Gifts for book lovers who already have everything

Buying a book for a book lover is hard. They have probably read it, and they may already own two copies. The answer is not to find a book they have never heard of. It is to give them a copy of a book they love that nobody else has: one with their name on it.

Ideas for the reader who has everything

1. Their favorite classic, made for them

A cloth-bound hardback of the book they always come back to, with their name on the cover and your dedication inside. Every Storystir edition keeps the author's text complete and unaltered, and many restore the illustrations from early editions: Hugh Thomson's Pride and Prejudice, Sidney Paget's Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Rackham's A Christmas Carol.

2. The classic they always meant to read

Everyone has one: Moby-Dick, A Tale of Two Cities, The Odyssey. A beautiful edition with their name on it is a gentle push to finally start.

3. A book that marks a moment

A new job, a move, a retirement, a wedding. Pick a classic that fits the moment and say why in the dedication. Meditations for a new leader, Around the World in Eighty Days for someone about to travel, Jane Eyre for someone starting over.

4. A book for their book club

For the friend who runs the book club, a personalized copy of this year's classic pick, with a dedication from the group.

5. A first book for the next reader

Book lovers love to pass it on. If they have a new child or grandchild, a personalized Winnie-the-Pooh or Peter Pan for the baby is a gift for them too.

What makes it a gift and not just a book

The dedication. Two or three lines about why you chose this book for them will be read every time they take it off the shelf. Need ideas? Here is our guide to what to write in a book dedication.

The details

Every Storystir edition is a cloth-bound hardback with a gold foil spine, a printed jacket and cream pages, printed to order in the United States. Their name goes on the cover and title page, and your dedication gets a page of its own. Shipping in the US is free. For Christmas, order by around November 25.