Christmas Gift Guide: The Fantasy Reader

It’s 2.5 weeks to Christmas! How far are you with your Christmas shopping? I’m almost done, but then I always like getting my Christmas shopping out of the way as soon as possible. So to help those of you out that might be struggling I thought I’d do some gift guides the next few days for different types of people.

First up: The Fantasy Reader!

Books

Obviously. You can’t do a gift guide for someone who reads a lot without recommending a couple of books. Of course I couldn’t pick out just one book to recommend, so here are 9 cool fantasy books that any fantasy geek would love to get. Assuming he/she doesn’t have it already, but that’s a problem you’ll have to tackle on your own (a tip for book geeks: put a link to your GoodReads/library-app-of-your-choice on your wish list so that people can see what you have already. Alternatively, create a list of writers you have already and share that with them). What other books would you recommend?

2013 Fantasy Pin-Up Calendar

I don’t really use calendars anymore, but I love this Fantasy Pin-Up Calendar. The artist Lee Moyer has worked together with each of the writers to create a good representation of their characters. Plus each illustration is done in a different style, paying homage to past pin-up artists (you can read Lee Moyer’s blog post about it here). The image below on the right is of N.K. Jemisin’s Oree from The Broken Kingdoms.

Bookends

This completely depends on what type of books your Fantasy Reader enjoys, but I thought these book ends look awesome. The top left Tentacle and Pirate Ship bookend is from Etsy store KnobCreekMetalArts for $49.99. The top right ReadBooks bookend is available on PBteen for £28.40. The Gear Bookend is from Etsy store graphicspaceswood and costs $55. The Portal one is available for $29.99 on ThinkGeek.

Cookbooks

Cookbooks?!? Yep, there are a couple of fantasy inspired cookbooks out there. Who wouldn’t want to cook up a feast worthy of the residents of Winterfell? A Feast of Ice and Fire is £29.99, Nanny Ogg’s Cookbook is £7.69 and The Unofficial Recipes of The Hunger Games is £11.99.

Jewelry

If you really want to give something special, how about an officially licensed piece of jewelry from their favourite fantasy book? Badali Jewelry Specialists worked together with the authors to create the designs from their stories. They’ve got jewelry from Lord of The Rings, Mistborn, Wheel of Time and The Kingkiller Chronicles! Having just read The Name of The Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, those designs are my favourite; it’s so cool seeing them in “real life”. The pieces below are the Talen Pipes from The Name of The Wind and the Aes Sedai Serpent Ring from The Wheel of Time.

What do you think of my suggestions? Which ones do you want for Christmas? What else would you suggest for the Fantasy Reader?