15 Literary Gifts for Book Lovers Under $12

With the holidays coming up, it’s time for the Bookish Holiday Gift Guide, featuring literary and bookish gifts and stocking stuffers unger $12 for all those bookworms out there! Enjoy and happy holidays!

This post contains affiliate links, where The Bibliofile earns for qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support! Note that prices listed are rounded to the nearest dollar as of November 8, 2019.

1. Genius Writers Playing Cards (Amazon, $10)



Playing cards starring your favorite literary greats. Fifty-four writers illustrated by Marcel George in lovely watercolour portraits. Includes authors from a range of periods including Samuel Beckett, Doris Lessing, Roberto Bolaño and Zadie Smith.

2. World’s Greatest Bookstore Postcards (Amazon, $5)



This set of 100 postcards includes two sets of postcards, each illustrated with 50 different bookstores. A great, inexpensive stocking stuffer for anyone who loves bookstores.

3. Banned Books Matchbox Set (Strand, $5)



Banned Books Matchbox Set from Out of Print.

4. Magnetic Paper Bookmarks Set (Amazon, $7)



From Monolike, these cute magnetic bookmarks come in a variety of designs. They are paper bookmarks, so they are lightweight, but have magnets to keep them in place.

5. Hamlet “To Be / Not To Be” Pencils (NYRB, $10)



Set of six pencils (three black and three white) with an iconic quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

6. Literary Enamel Pins (Amazon, $10 each)



Literary Enamel Pins from Out of Print.

7. Reading Woman Calendar (Barnes and Noble, $12)



2020 The Reading Woman Wall Calendar.

8. Hemingway Book Socks (Amazon, $9)



Literary socks from Foot Traffic. Quote reads: “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” Hemingway.

9. Library Card Socks (Amazon, $12)



Library card socks from Out of Print.

10. Literary Quote Sentence Diagram Postcards (Amazon, $11)



From Pride and Prejudice to Peter Pan, these postcards feature the opening lines from beloved works of adult and children’s fiction–diagrammed according to the old-school Reed-Kellogg system. The 12 designs repeat for a total of 24 postcards, which are bound in a mini hardcover book, making this a perfect gift for book lovers, college students, writers, and more.

11. Literary Page Flags (B&N, $6)



These fun character adhesive flags bring works of literature to life! A perfect adornment for your literary treasures, classic or otherwise.

12. Bookmarks are for Quitters Mug (Amazon, $10)



13. Library Card Note Pad (Amazon, $12)



Mint Library Card Note Pad from DesignWorks Ink.

14. Shakespearean Insult Bandages (Amazon, $8)



Each tin contains 15 3″ x 1″ latex-free bandages.

15. Sherlock Holmes Sticky Notes Set (Amazon, $8)

Looking for more literary and bookish gifts? Also see the list of 25 Best Literary Board Games for Book Lovers