Friends! Gather round! It’s the Holiday season once again! I thought we just did this last year, but…
Anyway, per usual, I am charge of this year’s CrimeReads Holiday Gift Guide! Hooray! There’s nothing like some themed retail therapy to spruce up the listless, depressive post-election season.
Most of the items on this list are not books, but I put a few on anyway, because I wanted to.
Like always, I’m trying to showcase things that might not be so obvious. As I say every single year, you all probably know about the charming selection of mystery paraphernalia from Out of Print, as well as the intense graphic work done by Litographs, so I’m not going to include those things.
I’ve also done my best to spotlight small businesses, as well as pick items made in the USA, and products that are cruelty-free and made from environmentally-responsible materials. For example, all the candles we list are Soy, because they burn cleanly without a carbon footprint.
In case you were wondering, no, we do not get commissions for featuring any of these things. That would be great, though.
And remember, please please please don’t shop on Amazon! Help keep small businesses in business. Shop in person whenever you can!
And check out our list from last year, or our list from the year before and the one before that, for more ideas!
Away we go!
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Clothes + Accessories
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James Bond Goldfinger socks (The London Sock Exchange)
Take the espionage fan in your life back to 1964 with the London Sock Exchange’s Goldfinger collection! My personal favorite are the Oddjob socks. Look at that perfect, bowler-hat-flinging silhouette.
Sherlock Comics t-shirt (teeSITE on Etsy)
This adorable Golden Age comics-style graphic Sherlock t-shirt from teeSITE is perfect for the nerdiest person you know.
Tie Dye Yarn Organic & Recycled Crew Sock (Druthers)
These are the warmest, most extraordinary socks I’ve ever owned. They’re a bit too thick for me to wear with most shoes, but they are my “house” socks and MY GOD do I love them. Put them on and curl up with a book! Thank you, I will.
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Home
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Pierre Charpin’s Portable Lamp (Design Within Reach)
Without light, you can’t read! And sometimes, you want to read in a place where there’s no light! that’s where this lil baby comes in! Also, look at all the colorways!
Author Clock (MoMA Design Store)
This fascinating clock designed by Jose Cardona and Luke Gray tells time with literary quotes!! Every minute has its own quote… and there are so many quotes in its system that there isn’t much repetition.
Chef Columbo Giclée print (Tony Stella)
What’s Columbo cookin’?! Your kitchen needs this Tony Stella Columbo print.
Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash (Aesop)
I’ve recommended Aesop products on Gift Guides before but I’ve never drawn attention to their greatest product: Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash, which is a beautiful-smelling soap with pumice grinds suspended in it, to better polish your hands. Perfect for winter, perfect for the reader and writer.
Sherlock Holmes Acrylic Book Vase (BiblioBloom)
You can never have enough vases… especially when they are styled after book bindings!
Oxford Library candle (Frostbeard Studio)
I love Frostbeard Studio, a small candle store in Minneapolis that makes candles intended to smell like famous locations from novels. Their “Oxford Library” candle will transport you to the grand halls and reading rooms of the Bodleian.
Criterion Collection DVDs (Criterion Collection)
Personally, my favorite gift to receive is a Criterion Collection edition. And there have been lots of amazing new releases since we last spoke of this.
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Desk
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Anglepoise Type 75 Desk Lamp (Rejuvenation)
The Anglepoise is the best desk lamp in the entire world. I have not one but two (in two sadly discontinued shades of bright blue). It will change the life of the writers you know. It also comes in a small size, if that’s preferable.
Sherlock Holmes Quote Pencils (LitAndWhimsyShop on Etsy)
These darling pencils from LitAndWhimsyShop are the perfect gift for the Sherlockian who prefers to write things out by hand.
“Hat Wearing Vessel” (Goods for the Study)
This sturdy little Japanese jar, referred to on GftS’s website as a “hat wearing vessel,” looks like a man’s face. It has a hat on it and you can take the hat off and put stuff inside it. I can’t explain it, but this is the noirest thing I’ve ever seen. The Maltese Hat Wearing Vessel.
Scream Notepad (Greenwich Letterpress)
I’m getting this for everyone I know.
