(From a Reader Who Reviews a Book a Week)
I read and review something most weeks, and I have been doing it long enough that people have given up trying to surprise me with a book. Which is fine. Books are deeply personal, and a well-meant hardcover that sits unread on my nightstand makes me feel a little guilty every time I walk past it.
A gift card, on the other hand, is permission. It says: go get the thing you have been eyeing. And for a reader, that is a genuinely lovely gift, as long as you get the ecosystem right, which is where most people come unstuck.
Here are twelve I would be happy to receive, what each is actually best at, and the practical notes I have picked up from a lot of years of buying books I probably did not need.
Before you buy: three questions
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Paper, screen, or ears? These are three
different gifts. A print reader does not want a Kindle credit, and an audiobook
listener cannot use a bookstore card at 6am on a walk.
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Which device? Kindle books come from
Amazon. Kobo and Nook are separate worlds. Credit in the wrong store is
unusable, not just inconvenient.
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Do they buy at all? Plenty of devoted
readers get nearly everything from the library. For them, the right gift is
adjacent to reading rather than a book itself.
The 12 best gift cards for book lovers
1. Bookshop.org: the one that supports independent bookstores
For the gift giver, the appeal is simple. Your recipient gets the convenience of ordering online and the bookstore down the street gets a cut, instead of the transaction disappearing into a warehouse. Bookshop also sells eBooks now, which closes the gap that used to make it a print-only option. If your reader has strong feelings about where their money goes, and a lot of readers do, this is the card that will actually delight them rather than just be used.
2. Libro.fm: audiobooks that pay an indie bookstore
The audiobook equivalent of the one above, and not nearly well enough known. Libro.fm sells audiobooks and splits the sale with an independent bookstore the listener chooses, so the money stays in the ecosystem instead of flowing to a single large platform.
The catalog is big, the files are DRM free and playable in their app, and the gift options include both credit and prepaid memberships. Honest comparison: the selection is not quite as deep as the largest audiobook service, and the app is less polished. But for a listener who grumbles about the dominance of one retailer, this is the gift that says you were paying attention to the grumbling. I have given this one twice and both times got a longer thank you than the price justified.
3. Barnes & Noble: for a reader who wants to browse
There is something a bookstore does that an algorithm
cannot, which is let you find the book you did not know existed. For readers
who still like a Saturday afternoon of wandering, a Barnes & Noble card
funds the whole ritual, including the coffee.
Barnes & Noble cards work in store and online, cover Nook eBooks, and have no expiration date or fees. They also cover the non-book things a bookish person loves: journals, puzzles, bookmarks, the ridiculous novelty socks near the register. Practical note: if your reader uses a Nook rather than a Kindle, this is the only card on this list that funds their eBooks, so get it right. If they have a Kindle, their eBook money has to go through Amazon instead.
4. Amazon: for Kindle readers, which is most of them
I will not pretend otherwise. Most eBook readers are Kindle
readers, and Kindle books are bought with an Amazon balance. If the person you
are buying for reads on a Kindle, an Amazon gift card is the functional choice
and everything else is a gesture.
A few things worth knowing. There is no separate Kindle gift card, a regular Amazon balance buys eBooks fine. The balance can also go toward a Kindle Unlimited subscription in some cases, which is the better value for someone who reads several books a month, and toward the device itself if theirs is held together with tape. One warning: an Amazon balance applies automatically to the next order unless the recipient is careful, so a reader may find your book money quietly absorbed by laundry detergent. Tell them to buy the books first.
5. Audible: the deepest audiobook catalog
For listeners, Audible remains the biggest library and the
smoothest experience, with the widest range of narrators and the best selection
of exclusives. If your person listens while walking, driving, cleaning, or
crocheting, this is the card they will use fastest.
Gift options include membership and credit, and the membership is the better deal for a heavy listener because of the included catalog. Two notes: Audible accounts are country specific, so a card bought in one country will not redeem in another, and a membership gift will not auto renew into a charge, which makes it a safer present than some subscriptions. If your reader has been curious about audiobooks but never tried them, give the membership rather than credit. The habit takes a month to form and credit alone rarely gets there.
