2018 Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers
I know this is probably a little late into the season, but I just thought of it! I came up with a list for both the readers and the writers in your life. I hope you get some great ideas for those last minute gifts!
For Readers
- Bookmarks: Trust me, a reader can never have too many! They get lost and then your stuck with a gum wrapper.
- Bookplates: To lay claim to one's library.
- Snacks: Something that doesn't make your fingers too messy. (No link for this one, you'll have to use your imagination.
- Tea, Coffee, Hot Cocoa: Gotta have a good beverage at hand!
- Blanket: For snuggling under!
- Book Page Holder: Can you say stocking stuffer!
- Kindle Paperwhite: It's waterproof! Hold a library in your hands, carry it in your bag, take it on vacation.
- Sticky Notes: So your favorite reader can mark pages and take notes without marking up their books.
- Bath Tray: Keep everything at their fingertips while relaxing under a pile of bubbles. (Does anyone else find it strange that the model is wearing a tank top in the tub? Just me? Alrighty, moving on)
- Candle: Just don't let the books get too close!
- Bookends: You know what these are for, right? Right?!
- Personal Library Kit: Because it's cool! And so if they lend one of their books out, they'll know who to hunt down in the future...
- Mug: For that tea/coffee/hot cocoa!
Books!
What would a gift guide for readers be without books! (and why are there so many on the internet without them?!)
Fantasy:
- Crave (Ladies of Death Book 1) by Tiki Kos One bite will change her life. After surviving a brutal attack that killed her father in the secluded Wolfmere Mountains, Sunny Armstrong finds herself stronger, faster, and hungrier than before. Determined to get her pound of flesh, she swears vengeance on her father’s killers. Sunny is thrust into the middle of a deadly war between the Disciples of Wolfmere’s resident biker gang, and the shapeshifting Nokado tribe. With the help of her new shapeshifting friend Igasho, Sunny sharpens her new skills only to come up short and unable to fully shift. In the search for revenge and understanding of her new wolfish side, only one thing is certain: blood will spill, and heads will roll. For fans of werewolves, all things paranormal, and star-crossed lovers, Crave is part one of Tiki Kos’ Ladies of Death quartet.
- Beauty is the Beast: Beasts Among Us - Book 1 by Jennifer Zamboni Gretchen is a 24-year-old-hairstylist with secrets: She likes to chase squirrels and howl at the moon. She’s also not really 24.
When one of her coworkers turns up dead in the salon, she suspects that the murderer isn’t entirely human. When another stylist is murdered, and then another, she goes on the prowl. A circus with a secret side show catches her attention, as does her former pack, and a group of visiting vampires.
Her only outlet is her music, but that will only keep her wolf on a leash for so long with a killer on the loose. - The Faerie Guardian (Creepy Hollows: Volume 1):
Enter a hidden world of magic, mystery, danger and romance in this YA fantasy from Amazon bestselling author, Rachel Morgan...
Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale has one job: protect humans from dangerous magical creatures. It's a job she's good at—until her latest assignment, a cute human guy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour, follows her into the fae realm. Now she's broken Guild law and risked her future as the top graduate of her class.
The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.
A single choice can change your life forever...
When Kara Magari uncovers an ancient book of dark and deadly magic, she realizes she’s the only one who can read its enchanted pages… and overnight, she becomes the most coveted magical creature in not just one, but two worlds. Now hunted by every living creature under the sun, she discovers a new world full of beautiful and terrifying things: Ourea. Out here, everyone wants something from her, and there’s no one she can trust. Kings and queens are drawn to her, assassins and demons seek her out, but it’s the charming soldier with a protective streak and a dark secret that may just be her undoing. Before this is over, Kara will have to make the ultimate choice… either she surrenders to this dangerous book of magic, heart and soul, or it will be the death of her. Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive. Buckle in & experience the beginning of a timeless epic fantasy adventure with this first installment of the Grimoire Saga. If you enjoy Lord of the Rings, The Wheel of Time, or Eragon, you’ll love this breathtaking epic fantasy adventure with a modern twist and a slow burn romance.
Sci-fi:
- Alpha Wolf: a Science Fiction Werewolf Thriller (A Dream Traveler Series: Olento Research Book 1) Forget what you think you know about werewolves. These men don't howl at the moon, but they are deadly.
Twelve men went missing.
Six months later they awake from drug-induced stupors to find themselves locked in a lab.
And on the night of a new moon, eleven of those men, possessed by new--and inhuman--powers, break out of their prison and race through the streets of Los Angeles until they disappear one by one into the night.
Olento Research wants its experiments back. Its CEO, Mika Lenna, will tear every city apart until he has his werewolves imprisoned once again. He didn't undertake a huge risk just to lose his would-be assassins.
However, the Lucidite Institute's main mission is to save the world from injustices. Their best agent, Adelaide Lewis, needs to find these mutated men and protect them and society, and fast. Already around the nation, wolflike men have been spotted. Attacks on innocent women are happening.
Adelaide has to find the alpha wolf first. Only once she's located him can she stop whoever is behind this experiment to create wild beasts out of human beings.
