When making Christmas shopping lists, it can be difficult to figure out what a perfect gift is for someone. You might be making your list and checking it twice to make sure you get the best deals. You may have even seen the 2019 Best Gifts for Women list made by Samantha Matt of USA Today. Her list included kindle reading materials and cookbooks. They were the least basic ideas on the list, and they were the best ones.
Whether you like to read or not, books make great and personal holiday gifts. Books are more personal than gift cards and I know they are easy to pick out, but gift exchanges would be more interesting if we moved away from gift cards as our go-to gifts. 
According to Jordan G. Teicher of NPR, “In the United States, popular holiday gifts come and go from year to year. But in Iceland, the best Christmas gift is a book — and it has been that way for decades.”
I love America and its flaws, but I think we should be more like Iceland in our gift giving habits. There are several reasons why I think we should turn to literature for gifts. One reason books are the best gifts is because of the unlimited options we have. Not only is it a more personal gift, but the beautiful covers are also nice to look at or use as decoration.
There are plenty of varieties of books, so there is a book out there for everyone. Although I think everyone should like to read, especially because of my inner English major inclinations, I understand that not everyone does. Due to this, I also know that sometimes the choices can be overwhelming, so my recommendation is to read a good Agatha Christie mystery novel by the fireplace. 
Instead of getting someone more kitchen gadgets and gizmos they do not need, you should consider a cookbook. If the gift goes over well, you might get to taste one of the recipes from that book. Another great gift would be a subscription to a magazine, as it is the gift that keeps on giving. Similarly, coloring books are a fantastic idea for Christmas. They are portable, cheap and can keep children occupied. They are also great stocking-stuffers.
According to Liesl Schillinger of The New York Times, the books she recommends as holiday gifts can be “conversation sparkers and thought-provoking gifts.”
Schillinger also mentions how holiday-themed books or classics can make great stocking stuffers as well. Of course, some other reasons books are the best is because they are easy to re-gift. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, the sales are also amazing.
Books can make affordable holiday gifts because many chain book stores have coupons, memberships and buy-two-get-one-free types of deals around the holidays. Also, if you stick to a book theme for holiday shopping, you could potentially do all your shopping in one place. That reason alone should be a game-changer.
Another game-changing idea is textbooks as gifts. It might sound lame and nerdy to get school books for a holiday gift, but to be honest, I do not think anyone would be disappointed to not have to pay for at least one textbook the following semester.
If none of this convinced you books are easy, personal and affordable gifts, consider this: every home on HGTV has books in the bathroom or living room to serve as decorations.