Gifts for book lovers: a used-bookshop gift guide
Buying for a reader sounds easy until you remember the risk: they may already own it, or have read it, or have Strong Opinions about editions. Here’s how to give a book lover something they’ll actually treasure.
The safest great gift: store credit
When you can’t guess the exact title, give the hunt itself. Store credit lets a reader wander the shelves and choose — which, for most bibliophiles, is half the joy. Stop by and we’ll sort you out; see how to find us.
The thoughtful move: a curated surprise stack
Not sure what they’d pick? Describe their taste to us at the counter — or run it through the Next Read Matchmaker first — and build a small stack of two or three secondhand titles that fit. Personal, and far cheaper than buying new.
For the reader who has everything
- A beautiful used edition of a book they already love — a hardcover to replace a battered paperback.
- A book in a genre they never try. Pair a thriller fan with a cozy mystery, or a literary reader with a gateway fantasy.
- The accessories that get used: a sturdy bookmark, a good book light, a tote for hauling their finds home.
What to skip
Avoid the buzziest new release unless you know for sure they haven’t read it — avid readers usually have. A secondhand copy of something a little off the beaten path almost always lands better.
Shopping from afar? You can also support the shop online via our curated selection. However you give it, a book chosen with care is hard to beat.