10 Irresistible Stocking Stuffers for Bookworms

These stocking stuffers for bookworms make the ideal addition to your reading nook or around your home. Book lovers will adore this list of bookish stocking stuffers under $20!

Bookish Stocking Fillers for the Reader in Your Life (or for yourself!)

Looking for ideal gifts for readers? Perhaps you have a book-loving friend, or perhaps you’re looking for ideas for your own Christmas wish list? Gifting books–or a bookshop gift card–is always a good choice, but there are plenty of non-book gift ideas that readers will love, too!

Here are 10 beautiful, inexpensive gifts for book lovers that will bring literary flavour to your life or make your reading time even more enjoyable. They are all under $20 and will fit comfortably into a Christmas stocking.

Just be warned–if you’re getting these bookish stocking stuffers for a friend or asking for them yourself, you may suddenly get the urge to spend large amounts of your Christmas holiday reading!

P.S. These make great literary gifts to give to book lovers year round…not just for Christmas!

10 Beautiful and Useful Stocking Stuffers for Book Lovers

1. Bookish Message Pendant

For some book-inspired jewelry, get this lovely pendant necklace from Gutsy Goodness, a seller on Amazon Handmade. It also comes as a key chain, if you feel the pendant will be too large as a necklace. (For reference, the pendant is 30 mm, and a quarter is about 25 mm.) The quote is taken from Work by Louisa May Alcott.

2. Book Light or Neck Light

Harry Potter could light his magic wand and read in bed after lights out, but if you don’t have that option a book light is a practical Plan B. And you can still say lumos when you turn it on. My husband has a clip-on book light similar to this. Alternatively, you can get a wearable neck light (like this highly-rated one from Amazon).

3. Book Darts

Do you ever get frustrated when your bookmark slips out of the book and you waste precious reading minutes trying to find your place? (I’ve found this happens even more often when you have a little one who likes to “read” mommy’s books!) Keep your page (and even your exact line) with these handy book darts, which slide onto a page without crimping the paper. Especially useful if you want to mark your favourite quotes from the book to record in your reading journal!

One of our Seasonal Reading Boxes (the Lost Horizon box) includes a pretty, custom tin of book darts! 

4. Bookplate Stickers

I’m swooning over these stunning bookplate stickers by Sunshine and Ravioli! They’d be a beautiful and useful gift for anyone who treasures their home library.

5. Literary Candle

Lighting a candle while you read is a great way to amplify the cozy factor–especially on a wintry night. Plus, people have been reading by candlelit for much longer than by electric light. It’s always pleasant to enjoy your classic novels with an old-fashioned aura. I like the looks of these literary-inspired candles. They’re a smaller size and come in a pack of three, making them perfect for multiple stockings.

6. Fingerless Gloves

Here’s another way to stay toasty while you read! Pull on a pair of fingerless gloves so you can keep your hands warm, but still have dexterity to turn pages.

7. Good Quality Tea

There’s a cup of tea to suit every book bound under the Sun. These Harney & Sons tea tins are the ideal size for stocking stuffers! You could get the set of five and break it up among your book-loving friends, matching the tea to the genre each friend prefers.

8. Moleskine Notebooks

Slim, pocket-sized Moleskines are perfect for jotting down quotes, reading lists, or bookish reflections. Pair a notebook with a good mechanical pencil (also useful if your book lover likes writing marginalia directly in their books).

9. Literary Soap

For something funny, check out this line of “cultural” soaps, which include humorous tributes to Sherlock Holmes, Chaucer, Jane Austen, and others.

10. A Pocket Edition of a Favourite Author

Tuck a volume from one of these collections in your book lover’s stocking!

• Pocket Penguin – 40 books to choose from, from famous authors around the world. They’d make a nice rainbow on your shelf if you had several!
• Everyman’s Library Pocket Classics – Lovely hardcover copies; mostly short story collections and excerpts of classics. These would make good bedtime reading.
• Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets – Gorgeous little volumes sorted by poet or by theme (“Christmas Poems,” “The Four Seasons,” etc.)
• Macmillan Collector’s Library – Hundreds of options to choose from! Some are rather thick (depending on the work!) but all are only about 6 inches tall.

Most people can’t literally fit these pocket editions in their pocket, unless you’re wearing cargo pants! But they are highly portable, and will slip easily into a small purse.

What other gifts do you think are perfect for bookworms?

Want more gift ideas for book lovers? Here are some gift ideas for fans of the Anne of Green Gables series! A literary friend might also enjoy Méabh Stanford’s album of songs inspired by literature. And for a very special present, sign them up for a subscription to our Seasonal Reading Box!

More Christmas-Themed Blog Posts You Might Enjoy

• How to Have a Little Women Christmas
• 20 Classic Christmas Short Stories You Can Read for Free
• Lovely Gift Ideas for Fans of Anne of Green Gables