The Best Book And Gift Pairings Your Bookworm Friends Are Sure To Love

The only thing better than a book is a book paired with a perfect gift!

1. A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn, paired with a preorder of The Balthazar Stone puzzle box from The Mystery Agency.

Berkley Books, themysteryagency.com

Perfect for your friends who are either desperately missing escape rooms or are on their 17th rewatch of Criminal Minds...

About the Book: A Curious Beginning is the first in the Veronica Speedwell series (recommended to me when I was desperately searching for something to fill a Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries-shaped void in my heart) and begins in 1877 London. After our adventuress protagonist thwarts her own kidnapping, with the help of a German baron, she ends up finding sanctuary with a friend of the barons — a natural historian named Stoker. And then, naturally, the baron gets murdered before he can tell them anything and Veronica and Stoker have to go on the run.

About the Gift Item: The Goes Wrong Show provided me with some much-needed laughs this year, so when I found out that one of the brilliant writers (the trio behind The Play That Goes Wrong) was creating mystery puzzle boxes, I was sold. The Balthazar Stone is one of three boxes you can get and features a journey to Sharktooth Island where you'll need to unlock an ancient treasure chest, find Balthazar's Stone, and break a curse. They're set to ship in January, and it's bound to be a super unique gift that will help break the early-Winter, post-holidays lull.

2. By Any Means Necessary by Cam Montgomery paired with Mother's Finest Wildflower Honey from Mother's Finest Urban Farms.

Page Street Kids, mothersfinesturbanfarms.com

About the Book: Before he even gets to college orientation, Torrey gets a call telling him the bee farm left to him by his beloved uncle is being foreclosed on by the bank. He's the first member of his family to go to college, but he also knows he can't let his uncle's legacy vanish without a fight. Now, Torrey is juggling his old life, his new classes, and his (sort of) new boyfriend while trying to keep the vision of his future a possibility.

About the Gift Item: Honey might seem like an obvious choice, but it is truly a perfect fit! Mother's Finest also has honey soap, whipped shea honey butter, and even Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Infused honey, which sounds un-bee-lievably great!

3. The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White paired with "Hesitation - Awakening" art print by Alex Dos Diaz.

Delacorte Press, alexdosdiaz.com

About the Book: Guinevere has come to Camelot to wed Prince Arthur. Not only is the court dealing with the clash of old ideas (things should continue the way they are!) and new (we can make things better!), but magic is clawing at the kingdoms borders. And Guinevere? Her entire existence is a lie.

About the Gift Item: This art print is absolutely gorgeous, but the best part about it is that the artist is actually the cover artist for the book! So not only do they thematically work together, they are truly an epic match.

4. Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith paired with this Purple Lumbar Support back cushion.

Inkyard Press, purple.com

About the Book: Divya Sharma, aka popular streaming gamer D1V, has been a rising star in Reclaim the Sun, a virtual reality game. Aaron Jericho enters her life when he somehow ends up on the same planet as her during the game. They both have to face the trolls infiltrating the game, and a group that begins real-world doxxing campaigns, with the intention of driving Divya from the game.

About the Gift Item: I'm just saying, if you're buying this book for someone because they love gaming or spend a lot of time in front of a screen, a back cushion is always nice.

5. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson paired with these cute crown earrings from Etsy.

Scholastic, AHoleyMoleyLyfe / Via etsy.com

About the Book: Liz Lighty wants out of her small, Indiana town, but when her financial aid for the school of her dreams falls through, she has to come up with a plan. Remembering that her school gives money to the prom king and queen for scholarships, she decides to run, and in the process finds herself falling for her one of the other girls in the competition, Mack.

About the Gift Item: These earrings from Etsy user AHoleyMoleyLyfe are guaranteed to go with just about every outfit. Plus if you have an earring lover in your life, this shop has so many amazing options!

6. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, paired with Bon Appetit journal from Etsy.

Harpercollins, IceyDesigns / Via etsy.com

About the Book: Emoni Santiago is a high school senior, dreaming of the culinary arts class's trip to Spain and an eventual future working in a real kitchen. But her dreams are contrasted with the need to support her abuela, and to raise her young daughter.

About the Gift Item: My favorite journals are ones that not only have cute covers, but allow you to pick what is on the inside. So if you want blank paper, graph paper, ruled, to-do lists, or even a 2021 planner, Etsy user IceyDesigns has you covered.

7. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, paired with a cheese making kit from Uncommon Goods.

Wednesday Books, uncommongoods.com

We all have that one friend who is obsessed with cheese...

About the Book: Big League Burger just stole a grilled cheese recipe that belonged to Jack's grandmother. While he's always been a bit of a class clown and isn't super sure about his future within his family's deli, he knows he must defend the honor of the legendary grilled cheese...one tweet at a time. On the other side of the Big League Burger's Twitter account is Pepper — swim team captain, perfectionist, annoyed by Jack IRL. As the businesses end up in a viral Twitter war, neither Pepper nor Jack knows that the other is behind the rival account. And in real life, they're falling for each other on an anonymous chat app.

About the Gift Item: This kit allows the recipient to make their own mozzarella, ricotta, mascarpone, and more! As a cheese lover, this kit seems like the perfect combo of DIY and delicious (and slightly easier than making your own sourdough).

8. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong paired with Romeo and Juliet scarf from Literati Club.

Margaret K. McElderry Books, literaticlub.com

About the Book: In 1926 Shanghai, the blood feud between the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers leaves the city helpless. In the center of it all are Juliette Cai, a former flapper and heir of the Scarlet Gang, and Roma Montagov, heir of the White Flowers, and Juliette's first love. But something bigger is threatening the city as gangsters on both sides show signs of instability — ending with them clawing their own throats out.

About the Gift Item: This scarf features some text from the original play, making it a perfect pair for this majestic retelling. Wrap the book in the scarf, tie a ribbon around it, and you don't even need to worry about wrapping paper!

9. Written in the Stars by Alexandria Bellefleur paired with wooden zodiac constellation jewelry dish from Uncommon Goods.

Avon, uncommongoods.com

About the Book: Darcy just wants her well-meaning brother to stop trying to play matchmaker, so after her blind date goes wrong, she lies and says it was a success. But Elle, one of the astrologers behind the popular Oh My Stars Twitter account, finds herself confused when her business partner, Darcy's brother, mentions how glad he is that she and Darcy hit it off. After a bit of begging from Darcy, Elle agrees to play along, and while the two pretend to date, Darcy must help Elle deal with her overbearing family during the holidays.

About the Gift Item: These mango wood jewelry dishes are super cute, and a great place to store your rings and earrings when you take them off for the day. Plus, you can order them featuring the constellation of any of the zodiac signs!

10. The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee paired with Jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea from Brooklyn Tea.

Harry N. Abrams, brooklyntea.com

About the Book: This prequel duology follows Kyoshi, a homeless child taken in by a disgraced Air Nomad and companion of the late Avatar Kuruk. When Kyoshi displays Avatar-level earthbending, she and Yun, her friend who was previously identified as the next Avatar, are taken to see a spirit that confirms Kyoshi as the Avatar. After a series of tragic events, Kyoshi and her friend Rangi, a teenage firebender who'd been serving as Yun's bodyguard, flee.

About the Gift Item: What could be a more perfect pairing than this tea? Brooklyn Tea, based in New York, is now on my list of places to visit post-pandemic (because listen, I love tea), and as I was browsing through their teas and saw that this one was named Jasmine Dragon Pearl, I knew it was the perfect pair for the Last Airbender fan in your life.

11. Penguin and Pinecone by Salina Yoon paired with Penguin Plush from MerryMakers

Bloomsbury, merrymakersinc.com

Listen, I am a 26-year-old with no children and my only niece lives in a different state, but did that stop me from owning this entire picture book series and the matching plush? Of course not.

About the Book: This picture book series starts with Penguin finding Pinecone, and realizing that Pinecone might need to live in the forest and not on the ice. Penguin is the cutest (he literally knits a scarf for Pinecone when he realizes that Pinecone is shivering) and more of his adventures include Penguin and Pumpkin (where they look for fall!), Penguin in Love (her name is Bootsy and she also knits!), and Penguin's Big Adventure (where he meets a polar bear).

About the Gift Item: It's the matching plushie, and it's the most perfect thing for storytime.

12. The Roommate by Rosie Danan paired with a Read Romance Repeat subscription box from The Ripped Bodice.

Berkley, readromancerepeat.com

About the Book: Clara moves cross-country after an invitation from her childhood crush...who ends up going on tour with his band and leasing out the room to a handsome stranger named Josh. And when she looks him up and discovers he is a porn star (and he walks in on her while she's conducting...erm...research) Clara is inspired to take the stigma against female desire into her own hands.

About the Gift Item: This subscription box, from epic romance bookstore The Ripped Bodice features two new adult romance books and a fun item each month. My very favorite thing is that there is an option to know what books are coming each month (if you are a prolific preorder-er and want to make sure you're not double-buying) and an option to view content warnings for the books featured.

13. The Summer of Everything by Julian Winters paired with Local Indie candle from NovellyYours.

Interlude Press, novellyyourscandles.com

About the Book: Wesley Hudson has his dream job at the local used bookstore, Once Upon a Page. Now, if only he can get the dream guy, his best friend, Nico. When a coffeeshop franchise wants to buy the property the store is located on, Wes and the rest of the bookstore crew try to figure out how to save the store. This book is absolute geeky charm itself.

About the Gift Item: I have a ton of NovellyYours candles and every single one smells incredible. And what could be more perfect for a bookstore-centric book than a candle that smells like a local indie? If you're looking for a third item to make a trio, try a gift card to the recipient's local bookstore.

14. Clanlands by Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish paired with Outlander MacKenzie Plaid Scarf from Torrid.

Quercus Books, torrid.com

About the Book: Maybe the person you're searching for a gift for is obsessed with Outlander and Jamie Fraser. Or maybe, they're someone like me, who watched every single behind the scenes video that came out before the first Hobbit movie, and quickly grew to love Graham McTavish. Either way, this book is about Sam and Graham as they tour Scotland, and all the things and people they encounter along the way.

About the Gift Item: Is there anything better than a nice and cozy scarf? Especially with the tartan from Outlander? You could also easily pair this with a bottle of whisky, if the person you're buying for is into that!