The 2024 Commonplace Philosophy Gift Guide

On occasion, someone will reach out and ask me about gift ideas. Sometimes, that’s family asking me what I’d like for Christmas, and sometimes, that’s people asking me what they should buy for their loved one (typically a father or son) who likes philosophy. How do you shop for that sensitive soul who loves to keep his nose buried in a book?

So, today’s post is a little lighter. Welcome to the 2024 Commonplace Philosophy Gift Guide. None of these links are affiliates; I make no money from your purchases; I’m simply recommending things I like and that, hopefully, someone in your life might like too.

On buying books as gifts

The obvious answer is to buy them a book — except that this can go disastrously wrong. I very rarely buy books as gifts for people unless I have really thought it through. When you give someone a book, you are not just giving them a book; you are placing an expectation on them that they will read it.

If you are going to place that expectation on them, you owe it to them to pick a book that they would love. Giving someone your favorite book in the hope that they will love it too can be an important, intimate act, but it should be done sparingly. Really think it through.

On top of that, a reader tends to know what he or she wants to read. Some of us keep a running list of all the books we’d like to read; many of us have shelves of books we haven’t quite gotten around to. The reader in your life might not need another book. I’d highly suggest skipping this section on books and looking at other suggestions down below, where I’ve broken things down by price.

If you really must give a book, here are a few ideas. Ask yourself if the reader in your life would actually like any of these before purchasing.

For the budding pastoralist in your life, consider The World-Ending Fire, a collection of essays by Wendell Berry. Berry is a farmer, novelist, and poet, and he may be one of the United States’ most thoughtful living writers. Essays to specifically recommend include ‘Why I Am not Going to Buy a Computer,’ ‘Feminism, the Body, and the Machine,’ and ‘The Making of a Marginal Farm.’

Be warned: readers of Berry tend to fantasize about buying small farms in the American heartland. You may set someone down a new path.

For the lover of fantasy, especially a younger reader, try this illustrated edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels. This is a large, beefy tome – so it feels like a nice gift, as people love opening big presents – and the printing is quality. Beautiful illustrations accompany a beautiful set of stories. I can imagine someone idly flipping through to look at the picture, falling in love, and deciding to finally read it.

I purchased a copy of The Princeton Field Guide to Predatory Dinosaurs, along with David Sibley’s What’s It Like to be a Bird, to give as gifts for some children in my life. Again, I’m imaging that they might idly flip through the books to look at the pictures – which are striking in both volumes – and then find themselves reading about dinosaurs or birds.

When you give a book like this, you’re giving an experience, not just a book. And it looks great on the shelf or coffee table.

Under $50

• Bauhaus edition Leuchturrm1917 notebooks look striking, will stand out in a stack of black notebooks, and cost about $30. The more standard Leuchturrms are, of course, always acceptable and often appreciated. (In my experience, people like getting notebooks more than they like getting books.)

• The Lamy Safari is the best introduction to the world of fountain pens. It feels weightier in the hand than the cheaper Pilot Metropolitan, which I find quite pleasant. This is great for the writer in your life who might want to start using something nicer than a Bic.

• This iconic cup, now available in ceramic from MoMA, will warm their hands and their hearts. And it is only $17! For someone familiar with New York culture, it’s a great gift.

• For $30, you can get this recording of Byzantine chant. But here is what makes it so interesting: using advanced analysis of the building’s acoustics, the audio has treated in such a way that it should sound like a live performance in the Hagia Sophia. Since the Hagia Sophia was recently converted into a mosque – again – this is likely the only way one might experience Byzantine chant in one of its original homes.

Under $100

• Everyone could use a multitool. For too long, we’ve convinced ourselves that this is the sort of thing a real man’s man carries, not realizing that it is very useful to keep a multitool around (or even in your glove compartment). A knife, screwdriver, scissors, pliers, and bottle opener? Sounds handy! I like the Leatherman Wingman, which I recently bought for my godson.