Forget the Ceiling Hammocks, Give the Gift of E-Books

E-books are one of the most satisfying presents to receive and they’re so easy to give…if you know how. 

The festive season is whizzing toward its fir-treed, bauble-lit, ho-ho-ho-tastic climax so you may be thinking: “What do I give the book worm in my life? I can’t afford a bathroom library because I am presently un-rich and well aware that books and water don’t mix. And a ceiling reading hammock connected to the book wall seems a little excessive.”

No problem, at all. The next best thing would have to be gifting your friend, lover, favorite librarian, and/or all three an e-book. If that sounds like mystical high-techery voodoo, it’s not nearly so hard as you think.

Before we get to the how, let’s pow-wow about the why. The biggest pluses are that there is minimal giftwrap needed. They’re easy to exchange if your fickle/well-read recipient already has that book or boasts eclectic tastes. And, big win, it’s budget friendly.

So now let’s look at the how. Step one is to engage stealth mode and determine what sort of book e-reader your friend has. Here’s one suggestion.

“Hey, are e-readers any good? I’m thinking I might get one.”

If they reply, “Hell no, I’d rather burn my eyeballs out with cigarettes”, then maybe rethink the present.

But if they reply, “Why yes, I do love my Kindle/Nook/Google Play/iPad app…” then you just earned yourself the covert badge and can complete this crafty mission.

If they love to fire up a Kindle

Go to Amazon and call up the book you think they’d like. At the right of the page, there’s an orange button that says “Buy now with 1-click.” Avoid that! Slide your eyes straight down under that until you see: “Give as a Gift.” Click that.

Next up, select how you want them to receive the book. You can type in their email address and pick a day, and a link to make the literary magic happen will just drop straight in their email account, complete with a personal message from you. Or you can have it sent to you so that you can print it out, add it to a card, and make it extra fancy.

Either way there’s a link on the gift recipient’s email offering them an exchange if it’s not to their liking.

If Nook hooks them on books

Head to the Barnes and Nobles website and find the “Nook Book” of their dreams. (You think they’d have a romance section called Nookie Book, but I digress.) Under the blue “Add to Cart” button you’ll see in tiny letters the “Buy as Gift” option. Bingo. Follow the prompts, fill in the form, set the delivery date, and away you go. The receiver can redeem the book, or they can trade it for a gift card or Nook app.

If they prefer an Apple a day … namely an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch

Some people don’t have e-readers at all and just read books on their tablet or phone. If you know they use a Kindle or Nook app on their devices, you can follow the above steps. If you have no clue about their specific app reading habits, then you can get them a book from Apple’s iBooks if you also happen to use an Apple device.

Here’s how: Click on your own iBooks app, and at the bottom of the screen select “Top Charts” or “Top Authors” to get into the book store. Select a title you like. At the top right of the screen is a share button (a box with an up arrow), hit that. A box will pop up on the screen. In the middle bottom row is a “Gift” button. That’s the one. Fill in the form that appears, including your friend’s email and date of delivery.

For Google lovers, with eyes on Android tablets and phones

Right, well, sorry friend, but you’re toast. There’s no direct option to gift someone a book from Google Play. But fear not, if you still want to give them a bookish thrill, you can always send them a gift card and suggest a good book title, and then sit back and adjust your santa hat, because your work is now done.

But if all else fails on the e-book gifting front, there’s always a ceiling reading hammock. Because, come on, how “excessive” is it really? 

(Copyright picture above: Pixabay & Ylva Publishing)