Romance:
- Envy by Dylan Allen *If envy is a sin, then let me be damned*. Graham was born to be a star. Once upon a time, that star shone only for me. Now, I have to share him with the rest of the world. For a while, I thought I could do it. Because, beneath the hypnotic smile, gorgeous body and God-given charm that made him famous, I still caught glimpses of my best friend. Of the boy who called me sunshine and loved me. I wore that love like a crown . . . until he placed it on another’s head. Losing him was agony, distance felt like the only cure. When tragedy reunites us after years apart, it only takes one touch to erase the past. Just like that, I'm back in his arms. He promises this time will be different. But I’m afraid to believe him. Because behind his star’s blinding brilliance is a darkness that doesn’t want to let him go. I know a star that bright can’t belong to just one person, but my jealous heart doesn’t want to share him. I want all of him . . . even if wanting what doesn't belong to me leads me to ruin.
- Up in the Treehouse by KK Allen (NA)
I wanted to tell him all my secrets, but he became one of them instead.
Chloe Rivers never thought she would keep secrets from her best friend, Gavin Rhodes. Then again, she never imagined she would fall in love with him either. When she finally reveals her feelings, his rejection shatters her, rendering her vulnerable and sending her straight into the arms of the wrong guy.
Four years after a devastating tragedy, Chloe and Gavin's worlds once again collide and they are forced to come to terms with all that has transpired to find the peace they deserve. Except they can't seem to get near each other without combatting their intense emotional connection that brings them right back to where it all started . . . their childhood treehouse.
Chloe still holds her secrets close, but this time she isn't the only one with something to hide. - Silent Song by Jaci Wheeler (YA/NA) *Barrett* I’m Deaf. What most people view as a disadvantage, I see as an advantage. I feel my way through life in my 1969 Ford Fairlane. The vibrations and speed sustain me, the race track is where I dominate. I thought racing was all I needed to survive…but I was wrong. *Presley* Music is my life. I inhale the melody and breathe in the lyrics. That was until I met someone that opened my eyes to a new culture. Who knew all it would take was silence for me to really experience music. When Silence and sound collide it creates an explosion of the senses.
- Untamable by Jamie Schlosser Emery Matheson knows p*ssies. Cats, that is. As the star of a reality show called The P*ssy Tamer, it’s his job to fix extreme feline behavioral issues. When he hears about his next project—a lonely cat hoarder named Estelle—he expects a little old widow, not the blond bombshell who opens the door. With a 100 percent success rate, Emery has never had trouble finishing a job. But just a few hours into the first day of filming and one thing is clear—Estelle and her band of misfit p*ssies will give him a run for his money… and his heart. Due to language and sexual content, Untamable is intended for readers 18 and older.
Horror/Apocalyptic:
- Broken World (Volume 1) by Kate L Mary Follow a group of survivors on a journey that spans eleven books and twenty years, as they travel the country, searching for safety in a world overtaken by the dead...
When a deadly virus sweeps the country, Vivian sets out for California in hopes of seeing the daughter she gave up for adoption. But when her car breaks down she's forced to accept a ride from redneck brothers, Angus and Axl.
The virus is spreading, but when the dead start coming back, Vivian and the others realize that no electricity or running water are the least of their concerns. Now Vivian must learn how to be a mom under the most frightening circumstances, cope with Angus's aggressive mood swings, and sort out her growing attraction to his brooding younger brother, Axl.
While searching for a safe place to go, the group meets a pompous billionaire who may be the answer to all their problems. Trusting him means going into the middle of the Mojave Desert and possibly risking their lives, but with the streets overrun and nowhere else to turn, it might be their only chance for survival... - The Caging at Deadwater Manor by Sandie Will (NA) SHE KNEW HER DAD WAS ANGRY, BUT SHE NEVER EXPECTED THIS.
A dad with a vendetta. An unsuspecting daughter. A psychiatric hospital known for questionable acts. And staff who keep the secrets in the attic.
RECIPIENT OF THE 2017 READERS' FAVORITE HONORABLE MENTION BOOK AWARD IN YA HORROR
On a cold, January evening, fourteen-year-old Jeannie Kynde is told that her beloved mother drowned in the murky waters along Florida's Gulf Coast. Her distraught father turns on Jeannie, no longer the caring father she once knew. Four years later, Jeannie is finally old enough to escape her father's clutches, but he has different plans. He imprisons her at Deadwater Manor, a psychiatric hospital with an unscrupulous past. Between endless psychiatric treatments and a hospital staff up to no good, Jeannie faces insurmountable odds as each day ticks away. Will she be locked away forever? Or can she fight against the nightmare that has now become her world?
- Niko: A YA Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller by Kayti Nika Raet Seventeen year old Niko struggles to protect her two younger brothers in a post apocalyptic landscape where rain burns like acid and food is scarce. Slithers threaten to devour them faster than she can hunt and kill them.
Then, one night, everything she loves is consumed by a raging fire, leaving her alone and gravely injured. She's rescued by the Rose Circle, a rogue group of Slither hunters. They sneak her into Amaryllis City, a decadent metropolis where those able to pay the exorbitant entrance fee live a life of relative ease.
