48 Best Gifts For Book Lovers That Aren’t Books

Are you looking for gifts for book lovers that aren’t books? These are the best book-themed gifts paired with iconic authors and titles from childhood to adulthood.

If you have reader friends and family members in your life, you probably already know that they do not need more books. Our TBR piles are overflowing.

Do we want books, though? Yes; of course!

However, gifting more books occasionally stresses us out unless you are celebrating Iceland’s extremely awesome Book Flood tradition.

And don’t get us wrong, we gift books all of the time to newborn babies, in place of holiday cards, and for special occasions.

However, sometimes book-themed gifts are just as great, especially if the bookworm in your life is behind on their reading. Plus, Marie Kondo is in our heads.

So, what are the best gifts for book lovers that aren’t books?

Below, find book-themed gifts from popular novels, riveting authors, and infamous book characters.

Shop for Shakespearean bandaids, Jane Austen literary puzzles, and Cheshire cat mousepads. Choose from coffee mugs, home decor, tote bags, and scented candles. Of course, we love socks and notepads too.

We know that you will find the perfect book-related gift for you…r best friend.

Plus, learn about some of our traveling heroes like Anthony Bourdain along with our daily sources for inspiration. Maybe you will even find a new book to add to your personal library. 

Keep reading for infamous authors and their books that will leave imprints on your soul like wine stains on your lips. Let’s get started!

Explore all of our favorite gift ideas for readers, drinkers, and travelers.

Best Book-Themed Gifts For Book Lovers That Aren’t Books

Dear Momma Claus, Daddy Tooth Fairy, Grandma Easter Bunny, Uncle Birthday Wish Fulfiller, Best Friend Any Time Of The Year You Wish To Shower Me With Gifts Giver:

This year, The Uncorked Librarian and her bookish friends would like the following gifts for book lovers that aren’t books.

However, these book-themed gifts paired with the actual book and a glass of wine are also perfectly acceptable.

Oh, and a horse. We would love a horse. Or, a huge Bernese Mountain Dog since we live in North Carolina now.

The Little Prince Gifts

We are The Little Prince obsessed. Who doesn’t love or at least know about this timeless novel?

Connection to people and the world is everything. Just like the Little Prince asks the fox if they can tame each other, we crave this relationship building:

For me you are only a little boy just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you. And you have no need of me, either. For you I’m only a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me we’ll need each other. You’ll be the only boy in the world for me and I’ll be the only fox in the world for you…You see the wheat fields over there? I don’t eat bread. For me wheat is of no use whatever.   Wheat fields say nothing to me. Which is sad. But you have hair the color of gold. So it will be wonderful, once you’ve tamed me! The wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I’ll love the sound of the wind in the wheat. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The Little Prince exemplifies the lessons learned from travelers like Anthony Bourdain about how to travel and love.

Have you read The Little Prince? We truly believe this is one of the best books that will make you think differently about the world.

Plus, these The Little Prince book-themed gifts will keep your feet, tea, and books warm.

Anthony Bourdain Gifts

Not only did we watch every show, but we also read all of Anthony Bourdain’s books. He is one of our all-time favorite travel writers.

Our hearts split with the death of this well-traveled and heartfelt soul.

Anthony Bourdain shaped the course of our life and many others. He traveled with a unique eye that went right into the soul and core of what makes us human.

As he traveled the world, Bourdain shared with viewers the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not to mention the yummy.

Bourdain and Bill Bryson inspire us to think critically, write sarcastically, and never forget the history of a place. People, relationships, and community trump all.

From learning that one should not order fish on a Monday in Kitchen Confidential to seeing how food transcends language in A Cook’s Tour, we understood then as we do now, that no one will ever compare to the greatness of Bourdain.

If you are in need of more unique gift ideas for book lovers and travelers that don’t land on every literary gift guide list, Bourdain is for you.

Shakespeare-Themed Gifts

To buy or not to buy…

What is your favorite Shakespearean play?

We will always love the spooky vibes in Macbeth and the spritely humor of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. King Lear and his greed will never cease to amaze us.

We will forgo reading Romeo and Juliet for the 50^th time since college and high school.

Yet, Shakespeare is a writer who captures the essence of the human soul. He adds an element of poetry and beauty with equally biting observations like Bourdain.

Personally, we love classic literature gifts for book lovers that aren’t books and can sit on a desk to inspire us: mugs, candles…whiskey glasses.

If you love Macbeth as much as we do, don’t miss even more fabulous books with witches.

The Handmaid’s Tale Gifts

Are you looking for kick-butt and thought-provoking gifts for book lovers that aren’t books? These Handmaid’s Tale book-themed gifts are perfect for readers who love strong women in historical fiction.

Politics, prejudice, elections, leaders, and white privilege are all themes in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The TV series has also helped revive this older novel.

Disturbing and emotional, most of us cannot peel our eyes away. In fact, American society is dressing up like handmaids during protests.

For us, this story is a stark reminder not to become complacent, to speak up, fight back, and never give up hope.

You would think that The Handmaid’s Tale wouldn’t make the most uplifting literary gifts, but we all want to smash the patriarchy, right?!

Fifty Shades of Grey Gifts

How about those sexy gifts for book lovers that aren’t books? Or maybe just silly and ridiculous.

Going from serious to fun, we cracked up at Book Club. Grandma might love these presents for book lovers and Fifty Shades fans. Can’t unsee that, can you?!

Whether or not you choose to hate on the Fifty Shades of Grey series, the story is iconic with the movies taking over Valentine’s Day for women across the world.

We choose to enjoy these books in a funny, light-hearted way.  We appreciate the controversy and passion they stir up, good and bad. Sexual meets successful.

Laters, Baby.

Where’s Waldo?  Book-Themed Gifts

Where’s…our money?! Old books make our hearts sing.

Personally, we love that Waldo got a dog, girlfriend, and entire community to find along with him. We grew up with these books and still guard them on our shelves.

We could sit for hours looking at Waldo book pages for those classic red and white stripes. As adults, we once made a drinking game out of finding Waldo, his socks, and the toaster oven.

What we adore is that Where’s Waldo still exists and his worlds show creative points in time.

Our former home in Central Florida hides Waldo in the boutique shops for kids to find while their family members are shopping. We hope Waldo will always be a part of our lives like Big Bird.

He’s never really lost, is he?

Jane Austen Book Gifts

Literature [on the] rocks; sign us up!

While The Handmaid’s Tale is the perfect infuriating modern feminist novel, we have to remember our classics, too.

We are not going to lie: Jane Austen is one of those authors that we pretend to love but am on the fence about.

However, as literature lovers, she deserves an homage of gifts for her epic universal truths about women, social standing, and the economy.

What is your favorite Jane Austen book? We are still suckers for Pride and Prejudice.

If you are in need of a literary gift for a book lover who is a tad boozy, why not go down the Jane Austen route? Who knew?

Alice In Wonderland Gifts

Through the drinking glass…

As children, we actually found Alice In Wonderland a tad frightening. It’s like those dreams where you wake up feeling like you just fell down the rabbit hole.

The Queen screaming “off with their heads” left us equally disturbed.

Then, we became history majors…

Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass make us crave a tea party. Plus, you know we love cats.

If you enjoy boozy glasses, be sure to head over to our gifts for Champagne lover’s guide.

Practical Gift Ideas For Book Lovers That Aren’t Books

A Book Light

We all know the stereotype that book lovers stay up late at night reading. Lights can be pretty obtrusive when your partner is trying to sleep.

One of the most essential gifts for book lovers that aren’t books includes a book reading light.

Kleenex

We bet you didn’t think of this one, but what happens when you read a sad and sappy novel? Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle.

We reach over and grab…our husband’s shirt!

But, maybe if we had a cute tissue box cover, we’d actually use Kleenex:

Note-Taking Schwag

Whether your book-loving friend is a book reviewer, blogger, student, or just note-taking fiend, we usually love to have sticky notes close by.

“Writing in books is bad”…says grownup to Christine to college Christine.

Your Own Little Library Kit

How many times do you ‘borrow’ your friends’ books and never return them or vice versa?

In college, one of our friends loved DVDs. She had a huge home library of the best movies. She even created her own checkout system to track who borrowed each title.

The perfect gift for readers and book sharers not wanting to lose their books is definitely this adorable little library kit:

We love and miss the gratification of stamping a little card. Can we go back to those days, please?

A Book Page Holder

Don’t let your page flip over while reading.

Bookends

Every bookworm needs a few bookends to keep their stash pretty and upright. How else could you organize those rainbow shelves? These have a Poe-esque element that we love:

A Subscription Box

We just love subscription boxes! There are tons to choose from with a variety of novelty items at varying price points.

We personally love Book of the Month (BOTM).

Technically, you are gifting the book lover in your life a subscription box and not a book…so that they can choose and buy books. Maybe we are cheating a little here.

Book of the Month lets you choose from 5 great selections. Some books are even debuts and upcoming new releases.

You may add on other books that interest you, and skip months where you don’t like the selections — or if you are behind.

However, if your book lover enjoys fashion, we also highly recommend Stitch Fix. This is a clothing subscription service where they send you 5 unique pieces personalized to your style.

Stich Fix helps me try new styles that I wouldn’t typically pick out. You can send back pieces that you don’t like.

They just introduced a new shop where you can pick out your own items to match what you have.

Save your favorite gifts for book lovers (that aren’t actually books)

What are your favorite book-themed gifts?

We hope that you found some great reads and gifts for book lovers that aren’t books. Sure, we slyly slipped in books too…rogue librarians are sneaky like that.

Gifting a book is truly sharing a present that never stops giving, inspiring, and teaching. Book-themed gifts are even more fun!

You may also enjoy:

Gifts For Writers
Word Board Games
Drinking Board Games