Literature Lovers Gift Guide.

Hello everyone. Happy Friday. 

Today’s #fridayschoice is a little bit different. 

I am putting together a “Literature Lovers Gift Guide.”

Lately I have celebrated some personal milestones as well as completing the first year of my masters degree which is why I was absent for a little while here on Katelovesliterature.com. 

The end of a semester is a very busy time. There’s assignments and final essays, dissertation and thesis discussions alongside research and research proposals and so even though I love talking about movies, books, plays, poetry, etc, I had to take a break and focus on deadlines. 

After I met those deadlines, I was exhausted. I love what I do, but I needed a proper break so instead of jumping straight back to publishing discussions here on Katelovesliterature.com,  I took an extended break and now I am ready to start doing what I love again. 

I would like to stress how important breaks are even if you love what you do. Breaks are good, they are needed, they allow you to breathe and become inspired again, and it is so important to rest and enjoy downtime because otherwise burnout occurs and it is so much harder to rebuild from being burned out then it is to stop, relax, and then get into a rhythm again. 

The end of February was a super busy time, and on top of all the other milestones I was celebrating, it was also my birthday, which meant that I was ridiculously spoiled by my family and friends. 

They all made me feel so special, and they support me in everything I do and they always support me by checking out the website, you all know who you are, so thank you. 

All of the above brings me to my Friday’s Choice discussion and it is a gift guide for those of you who have movie lovers or book lovers or theatre lovers in your life. 

My friends and family know me so well, and I have received some beautiful gifts recently, I’ve also treated myself to a few things as well and I don’t think it’s ever too early to get ready for Christmas. 

So let’s dive into my Literature Lover Gift Guide. 

1. Sheet Music. 

I love music and I love musicals. I studied music all through school, I was a member of every choir, I did musicals, I love to sing, and music theory was one of my favourite parts of drama class so my friends know that I love sheet music. I have three scores now, all from shows that I love, and I think that this is such a good gift idea for a music lover. The scores are beautifully presented and they have lots of information inside about the composers and about the songs and I love reading about how a song was written and composed. I love reading about any insight into a show’s score, because when it comes to musicals especially, the music is so integral to the story, the show would not be the same without it. Even if you don’t read sheet music, I think that if you love music then this is a cool present to receive, and it’s not all about getting presents, if you know someone who loves music then a score could be a brilliant gift to give them. 

2. Special Editions of Books. 

I have a beautiful edition of A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens. The cover is white with beautiful navy snowflakes. My best friend got it for me the Christmas after I wrote a Dickens dissertation. It was so important to me at the time, and it still is now, but at the time I was reading Dickens all the time and getting my thoughts together for this dissertation and it was so important to me, and then after being so delighted with the grade I got, this present was so meaningful. It was so thoughtful of her, and this book will always sit on my classics shelf and make me smile. 

Last Christmas my boyfriend gave me the most beautiful editions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. They are laminate collector’s editions with Victorian inspired dust-jackets. They are absolutely gorgeous, and they are very important to me at the moment because they also tie into different things that I am currently studying. 

Literature is very important to me, it’s the thing that I am most passionate about, and I think it is so lovely that my friends and family get me things that represent something I love so much. These special editions are sentimental because I’ll remember a specific thing and time when I look at them. 

Of course you don’t have to be studying literature to get a special edition of a book. If you know what someone’s favourite book is and you see a beautiful edition of it, then I think that is such a good gift idea. It shows how well you know them, you’re getting them something that you know they love, the presentation of a special edition is always stunning, it is a collector’s item and a display piece, and it is something that the person will always have. 

3. Bookmarks. 

I have been given some beautiful bookmarks over the years. I have one with my name on it, I have a beautiful resin one, and I have ornate little Alice in Wonderland page markers that are so stunning because they are John Tenniel’s illustrations in bookmark form so they look amazing in my classic books on my classics shelf. I think bookmarks are a cute gift to give a reader because you know they will be used, you can never have too many when you read so much, and there are some really gorgeous ones that you can get now so if you’re already thinking of getting someone a book then a bookmark is such a good little add on to get as well. Bookmarks also make a brilliant stocking stuffer. 

4. Literature inspired artwork/cards.  

I bought a Scream themed Valentine’s Day card this year and it was brilliantly received. I think that getting someone a card or a piece of art inspired by something that they love is a great idea because again, it shows you know them, it shows you listen and care about their interests, a card inspired by their interests is really sweet and very personal. Art inspired by their interests is really cool because again, it could be a collector’s item, it could be a display piece. I have some framed pieces inspired by movies I love that I absolutely love, and they were not ridiculously expensive. There are so many sites now that buying art does not have to be super expensive, so if you know someone who would appreciate something like this then this could be a great idea. 

5. A Notebook/Notebook Cover. 

Last Christmas my best friend gave me a beautiful leather bound notebook. It is perfect. I use it. She knows how much I love writing, so once again, she got me something that she knew I would love. I can take the notebook out of the cover when I’ve used it all and then I can put a new notebook into the cover, so it is something that I will always have and always use. 

If someone is a student or a writer or if they like to journal, then a notebook/notebook cover is a great gift idea because it is something that will definitely get used. 

6. Novelty Items. 

One of my best friends gave me a book of movie inspired cocktail recipes for my birthday. 

I love cocktails. I love learning how to make them. I love movies, so this really was a brilliant gift. There is a Legally Blonde inspired cocktail, there is a Some Like It Hot inspired cocktail. There is a Breakfast at Tiffany’s inspired cocktail. There is a Batman inspired cocktail. I could go on because there are so many incredible movies featured in this book and I am so excited to test out some of these iconic cocktail recipes. This kind of gift is great because it goes on beyond one specific interest, mine being movies and literature, and it incorporates other interests of mine. This is a gift that I will be able to use, it is a gift that will help me develop a skill. I am planning on learning how to make cocktails properly and the fact that I could whip up a drink based on a friend’s favourite movie will be really cool and it’ll make for a really fun night. 

I hope that you enjoyed reading through my gift guide. These are ideas that I would use myself, I have given these kinds of gifts to people before and I will again in the future, and these are the kinds of gifts that I usually receive and I am always delighted. 

I hope you’ve gotten some great gift ideas. Even if you’re shopping for someone who is not a lover of literature or movies, I still think this is a helpful guide as the best gift giving advice I can give is to give a gift that shows you know the person really well. That may seem really obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people tell me that they struggle to pick out gifts for people. 

This has been Friday’s Choice. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Keep an eye on my Instagram page @katelovesliterature because I will most definitely be sharing snaps of the movie inspired cocktails that I create. 

If you were ordering a cocktail inspired by a movie, what drink would it be and what movie would it be from? Let me know!

Kate xo.