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Books, Games, and Media
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Maigret’s Paris map (Herb Lester Associates)
Herb Lester makes charming literary gifts, and they have a series of maps for different cities according to the detectives who live there. Agatha Christie’s England, Ian Fleming’s London, and Maigret’s Paris.
The Folio Society Special Edition: Murder is Easy (The Folio Society)
Since 1947, The Folio Society has specialized in producing meticulous, stunning special-editions of significant books. They commission original artwork from the world’s greatest artists, organize introductions and other appendices from experts, and design volumes and slipcases from special and traditional materials. I’m truly obsessed, and I’m slowly getting everyone around me obsessed too. Folio’s been releasing some gorgeous editions of Agatha Christie classics: check out the matching editions of The Pale Horse, Crooked House, Sparkling Cyanide, and Ordeal by Innocence.
Home Alone LEGO Set (LEGO)
I don’t really get the appeal of LEGO, but even I have to admit, this Home Alone house reconstruction, complete with Wet Bandits, is extraordinary.
Brunetti’s Cookbook (Grove Atlantic)
How did I not know about this??? Donna Leon and her best friend (and favorite cook) Roberta Pianaro, teamed up to recreate all the amazing Italian dishes from Leon’s bestselling Brunetti series. There are nearly 100 recipes in here! Mamma mia!
Christmas Crimes at The Mysterious Bookshop (The Mysterious Press)
Laura Lippman, Lyndsay Faye, Ragnar Jónasson, Tom Mead; Jeffery Deaver, and Thomas Perry are just a few of the authors with stories in this collection, set at NYC’s The Mysterious Bookshop. From their website: “The oldest mystery specialty bookstore in the world, The Mysterious Bookshop, has for most of its forty-five-year history commissioned an original short story as a holiday gift for its customers. Written exclusively for the store and never published elsewhere, the stories were given as a holiday gift to its customers as a thank you for their business, handed out or mailed between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day… The prompt for the story requires three elements: that it be set at Christmastime, that it involve a crime of some kind, or the suspicion of one, and that it be set at least partially in the bookstore. And from these loose structural guidelines, diverse tales took flight.”
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Vinyl (Mondo)
Arguably the best of all the Mission: Impossible soundtracks, this score, by the great Michael Giacchino, deserves the cool Mondo release that it got.
Murdle, Vol. 3 (Bookshop)
Just FYI, Murdle, Volume 3 has arrived.
A24 Screenplay Book (A24)
The coolest production company of our modern era, A24, has released a bunch of gorgeous special editions of screenplays of their films. Full of photographs, essays, behind-the-scenes secrets, and more, these are the ultimate gifts for fans of specific films… and movies, in general.
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Kids
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Sherlock Holmes Toy Set (KozaDerezaGifts on Etsy)
This darling set of eco-friendly plush figures from KozaDerezaGifts is the perfect gift for the Sherlock obsessed toddler in your life. Or, because all the figures have little string loops at their tops, they make beautiful holiday ornaments, as well.
My First Movie: Volume 3 (‘Lil Cinephile)
‘Lil Cinephile’s “My First Movie” series is my favorite thing in the world. This year, there are three new installments: My First Sci-Fi Movie, My First Kung Fu Movie, and My First Midnight Movie. Educate your children!
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Memberships and Subscriptions
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CrimeReads Membership (CrimeReads)
I’m just going to be upfront: if someone you know loves CrimeReads, consider gifting them a membership!
Lit Hub Membership (CrimeReads)
While you’re at it, get someone you love a Lit Hub membership, too.
The Baker Street Journal Subscription (The Baker Street Irregulars)
The Sherlockian in your life will fall to their knees with gratitude if you present them with a subscription to The Baker Street Journal, the publication of Sherlockian scholarship put out by The Baker Street Irregulars. A classic publication of accessible and fun literary scholarship since 1946!
BritBox Subscription (BritBox)
I’m going to assume that most of you have this already, but do your loved ones? Hmm?
The Rosenbach Courses (The Rosenbach Museum and Library)
Philadelphia’s Rosenbach Museum and Library is one of the most incredible cultural institutions, and they have TONS of programs (courses, and their Biblioventures series, for which I’ve been honored to be a guest host) in 19th and 20th century literature, particularly mystery, gothic, and crime.
