The holiday gift readers want most is the book they asked for
You’re scrolling through books late at night when one cover jumps out at you. It seems perfect for the person you’re shopping for, and you can already picture them opening it.
Books are a good bet. More than four in 10 readers (44%) say a book is their favorite kind of gift to receive, according to a ThriftBooks survey of 2,000 U.S. adults who read at least three books a year.
The tricky part is picking a book they’ll be excited to read and don’t already own.
It can be hard to keep up with the readers in your life, especially when their nose is always in the next book. You may have no idea what’s already on their shelf, and half of readers (51%) say that’s what makes them hardest to shop for.
More than half (54%) of book readers say they have pretended to be happy about a book they were given as a gift. For many, it’s not a one-time thing but 39% say it’s happened more than once.
Readers will tell you what they want
Nearly half of readers (45%) say the holiday gift they would most like to receive is a book they asked for, beating out a book-related gift card, a current bestseller or a title the gift-giver chose themselves.
Most readers know exactly what they want to read next. Eighty-one percent say they keep a list of books they would like to read, whether written down or in their head, and 68% say they would share the list with someone holiday shopping for them.
Some tips for gift shopping for readers:
Start by finding out what they want. Let them know you’d love to help check something off their to-read list. Even if they would rather keep the whole list to themselves, ask if they would be willing to share a few of their top items.
Consider asking for specifics if you want to ensure they’ll love the gift you pick for them. Do they prefer a hardcover or a paperback? Which books on their list are their top priority? Is there a particular edition they’ve had their eye on?
If they don't have a list on hand, ask what has caught their eye lately. The next book in their favorite series? A recommendation from a friend? A new release from an admired author?
And if you’re the reader, you can help, too. Sharing a list with several options leaves the giver room to choose, and specific titles and authors work better than broad genres. Asking for "a mystery book" can leave a buyer almost as confused as when they started.
It might seem like asking for their list could ruin the spirit of gift-giving, but the real gift is evidence that you were paying attention.
A short note inside the book goes a long way
A note feels most thoughtful to 32% of readers. Nearly three in 10 say it’s a title connected to something they talked about.
The note doesn’t have to be long. A line about why you picked this book, or what they said that made you think of it, is enough.
Many readers read the book anyway
Even if the book wasn’t on their wish list, they might give it a read anyway.
When readers unwrap a book they wouldn’t have picked for themselves, the most common response is to read it anyway. Nearly four in 10 (38%) do, and another 20% donate the book for someone else to enjoy.
That cover that jumped out at you as you scrolled might still become someone's favorite, even if it isn’t the person you bought it for.
Methodology: ThriftBooks commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,000 adults throughout the United States who have read at least three books in the past 12 months. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between Oct. 14 and Oct. 19, 2026.
Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.
This story was produced by ThriftBooks and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