Niko is certain one of her brothers survived, but she soon learns that leaving Amaryllis City is more difficult than entering.
Young Adult:
- Webley and the World Machine (Hall of Doors Book 1) by Zachary Paul Chopchinski Why is there an elevator here?
And where does it go?
Will a simple push of a button change the lives of two love-struck teenagers?
Adal hopes he's ready for the responsibilities of adulthood. As he pursues the prospect of university, the reality of life hits him hard with the unexpected death of his grandfather. Can he handle the tragedy alone? Thanks to his best friend Arija, he doesn't have to...
Arija has her friend's back. She also has a huge crush on him. It's a secret she's hidden for a long time. Will she find the courage to let him know?
The elevator opens.
And a hidden world lays before them. A world that is in the middle of a fierce civil war. A world that needs Adal and Arija to put things right. Talk of love will have to wait.
But can two snarky teenagers do what needs to be done?
Will sarcasm have a price? - Firebloods by Casey Hays Jude Gallagher thought she was crazy.
It all started when the boy next door made her hear music—inside her head. All the time.
It was torture.
She didn’t think things could get worse. But then one hot summer, her best friend Kane O’Reilly decides to tell her how he really feels about her. Music inside her head? That’s nothing compared what happens next.
Things only turn stranger when she and her lab partner Frankie Melmack begin a project to prove the existence of the Vatra u Krvi—a race of people tied to the mythical Phoenix. Add in a neglectful mother and a magic ring, and the insanity that defines Jude’s life is pretty well complete.
Heat surges across the Nevada desert, and the best and worst parts of Jude Gallagher’s life collide as myth meets reality. In the middle of the chaos, she begins to hear more than just music. And she has to wonder…
Maybe... just maybe… she really is crazy after all. - Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (Dead Things Series) by Martina McAtee
Three Reapers.
Two Worlds.
One Prophecy.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie.
Mace is a monster, a soulless assassin tasked with a single purpose: follow Ember. He only has two rules. Do not interact with her. Do not to kill her. Simply watch and report. But Mace has never been good at following orders and Ember is a temptation he simply can’t resist.
Whisked away to a small Florida town, Ember must learn to embrace a family she’s never known, a supernatural world she never knew existed and a power so vast it just might kill her. All that stands between Ember and destruction is that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery. Can she learn to trust him before its too late?
Could Maura's life get any worse? ...turns out it most certainly can.
Isolated and sheltered by her lonely mother, Maura's never been able to make friends. She seems to drive her classmates away--except for the odd times they pay enough attention to torture her--but she doesn't understand why. Maura considers herself to be a freak of nature, with her unusually pale skin and an aversion to the sun that renders her violently nauseous. Her belief is only worsened by the fact that almost everyone around her keeps their distance.
Even her own father deserted her before she was born, leaving Maura alone with her emotionally distant mother, Caelyn. Even though Maura is desperate for answers about her unknown parent, Caelyn remains heartbroken and her daughter can't bring herself to reopen her mother's wounds. Or is there a more sinister reason Caelyn refuses to utter a word about her long-lost love?
When a cruel prank nearly claims Maura's life, one of her classmates, Ron, rushes to her rescue. Darkly handsome & mysteriously accepting, Ron doesn't seem to want to stay away, but Maura is reluctant to get too close, since her mother has announced she's moving the two of them to Vancouver...nearly 3,000 miles away from their hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania.
If life wasn't already challenging enough, Maura begins to experience bizarre, physical changes her mother seems hell bent on ignoring, compelling Maura to fear for her own life. Vicious nightmares, blood cravings, failing health and the heart-shattering loss of Ron--as well as the discovery of a tangled web of her own mother's lies--become obstacles in Maura's desperate quest for the unfathomable truth she was never prepared to uncover.
Need a stocking stuffer or something to put in a card without needing extra postage? Ebooks are the answer!
For Writers
- The Chicago Manual of Style
- Author Yearly Planner: The Key to Success: Help that special writer in your life keep all that business stuff organized.
- Pen: For signing books, writing letters, jotting notes, and doodling when they should be writing.
- Desk Lamp: So they can see those books, letters, notes, and doodles!
- Tea/Coffee/Cocoa: Writers must have fuel!
- Mug: To hold that fuel
- Sticky Notes: For note jotting and applying to walls, laptops, t shirts, or whatnot.
- Index Cards: They're great for outlining!
- Cork Board: For pinning the index cards.
- Notebooks: For writing down those ideas before the flit away.
- Writer Facts Storyteller Nutrition Information T-Shirt: Because it's fun!
- Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans: Snacks that keep you awake!
- Mug Warmer: So there are no lukewarm mouthfuls of writer fuel.
- Babysit their kids: So they can have some uninterrupted writing time.
- Cook them a meal: Again, writing time!
- Buy, review, recommend, and gift their books! (Pretty please!)
So there you have it! I hope you get some great ideas for those book dragons in your life. If you can think of something else, feel free to comment your ideas!
I apologize for the small type in spots! It won't let me edit!
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