Book lovers should be easy to buy gifts for. There's a whole industry built for them, after all. Yet, many of us stand there every year, hesitating: what books have they already read? Dare I take a chance on a novel? Is yet another gift card too impersonal?
We think about this more than most – Vivlios exists for people who read. Here is our honest guide to gifts for book lovers, including things we don't sell ourselves.
1. A book – but the right kind of book
It sounds obvious, but there's a secret: don't give the book everyone's talking about. An avid reader has already read it, or deliberately chosen not to. Instead, give a book that shows you've thought specifically about the recipient. Ask a bookseller for help – describe the person, not the book. A good bookseller loves that kind of mission.
If the recipient reads crime novels, a visit to our friend Deckarbokhandeln (The Crime Novel Bookstore) in Gamla Stan in Stockholm is a sure bet – an entire store dedicated to crime fiction, where we also sell our jewellery.
2. A piece of jewellery that grows with your reading
Of course, we're biased here, but the idea explains why jewellery and readers go together. Our jewellery is based on the concept of Wear While You Read: when you receive the jewellery, it is beautiful but without special meaning. The meaning comes afterwards – from the books read while the jewellery is worn. After a year, the jewellery carries memories of every book, every chapter, every late night with the reading lamp on.
This makes the jewellery an unusually personal gift: you don't decide what it will mean to the recipient. The recipient's reading does.
We make three pieces of jewellery, all in stainless steel, designed and manufactured in Stockholm: the ”Your Book” Necklace with a miniature book as a pendant, the ”An Open Book” Bracelet with an open book in the chain, and the ”Open Ending” Bracelet with three dots – an open ending that the recipient fills with meaning themselves. All are unisex and available in two sizes, with a 30-day return policy if the size doesn't fit. You can find them gathered among our gifts for book lovers.
3. Time to read
What no book lover has enough of is not books – it's time. One of the most appreciated gifts we know of is therefore a promise: an afternoon of babysitting, a stress-free weekend morning, a quiet hour. Write it on a card. It costs nothing and means more than most things.
4. What makes reading more comfortable
Practical gifts are underestimated. A really good reading lamp that doesn't wake the person sleeping next to you. A book stand for breakfast reading. A bookmark collection – for those who refuse to fold corners. A soft blanket-and-teacup package for winter reading. We don't sell any of these, and they all work.
5. Audiobooks – do they count? (Yes.)
We don't take a stance in the debate about audiobooks versus paper books – we believe that more stories in more ears are good for everyone. A couple of months of audiobook service is an excellent gift for commuters, parents of small children, and anyone doing dishes. If you want to make it more personal: include your own list of three listening tips and explain why.
6. An experience around books
Tickets to an author talk, a literary festival, or a book fair offer something a book cannot: companionship. Book two seats and come along yourself. For Stockholm-based recipients, a planned bookstore tour – with coffee and a promise to carry the bags – is also a gift in itself.
7. For the entire book club
Are you celebrating a book club that has been together for a long time, or helping someone start one? Matching bracelets have become a way for clubs to mark that they belong together – the same piece of jewellery, but each person fills it with their own books. We have written our own guide on how to start a book club, and our bracelets are available in two sizes to fit most wrists.
Most important thing last
The best gift for a book lover is not an object but a recognition: that the reading they engage in is something beautiful. Choose the gift that says that – whether it comes from us, from a bookstore, or from your own imagination.
And if you choose a piece of jewellery from us: all purchases have a 30-day return policy, we cover the return shipping, and you can always contact us if you are unsure about the size. Feel free to read more about why we exist – it's a story about books, too.