Esquire’s Literary Gift Guide: The 17 Best Gifts for Serious Readers

Kindle Scribe

The best of both worlds—a kindle and notebook in one. Just an exceptional piece of mouth-watering technological advancement. Mind blown.

Montblanc The Great Gatsby Special Edition Fountain Pen

The mystique of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel—celebrating its centenary in 2025—continues unabated. To commemorate the high style and luxury that we associate with Fitzgerald’s greatest work, Montblanc delivers a gorgeous Gatsby line of pens. This sleek fountain pen is far more than just decorative; it’s also a durable, elegant writing instrument.

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Literary Clock

In this little clock, time is presented alongside curated quotes—spanning six centuries of literature—corresponding to that exact time. Incredibly cool.

Personal Library Kit on Amazon

There are variations of these personal library kits floating around out there, but the idea is the same. For someone who likes to loan books, they have a fun little way to keep track of what’s gone where. Silly, yes. But the right bibliophile would adore this set.

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MasterClass

The MasterClass online experience includes wisdom from the likes of Walter Mosley, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Bob Woodward, and Judy Blume. Drop in and educate your face.

Uncommon Goods Literature Every Day Interactive Mug

Not just a literature-themed mug; this thing has a QR code they can scan to pull up daily literary quotes. There’s a full year’s worth of snippets for them to get through.

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Final Cut

Ho hum, another unforgettable work by Charles Burns. What else is new? Just another necessary addition to your overcrowded bookshelf.

The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing

An unusual, curious, and memorable book from Adam Moss. It’s a kind of master class of creativity—how does something come from nothing—featuring architects, novelists, playwrights, cartoonists, choreographers, and filmmakers, among others. We visit Sofia Coppola, Tony Kushner, Susan Meiselas, David Simon, Barbara Kruger, and dozens more in a book that is both sweeping and useful.

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Joshua Charow’s Loft Law: The Last of New York City’s Original Artist Lofts

New York was once an affordable place to be broke. And for generations, artists came to New York to practice their vocation. Many lived in industrial spaces converted into studios and lofts, where they remain, despite the changes of the city around them. Charow does us all a favor in this loving book, gorgeously rendered, by taking us into these lofts and into the lives of the artists.

LIFE Hollywood

Hooray for Hollywood. The old studio system gets the full Taschen treatment in this two-volume set devoted to the journalism and photography of Life magazine during Hollywood’s golden era. Of course, Taschen is no stranger to must-have books—for the horror-movie fanatic in your life, keep in mind they’ve just reissued the sick box set devoted to Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining—and you can safely add this lavish tome to that list.

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James Bond Style

The King of what? The King of Style. Savvy coffee-table of the 007 sartorial aesthetic.

Beekman and Beyond Tour

One of the great deals in New York, the Beekman Hotel’s Clef d’Or concierge, George Gaffney, leads a fantastic literary tour of the hotel and downtown Manhattan. Starting beneath the atrium, where you will stand in the shadows of Edgar Allan Poe, it takes you down “Newspaper Row,” an old downtown thoroughfare near City Hall that used to be home to the news business. Smart, lively, and personable—if they’re in the city, this is a wonderful gift.

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The Joan Didion Collection

Since her death, Joan Didion’s sterling reputation has only grown. This year alone saw another crop of Didion-related volumes—including Lili Anolik’s highly entertaining Didion & Babitz—but the proof is in Didion’s oeuvre, which is beautifully presented in this comprehensive box set from the Library of America. Essential.

Banned Books Box Original Monthly Box

As Stephen King has said, “When books are banned from school libraries, run to your public library, or the nearest bookstore, and read what it is your elders don’t want you to know.” Cool idea for a book club. We approve.

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NYPL Library Card Blanket

Bookworms are the number-one demographic to enjoy a soft blanket. The library-card knit is just a bonus, honestly.

The Lord of the Rings

C’mon. For those who care deeply about The Lord of the Rings, this is hard to resist.

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I Finished the Power Broker Mug

For the few, proud readers in your life who can lay claim to this—or pretend to lay claim to it. Either way, dope mug!