Someone once told me that the best gift isn’t a gift but an experience. I’m not big on wrapped presents (or so I say) but if you have a fellow book lover on your gift list and you haven’t yet thought of a great gift for them, here are 5 bookish experiences that you can share with someone who shares your love for books.

1. Go on a book tour. The picture above is of a bookstore that Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, built in his hometown of Plainville, MA. Their website is pretty cool but I can’t imagine that there is a book lover alive who wouldn’t love to browse the floors of this bookstore and participate in one of the many bookish events that always seem to be going on there. And that holiday decor looks like it’s right out of the pages of (insert name of your favorite Christmas themed book here), right? And if you can tear yourself from the store, a tour of a town like Plainville includes more than just the bookstore. It could also include visiting sites that inspired scenes in a book set in the town and visiting the author’s house, etc.
2. Visit a children’s bookstore and experience the wonder of Christmas through a child’s eyes. AGAIN. Books of Wonder in New York is the closest dedicated kids store to me and I’ve never been. It might be time to fix that.
3. Visit a town you’ve never been before and search out their neighborhood bookstore. I was just reading an article about the diversity you can find when visiting bookstores in foreign countries. I was so inspired to try that but until you make it overseas, starting locally can be fun too.
4. Visit the location for a book you’ve enjoyed and put the character into a scene you previously read about. Theres a scene in one of BJ Novak’s stories about a woman who goes to the walking park by the West Side highway to exact revenge on her ex boyfriend. It’s a place I frequent and I always think about the scene when I go there. What’s a new one you can think of and share with someone who hasn’t read that story? Bonus points if you bring the story along and read the scene on the date.
5. Dress up in character from a favorite book (or graphic novel) and maybe act out your own version of the conflict (or resolution) in the story.

Have you done any of these? Do you have other bookish experiences in mind?

Note: Some resources and ideas came from this NY Times article by Ann Patchett

Linkup: Thinking Out Loud, Thursday Thoughts, Stuff and Things