Novelicious.com | The Women's Fiction Blog for Readers and Writers

Five Retro Gifts for the Teenage Reader in You

Do you remember those long summer afternoons during the school holidays, which seemed to stretch on forever? There were no obligations back then, were there? No emails to check or deadlines to meet and certainly no place to be. Just you, holed up in your bedroom or out in the garden, with the book you were reading, for hours upon hours – blissfully uninterrupted

These days, you might have a few more obligations and a little less time to read, but why not treat yourself to something sweetly nostalgic, which pays homage to your old fictional friends? You can always join in with our Nostalgic Summer Re-Read, too.

Here are five of our favourite retro reminders.

1. This hand cut acrylic Goosebumps necklace is the perfect gift for anyone who was a fan of R. L. Stine’s horror series back in the day. And who wasn’t? His spine tingling stories were completely addictive and terrified an entire generation of kids with undead children, half-human, half-plant hybrids living in the basement and cursed mummies. What a conversation starter this would be. £10 from Etsy.

2. Now everyone can get into Sweet Valley High! The game that is! Get the right clothes! Throw the right party! Date the right guy! Ok, we’ll stop with the exclamation marks and leave you to watch the YouTube trailer for Sweet Valley High – the board game – for yourself. Who knew this little gem existed until now? A mere £15.50 from Etsy. That’s, like, the price of five scrunchies. Game night at ours tonight, guys – bring the potato chips and the crimping iron.

Five Wonderful Writing Sets

A good, handwritten letter is something of a creative act these days. We all know that an email can be typed up and whizzed across to the intended recipient in a fraction of the time, but there’s something so joyful in the act of writing a letter. The delicate cursive, the crossed out words and splatters of ink, which manifest as you chew absently on the end of your pen while pondering what to replace them with. Not to mention, it’s a personal and wondrous feeling to receive a pretty, stamped and hand-addressed envelope in the mail – just for you.

Whatever cause you have to put pen to paper, here are five pretty sets that are perfect to have on hand.

1. Handprinted, each of the cards in the Stay in Touch Correspondence Kit opens out to reveal a double sided A4 paper blank, providing plenty of space for writing, drawing or doodling messages. There are five designs in each set including ‘Top secret stuff contained inside’, ‘Fresh gossip shhh dont tell anyone’, ‘Only read this if you're prepared to smile a lot’ and ‘Lets run away and join a circus’. £11 from Not On The High Street.

2. This darling Alice in Wonderland illustrated writing set comes with four sheets of writing paper, two envelopes and two sealing stickers. £2.50 from giftaholic on Etsy.

Five Nerdy Bookends for the Literary Lads in Your Life

With a new study commissioned by The Reading Agency saying men are giving up on reading books because they prefer to watch the big screen version instead, we thought it was about time we payed homage to the book nerd boys in our lives.

Some studies claim men make up just 20% of the fiction reading population, but the guys we know have TBR piles practically toppling over with spy thrillers, historical epics, graphic novels, romantic tomes and literary fiction. This week, we’ve rounded up five nerdy bookends for the literary lads in your life (we’d happily display these little beauties on our shelves, too).

1. To the bookshelves, Batman! What happens when The Man of Steel faces off against the Dark Knight? We’ll find out when Zack Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman hits the big screen next year. In the meantime, we can tell you that a superhero showdown will totally keep your books nice and tidy. £32 from Gag Gifts. 

2. Carved direwolves guard the Stark crypts located below Winterfell in fantasy epic Games of Thrones, so they're perfect for guarding your most precious tomes. £40 from ThinkGeek.

Five Elegant Fountain Pens for Every Budget

While a good ‘ole biro is convenient and does its job perfectly well, there’s something ever so elegant about writing with a fountain pen. The conviction of the delicate nib against the paper, the flow of fresh ink across the page, the refined and polished look it can bring to your cursive. Yes, every writer should have a beautiful fountain pen to hand. These five picks range from the practical and affordable to the downright outrageous but beautiful. We can dream, can’t we?

1. Lightweight with a practical clip on its front, the Lamy Safari has been designed with daily use and thus durability in mind. If you haven’t written with a fountain pen since your school days of inky fingers, smudged exercise books and piles of pink blotting paper, this might be a good place (and price) to start. £16 from The Pen Shop.

2. Handcrafted in solid silver, this Viceroy Grand Victorian has all the features of an ornate Victorian treasure and would have you feeling every inch the real-life viceroy for sure. Stunning, if not a a tad out of our price range. £500 from Amazon.

Five Lovely (And Surprisingly Affordable) Lap Desks

Marian Keyes said in Under The Duvet that she writes ‘in a darkened bedroom, wearing my PJs, eating bananas, my laptop on a pillow in front of me...’ She’s not alone in the habit. Other famous examples include Orwell, Proust, Twain and Edith Wharton. However, the logistics can be challenging. I used to find that my writing position (and, consequently, my back and wrists) suffered. