Category Archives: Gift Ideas

Emergency Valentine’s Gifts- Books

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If you’ve forgotten Valentine’s Day, instead of the obligatory perfume, chocolates and flowers which reveal your faux pas why not give these bookish alternatives which offer a thrilling, and sometimes chilling, take on the love story.

 

Perfume- Perfume Patrick Suskind

The dark tale of a man who becomes obsessed with a quest to bottle the ultimate perfume by capturing the scent of young women. A compelling novel, this has the added kudos of being Kurt Cobain’s favourite novel.

 

Chocolates- Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquivel

A brilliant work of magic realism, Like Water for Chocolate tells the story of the forbidden love between Tita and Pedro. Kept apart from Pedro, Tita pours her feelings into the food she cooks, which then begins to have very strange effects on those who eat it…

 

Flowers- Tulip Fever Deborah Moggach

In 17th century Amsterdam, Sophia is trapped in a loveless but comfortable marriage to a much older man when she falls in love with a passionate young artist. An engaging read with art, intrigue and tulipomania. A film is rumoured to be in the works for 2013 so appear cultured by giving this to your beloved before the bandwagon gets rolling!

Gifts for Sherlock Holmes Fans

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Other than reading, one of my favourite things to do at Christmas is to curl up on the sofa watching re-runs of old Sherlock Holmes films and adaptations. You’d be surprised how many you can find and in the past my father and I have managed to fill at least three days of viewings with Sherlock Holmes re-runs, much to the consternation of my little sister. I’ve even managed to hook my boyfriend on the stories to the point that we now have quarrels about which of us is Holmes and which of us is Watson. I am clearly Holmes, as you’ll be able to see from the following exchange:

Me: Elementary, Watson.

Boyfriend: You’re Watson, I’m Shakespeare.

Anyway, I digress. If you have a Holmes fan in your life, or want to introduce a loved one to the Sherlock Holmes stories, the following are great gift ideas:

221B Baker Street Board Game

 

 

With forty cases to solve and suitable for ages ten and up, this board game will be great fun for all the family. £15.99, Amazon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hound of The Baskervilles

 

 

Dedicated Holmes fan will love this Penguin Hardcover Classics version of The Hound of the Baskervilles probably Conan Doyle’s most famous work. £14.99 for bookshelf art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magnifying Glass

 

This bookmark is handy as well as cute. Keep it on hand for solving mysteries like who stole all the best chocolates from the tin. A fantastic stocking filler for any reader or budding detective. £2.95, The Literary Gift Company.

 

 

 

 

 

Don't just love Holmes, Be Holmes.

 

 

In the unlikely event that, like myself and my boyfriend, you and your loved ones are arguing over which of you is Watson and which of you is Holmes, treat them to a personalised classic. A word to the wise, my little sister got me an Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland version of this, and the recipient gets to choose the characters on the internet. If settling disputes like me and the boyfriend, intercept the pack and do this for them then give them the finished book.

 

 

Vintage Print

 

I really love this print of an old book cover. It’s pricey for a poster, but in terms of art I suppose it’s reasonably cheap for your walls. I’d put it in my drawing room and quietly contemplate it while playing my violin or smoking my bubble pipe. £28.99, AllPosters.

Alice in Wonderland Inspired Gifts

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I’ve mentioned before that Alice seems to be having a bit of a moment, and I’m a big fan myself. If you have an Alice lover in your life I’m sure they’d welcome some of these goodies.

 

Hardcover Classic

I’d be happy to add this pretty Penguin Hardcover Classic version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass to my collection. It is a work of art on the outside and is complete with the original Tenniel images. £14.99 from Penguin.

Everything Alice

For crafty Alice fans, Everything Alice is a must have. One of 2011′s most popular craft books there is something for everyone in this gorgeous book. £14.99 Blackwells.

Cute Alice Bag

I like this cute canvas shopper bag, £12.99 from Truffle Shuffle. Practical and chic.

Alice Tea Gift Set

Spice up someone’s tea drinking with this tea gift set. They can have a mad hatter’s tea party all by themselves. £24.95 from Kitsch Shop.

White Rabbit Duvet

Wake up and discover that it was all a dream under this amazing duvet cover, £60 from Urban Outfitters. I want it. Now.

For more great Alice in Wonderland gifts visit The Alice Shop in Oxford.

Gift Wrap for Readers

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With Christmas coming up fast, I’ve been making a note of my favourite presents and wrapping papers for readers. If you have a book lover in your life, why not wrap them something exciting in one of the following?

Winter Playtime at The Bodleian Library

This gorgeous wrapping paper is a treat for readers and lovers of vintage alike. Winter Playtime is £5.50 for 6 sheets of paper from The Bodleian Library.

Penguin Classics

Also great for fans of vintage books is this lovely Penguin Classics Wrapping paper, £1.75 a sheet from Penguin.

She is too fond of books & it has turned her brain

For the no frills reader, jazz this monochrome wrapper up with a bright red ribbon. From £1.95 per sheet at The Literary Gift Company

Scrabble Wrapping Paper

Wordsmiths young and old will love this Scrabble wrapping paper. £2.50 a sheet from Not On The Highstreet.

Amazing 80th Birthday Present

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I recently went to my great-aunt’s 80th birthday party and was presented with these amazing little books.

My cousin had them made for her mother and father who write poems (though my great aunt calls them writings) as 80th birthday presents and they contain 80 poems/writings that they have each written. She had lots printed so they could send them to family and friends. Not only are the poems really impressive, but my great aunts poems contain a lot of family history and remembrances which was just lovely.

My cousin is known throughout my family (and the world!) for being incredibly kind and thoughtful, but I thought that this was just the most amazing present, not just to my Auntie and Uncle but to the family as well.

Sian, we salute you!

I’m not a Philatelist, but…

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I’m not a philatelist (stamp collector, but how cool is that word?) though I did once buy the royal mail Dracula and Frankenstein stamps to decorate my diary. I was about 9 at the time, and stamp prices weren’t quite as ridiculous as they are now. It was a short lived obsession, and while I do appreciate a nice stamp, stamps are not a major obsession for me.

However, I think I might be forced to rethink this after a colleague in work showed me these amazing book related stamps on The Royal Mail website.

Fantasy Stamps- Magical Realms

Nostalgic Stamps- Winnie-the-Pooh

I don’t know if I mentioned that I’ve decided it might be time for me to go back to old fashioned correspondace, but I have started sending a lot of letters to my friends living elsewhere, because who doesn’t love a proper letter? I think I might have to buy these.

Valentine’s for The Bookish

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In case you’re stuck for Valentine’s gifts for the book worm in your life, I have included the following for your perusal. Please feel free to buy any of these for me. My boyfriend doesn’t “believe in” Valentine’s day, so I won’t be getting presents!

Valentine’s Cards

The Alternative Card- A Book of Ten Love Poems

 

 

I’m not sure who really goes for the crude humour of Valentine’s jokes (you know, let’s try a different position, ha ha he does the ironing) but people must because every year the shops are infested with them. Take a stand with this sophisticated card/book. Or get creative. Make your own!

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s Gifts

Splash out on the book lover in your life and get them the Penguin Great Loves Series. Penguin are offering a 20% discount when you buy the complete set from them, so you get 20 books for £79.80. And with titles like Deviant Love, Forbidden Fruit, The Seducer’s Diary and Bonjour Tristesse how could you not? If you could afford to that is…

Cute Bird Bookmark

 

So if, like me, you find yourself three weeks from pay day and having to face up to your own little budget deficiet (my father’s and boyfriend’s birthdays both in February) I don’t think it gets much cuter than this little bird book . A thoughtful gift for anyone like me who ends up using their bus ticket to keep their page. It will be treasured for years.

Golden Snitch Necklace

 

Another great budget find, which will make any Harry Potter geek’s day is this amazing golden snitch necklace which I discovered on Etsy last night. It costs about £10.2o and it is pretty much guarantueed that they will be pleasantly surprised! I have never seen a necklace like this before and think it is amazing.

100 Years is a Very Long Time

Want to demonstrate your commitment but without the pressure or cost of an engagment ring and wedding? Why not give this 100 year diary to show you’re in it for the long haul. You could even include some sickeningly soppy note to that effect. Slushy love aside I think that this would make a cool and unusual Valentine’s present. It has world maps, maps of the body, notes for every season of your life. It’s an autobiography in the making!

 

Finally, for Wuthering Heights fans like me there is this amazing Wild Heather Scented candle which will undoubtedly take you back to the days when you ran wild with Heathcliff before you sold out and were cooped up on The Grange with the bloodless Lintons. Feel free to buy this for me. I will graciously accept bulk deliveries.

Out on the winding windy moors...

Scriptum, Oxford

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Scriptum, Oxford

 

I was introduced to this little shop on the weekend, and I could have spent years in here. It’s an amazing treasure trove of wax seals, leather journals, quills and assorted oddities. If I could have bought the entire shop, I would have. They don’t really sell reading books, the only books on display were some very expensive folio editions (cheaper to become a devoted member of the Folio Society and purchase heavily for a time) but if I ever win the lottery I will be going back to stock up my desks. I can see me now writing in a leather-bound tome with gold engraving, writing in an elegant script with a peacock feather quill and rainbow coloured inks. The perfect place to act out your Romantic/Gothic/Medieval/Harry Potter fantasy.