6. ThriftBooks: the card that buys the most books
For a reader who goes through books the way other people go
through coffee, used is the answer. ThriftBooks sells secondhand at prices that
turn a modest gift card into a genuine haul, which changes the feeling of the
gift entirely. Four books is a different present than one.
What I like about giving used books specifically is that it suits readers who are not precious about condition, which is a lot of us. The books arrive with a crease in the spine and somebody else's bookmark in them, and that is part of it. Honest caveats: the inventory is what it is, so a reader hunting a brand new release will not find it, and condition grading varies a little. For backlist, series, and classics, it is unbeatable value.
7. An independent bookstore gift card: the local answer
If your reader has a bookstore they love, buy a card from
that bookstore. It is the most personal version of this gift, it keeps a small
business alive, and it gives them an excuse to go in and talk to the person
behind the counter who always knows what they will like.
8. Kobo: for the readers who left Amazon on purpose
A smaller but committed group reads on Kobo, often
specifically because they want their library outside the Amazon ecosystem, and
often because Kobo plays nicely with library borrowing through OverDrive and
Libby.
If that is your person, a Kobo gift card is the correct gift and an Amazon one is useless to them, which is exactly the kind of mistake this list exists to prevent. Kobo credit buys eBooks and audiobooks in their store and can go toward Kobo Plus, their subscription. The catalog is strong on mainstream publishing and lighter on exclusives. If you are not sure which device your reader uses, this is the question to ask before you buy anything digital, and asking it is far less awkward than the alternative.
9. Everand: a whole library for a monthly fee
Subscription reading is not for everyone, but for a reader
who starts eight books and finishes three, it is the perfect model. An Everand monthly
fee covers eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines, and nobody feels guilty
abandoning something at page forty.
This suits a particular kind of reader: curious, fast, willing to sample. It does not suit a reader who collects, who annotates, or who wants to keep what they read, because the access ends when the subscription does. There is also a fair use cap on how much you can consume in a month on these services, which most people never hit but heavy readers occasionally do. Give a few prepaid months rather than a card and let them decide whether to continue.
10. Etsy: for the bookish things that are not books
Here is my favorite left-field pick, and the one I would
most like someone to give me. Etsy is full of the things readers actually keep:
hand-sewn book sleeves, beeswax candles, embroidered bookmarks, little clay
reading companions, printed quote art, and yarn, if your reader is also a
maker.
For a reader who gets nearly everything from the library, this is a far better gift than a bookstore card, because it funds the ritual rather than the inventory. I would rather have a well-made book sleeve I use for ten years than one more hardcover I did not have room for. Practical notes: shipping times vary because every order comes from an individual maker, and Etsy cards only work on Etsy. Give it with a few weeks of runway before any occasion that matters.
11. Starbucks or a local coffee shop: funding the reading chair
Reading is a thing you do somewhere, and for a lot of readers that somewhere is a coffee shop table for two hours on a Sunday. A coffee card buys the chair, the quiet, and the socially acceptable excuse to be alone in public with a book.
I would not give this as the whole gift, but paired with a
bookstore card it is lovely and surprisingly thoughtful, because it names the
habit rather than just the hobby. If your reader has a local shop rather than a
chain, buy from the local one, and if you live far away, most small cafes will
now sell you one over the phone. Mention in the note that this one is for the
Sunday, not the caffeine. Readers understand the difference.
12. PerfectGift+: for the reader whose ecosystem you cannot guess
Which, given everything above, is a real risk. Kindle or Kobo, print or audio, indie or chain. Get it wrong and your gift becomes a chore. PerfectGift+ sidesteps the whole problem: the recipient converts it themselves, into a gift card from hundreds of major brands, onto a prepaid Visa, into their bank account, or through Zelle.
The fine print, stated plainly: redeeming to a Visa card or through Zelle carries a $5 processing fee, a later merchant swap costs $0.99, and the value does not expire once claimed, though the buyer sets the claim window. Sensible for a book club exchange, or a long distance friend whose reading habits have changed since you last talked about them.
