GUEST BLOG- Beyond the Kindle: Gadgets for Bibliophiles

Beyond the Kindle: Gadgets for Bibliophiles

Joy Paley is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on accredited online colleges for Guide to Online Schools.

Yeah, yeah, we’ve all heard about the Kindle. If you are a book lover, you’ve either taken the plunge and you have one, or you’re too busy complaining about its lack of design to buy one. Luckily for us book lovers, though, the Kindle has sparked a whole wave of book-centric gadgetry, even beyond the E-reader.  Whether you’ve already got your Christmas money from Grandma and are looking to treat yourself, or if you’re just trying to find a good gift for a friend, we’ve got you covered.

Cruz Tablet

Okay, okay, it’s an E-reader, and I apologize. But this one’s really neat! It’s for the IPad coveter in all of us. It’s powered by Google’s Android software, but it can hook into Amazon’s Kindle book market, so you’ve got the best of both worlds. It’s got a sleek design, and at $250 it really is a cost-effective IPad stand-in—you can do email and social networks on it as well, and not just books.

Apitek StoryBook

I don’t have kids yet, but one of my biggest fears is that they won’t be readers. This is perhaps the one gift you can get for your reader friends that’s actually for their kid—and they won’t be mad that you spoiled their kid instead of them. It’s a color E-reader that’s aimed at kids age 4-8. The device is $199, has great design, and comes preloaded with children’s books. Additional books are only around $3.

A Bookmark Nightlight

This stylish little bookshelf acts as a nightlight when there’s no book laid open on top of it. When you’re done reading, you lay your book out over the shelf, and the nightlight goes off. It’s not cheap, though, and it only comes with a European plug, so maybe only pick it up for the most special, worldly book-lover in your life.

Alikewise

This one is probably more suited to, ahem, personal use than as a “gift.” It’s a dating website, but get this—it’s for book lovers only. The site lets you find other singles based on your taste in literature. If you’re like me and have had a semi-serious fight with a friend or partner over a book, then you’re probably perfect for this site.

Personalized Bookplate Stickers

These awesome little pieces of art would make an excellent personalized present. They’re stickers to place in the inside of your book, to let everyone know it belongs to your personal library. They fun and functional—who hasn’t loaned out a book, only to realize with a cringe that you’ll never see it again? Etsy has some great styles, from the cute to the classy.