I came away with some vintage look postcards showing animals on vintage maps. There were two of each so I will have one to frame and another to send to lucky recipients. I will have to go back soon though. I’m sure that come pay-day I can justify my new-found need for a magnifying glass, butterfly patterned sticky notes and a few pretty marbled notebooks. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the Oxford area, their website is http://www.scriptum.co.uk/

Christmas Book Haul

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I mentioned here that I had planned my Christmas book presents for the boyfriend and the family. They have arrived and look so lovely that I had to show someone.

The Book Haul

My favourite has to be Audrey Niffenegger’s graphic novel The Night Bookmobile. It is beautifully illustrated, as you can see in the strory below, and manages to capture her haunting, lovely style in only a few pages. I loved it, and if my sister doesn’t then I will have it instead!

Cover View

Interior View

Some reviewers on Amazon slated this book because it isn’t a novel. Ah, Amazon, home of the well crafted review… I’m not sure that I’d want to trust the recommendation of someone who sees the words “Graphic Novel” and expects a wordy tome like The Time Traveller’s Wife. That might just be and my prejudices, but I suspect not.

Early Christmas Book Shopping- Spoilers for Family!

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It’s that time of year again. We haven’t even reached Halloween, but there is wrapping paper and tinsel in the shops. I annually bemoan the fact that I hate this cynical commercialism and the premature climax of the festive season which comes about as a result. By December 21st, I have something of a Christmas hangover induced by the incessant repetition of Christmas carol covers and Glitz-will and Schmaltz to all mankind. So I apologise for broaching the subject of Christmas this early.

But in the interests of spreading the financial cost of Christmas (as espoused by Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert) I am getting some of my shopping done early. Normally I wouldn’t worry too much; I don’t have to do a “full” Christmas- by which I mean dinner, kids and relatives descending, but I am saving for a house deposit in the unlikely event that there really is a housing crash which would bring a nice little terrace house within my budget… but I digress.

Christmas presents. I like to get the people on my Christmas list books. What if they don’t like to read? Well a. people (you know who you are)  persist in buying me perfume, bubble bath etc. when I have eczema and b. they are no friends of mine if they point-blank will not read on principle. Snobbish? Probably, but I don’t have time for pig-headed anti-intellectualism. Anyway, here are my key gift list members and the books I will be getting them. And I’m taking a risk because I haven’t read ANY of them!

If you are a sibling DO NOT read any further!

Father:  An obsessive compulsive reader, probably where I get it from.

I spotted Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt. Everyone knows that Churchill was plagued by the black dog (his name for his depression). Mr Chartwell, a massively imposing black dog, as he pays court to Churchill and a young woman called Esther Hammerhans, bringing their very separate lives together for possibly very strange and dark purposes.

Older Sister: Likes to read the book of the moment.

Room by Emma Donoghue has been gaining a lot of media coverage this year. Shortlisted for the 2010 Booker Prize, Room is narrated by a very young boy who has been only ever known the small basement room in which he lives with his mother, the victim of a Josef Fritzl style criminal. The subject matter is horrific, but the critical acclaim is fantastic. It’s certainly one to talk about.

Older Brother: Devoted reader of my blog :-)

I read a short story in The Observer magazine the other weekend, which was kind of like a modern fable. You can read it here. It’s an extract from a book called Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Wicked Bestiary which seem pretty witty and amusing. Plus it draws on my brother’s teasing me about my obsession with rodents and any small creatures.

Little Sister: Chaotic Student

My little sister is currently in her second year at university and, like myself when I was in my second year at university, seems to be keen on stamping her identity on her surroundings. Photos on walls, fancy dress items displayed as modern art and bed linen which you intended to sum up your personality but ended up reflecting more on your budget… Anyway, she’s a fan of Audrey Niffennegger’s writing, and when I saw that she’s actually written a few picture books as well, I thought that The Night Bookmobile, a graphic novel, would be the perfect book to read and display.

Boyfriend: Bibliophobic Football Addict

Can We Play You Every Week?: A Journey to the Heart of All 92 Football League Clubs is a compromise which should keep him quiet when I’m trying to read my books.

Niece: Chubby Cheeked Ankle-Biter

When buying a book for a toddler you want to make it The Gruffalo, failing that, The Gruffalo Child. As it is, I’m pretty sure that my niece has both of these, so you can imagine my excitement when I found Stick Man from the team behind the mighty Gruffalo. Mr Stick lives with Mrs Stick and his little sticks in the family tree. However, he’s having a hard time getting back to them as he is ruthlessly chased by a dog, used as a building material by a broody bird and has a worryingly close encounter with a fire. I just hope it all turns out ok in the end…