A NOTE FOR LIBRARY PEOPLE If your reader borrows
almost everything, do not read that as thrift. Many of us simply prefer it. The
best gifts for a library reader are the things around the book: a good lamp, a
book sleeve, coffee, a reading subscription for the titles with a six month
hold, or a donation to the library's friends group in their name. A bookstore
card is not wrong, it is just the least used gift in the house.
Quick comparison
How to write the note
With readers, the note is where the gift either lands or does not. A few that have worked on me.
- "For the book you keep putting in your cart and taking out again."
- "This is specifically not for anything practical. I will be checking."
- "Pick a bookstore to support with it. I know you will have opinions."
- "For the Sunday where you go sit somewhere and nobody needs you."
- "Four used ones instead of one new one. You are welcome."
Frequently asked questions
What is the best gift card for someone who reads a lot?
It depends entirely on format. For print, Bookshop.org or a
local independent store. For Kindle, Amazon, because nothing else funds Kindle
books. For audio, Audible for catalog or Libro.fm if they care where the money
goes. For sheer volume, a used bookstore like ThriftBooks turns the same amount
into three or four books instead of one. Ask which device they read on before
you buy anything digital.
Is there a separate gift card for Kindle books?
No. Kindle purchases run on a regular Amazon balance, so an
ordinary Amazon gift card is what you want. The one thing to warn your
recipient about is that an Amazon balance applies automatically to their next
order, whatever it is, so if they do not buy books fairly promptly the gift can
disappear into household shopping. Suggest they spend it on books first, then
let the rest absorb.
How do I give a gift card that supports an
independent bookstore?
Two good routes. Buy a card directly from the shop's own
website, which most independents now sell, or use Bookshop.org, which shares
profit with indie stores and lets a shopper choose a specific one to support.
For audiobooks, Libro.fm works the same way. Many independents also participate
in shared gift card programs through the American Booksellers Association,
which widens where a card can be used.
What should I give a reader who gets everything
from the library?
Something adjacent. A good reading lamp, a book sleeve or
tote, coffee, a subscription that covers the titles with long hold queues, or a
donation to the library's friends organization in their name. Library readers
are usually not short of books, they are short of time and comfort. A bookstore
card for someone who borrows everything tends to sit unused for a year out of
politeness.
Do bookstore gift cards expire?
Major chains including Barnes & Noble, and the large
online retailers, sell cards with no expiration date and no fees. Under the
federal Credit CARD Act protections, a store gift card sold in the US cannot
expire for at least five years from the date the funds were loaded, and no
inactivity fee can be charged in the first twelve months. The real risk is not
expiry, it is a small store closing, which is why a card from an independent
shop should be used rather than saved.
How much should a gift card for a book lover
be?
Think in books rather than dollars. A new hardcover runs
roughly $28 to $35, a trade paperback $17 to $20, an audiobook credit around
$15, and used paperbacks a few dollars each. So $25 is one nice book, $50 is
two, and $20 at a used seller is a stack. Pick the number that buys a whole
something, and if you are going small, point it at used books where the money
goes furthest.
What do I give a reader whose taste I do not
know?
Do not guess at a genre and do not pick a specific title.
Give a card to a broad seller, or give something they convert themselves, and
then let them tell you what they chose, which is a better conversation than the
one that follows a book they did not want. If you want it to feel considered,
write the note about them rather than the books: what you noticed about how
they read, not what you think they should read next.
Are audiobook subscriptions a good gift, or do
they turn into a bill?
Gifted memberships on the major audiobook platforms
generally do not auto renew into a charge, which makes them safer than most
subscription gifts. The ones to watch are the general reading subscriptions and
meal-kit style services, which do roll over. Whenever you gift a subscription,
say plainly in the note when it ends, so your recipient can decide on purpose
rather than discovering a charge they did not plan for.
One more thing
The best book gift I ever got was not a book. It was a card to a small shop two towns over with a note that said to spend an afternoon there and not come home until I had found something I had never heard of.
That is the version to aim for. A reader does not need more
inventory. What we want is the time, the permission, and the small thrill of
walking out with something nobody recommended to us. Any of the twelve cards
above can do that, as long as you point it at the right shelf.
This blog post is in collaboration with Responsival.
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