and perfume industries made the perfect concoction to capture the ambience of 221 Baker Street, the inebriating scent of Arabian Nights, the fragrance of new hardcovers and the mass favourite — the musty, leathery smell of old books, dusty libraries and nondescript second-hand bookshops.
The last one’s a crowd puller. Even as bookworms start a new book, they’ll love to light this Booksom candle — A Pile of Old Books.
Booksom.com, ₹399
For the obsessive list maker
Bookworms, by definition, are avid readers, but some of them are also ardent Microsoft Excel users. They get a high from making excruciatingly long lists, and their lists are longer than your online shopping cart.
Literary Listography: My Reading Life in Lists binds two of their two biggest addictions — books and lists. It is armed with 70 creative lists that will help the book nerds document their reading journey.
Some of the lists include: Fictional crimes I’ve witnessed, Fictional children I love, Books I couldn’t finish and so on.
This one’s a keeper.
Amazon.in, ₹1,383
When knowledge is lit
Surprise your reader friends with this untitled leather-bound, maroon book, and give ‘lit’ a whole new meaning. This hardcover Mini Folding Book Lamp unfolds into pages that light up.
Powered with a rechargeable battery, this portable ‘light’ book will potentially become your bookworm friend’s permanent travel companion. After all, they can use it as a lamp to read wherever they want to.
Amazon.in, ₹1,099
Wear a statement earring
Some wear their heart on their sleeves, while others wear their love for literature on their lobes. Buy them bookish jewellery that helps them make a statement and flaunt their passion.
These Booklover Reader Earrings are especially perfect for introverts who don’t want to shout about their love for books, but share it subtly.
Wish.com, ₹301
Moby, Drink
Where there’s a bookworm, there’s always a mug and stain of coffee or tea or wine around. They are inseparable, and we’d like to keep it like that. Featured on our gift guide for bookworms, these fibre coasters are miniature hardcovers with puns on famous titles.
And all readers, regardless of their preference of genre, love great puns.
Booksom has a wide range of titles, and we picked our favourite — The Ministry of Cupmost Happiness. Take your pick from Harry Potter, Dracula, Life Of Pi, A Lot Like Love, and many more literary canons.
Booksom.com, ₹449
Find the missing piece of the mystery
It’s not elementary, my dear Watson.
This may look like yet another time-consuming, migraine-inducing jigsaw puzzle. But this is more than that, and Sherlock Holmes’s super fans will love it.
The Sherlock Holmes Mystery Jigsaw Puzzle takes a classic adventure of the sleuth, twists some facts and makes you solve the crime as you go about piecing the picture together.
Clue: The photograph on the cover is not what the final picture will look like.
Amazon.in, ₹8,317
For their eyes only
Remember the Z-shaped periscope you made for science exhibition in school? Believe it or not, we found mini periscope-ish glasses for our gift guide for bookworms.
In 1936, Australian philosopher and inventor Charles Leonard Hamblin designed the Hamblin glasses to facilitate reading in bed. Sadly, nobody bought the idea. But now these prism glasses for lazy readers are back.
The external lenses project the text in the book (as shown in the picture) to your line of vision when you face the ceiling. With DivineXt Lazy Readers Glasses, finish reading your favourite book without a crack in your (or your book’s) spine.
Amazon.in, ₹525