A gift guide for writers (or what to get yourself)
An actual guide, not a contribution to Gift Guide Discourse TM
So many words have been spilled on this platform about why gift guides are stupid or bad or useless, but I don’t care. I know consumerism is bad, I know presents are best for kids, I know gift guides distract from the important things in the world. I still click on all the little grids with the little images because it’s fun. Sorry!!!
I also know there’s a glut of gift guides out there, to go with the glut of product recs (great piece on that by Kyle Chayka at The New Yorker). Guess what, I also don’t care.
I apologize for my glibness, but it’s not a cynical glibness. I genuinely love giving gifts, and I love giving recommendations. Plus, I love the actual, physical or digital consumer products that make it easier for me to write and I want to share them with everyone.
So, without further ado, here’s a bunch of — I think foolproof — gifts for the writer in your life (or for most readers of this newsletter, yourself. Feel free to send this link to a loved one).
Writing implements
As we all know, it’s a very risky proposition to be buying writers notebooks or pens, because we all have our very specific preferences and requirements. I strongly believe there are two exceptions to this rule:
Princeton Architectural Grids and Guides. I’ve written about this notebook twice before, so trust I’m a true fan. It has all sorts of fun-shaped grids which let your notes run whimsical and run free. Perfect for getting out of a writerly comfort zone.
A set of Le Pens. Lots of writers love these, and for good reason. Aesthetically pleasing form, they write very nicely, the colors are great. They don’t dry out like some more gel-based pens (I’ll forever think of my Gelly Rolls fondly, though), and have a finer point, perfect for color-coding your notes.
Bonus: a Muji gift card. You shouldn’t pick notebooks for writers, but you can steer them in the direction of a great paper goods purveyor. Another idea for a gift card: JetPens, the ultimate online destination for stationery. Or just your local shop!
Subscriptions
Scrivener. This is a one-off app purchase that could give the person who has been aiming to write a novel or a memoir a gentle kick in the butt to get started. The best writing software out there.
Paid subscription to Emerging Form. A podcast chockful of inspiration and insight. The bonus eps are just lil extra treats. Tone: opposite of glib and cynical.
Gadgets
Kobo Elipsa 2E — Are these gift guide entries sometimes just recycled recommendations from New York Magazine’s The Strategist? They sure are, but with an extra stamp of approval from me! I haven’t fully figured out how to best use this baby’s functionalities, but the ability to write on the margins of ebooks, PDFs, and even library books is incredible. Great for book research, and takes you out of the Amazon universe’s stranglehold.
Bose QuietComfort headphones — Listen (heh), these are on every other gift guide, but they are worth it. I got mine not only on sale, but refurbished, so they were MUCH cheaper. Perfect for tuning out the world and tuning into your writing (woof, sorry ).
The Freewrite Traveler keyboard — This falls into the category of “What I don’t have but I would like to have, I think.” It’s a typewriter with a teeny tiny screen that let’s you block out any distractions, like, you know, all of the internet. This would be a great tool for any writer of fiction or memoir, work that doesn’t require constant consulting of external sources, only (or mostly) your brain. Because I’m writing a heavily-reported book of nonfiction, the necessity of constantly looking up sources is the only reason I haven’t bought it yet, because I LOVE a writing gadget (ask me about a tiny portable keyboard I got for my phone. Or maybe don’t). The Freewrite will be for when I (maybe?) write a novel. Now, even though I don’t have personal experience with this doodad, I have on good authority — from a successful screenwriter — that it is a “regrettably worth it” type purchase.
Cozies
Capresso Tea Kettle — I grew up, in part, in an Eastern European country where people chug tea like American gym girls chug water out of their motivational hydration tracker jugs (before you AT me, I’m also an American-born water chugger). Speaking of Americans versus the tea-drinking cultures of the world: I remember a couple of years ago Twitter discourse about how Americans were surprised and enamored by the “water heater” or some stupid name like that for what the rest of the planet knows as the humble electric tea kettle. I think by now, everyone’s gotten over this supposed novelty, but this is just a very good and relatively attractive version. Boils water for tea super fast, very important if you don’t want to get too sidetracked from your writing.
Ember Mug — This is another thing that frequently appears on gift guides, and also falls into the category of “What I don’t have but I would like to have, I think.” Could I keep my hot beverages in a sealed, insulated metal cup? Yes, and I do. Would there be something nice about just having a mug with eternally warm coffee on my desk? Also yes.
Tealyra strainer mug — Appropriate mug size: large. Includes strainer to put your fancy loose leaf tea, and a little cover/saucer where you can put the dregs when the tea is ready. In other words: you can just pop over to your desk and stay there, no need to wait for the tea to steep or get up to throw out the leaves if you have good writing flow.
Casper pillow — I spoke a little bit about my desk-alternative setup, and this ugly pillow is a key part of it. It, along with a lapdesk, provides optimal comfort for couch or bed writing.
Bonus: in this category a writer friend also recommends a back and neck heating pad to keep by your desk (love you, and I kind of want this, but it’s too ugly to include in my pretty infographic).
Books
I hesitate to add process books, because writers often already own a lot of these. These are process-adjacent, and newer, so the writer in your life may not have them yet.
1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg — Like I said in the very first edition of this newsletter, this book feels like a cozy blanket when you’re writing your own.
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss — This is a beaut. She’s hefty, she’s illustrated. The best part of it is seeing images of great artists’ works in progress. Exceptionally giftable.
Thank you for practical suggestions!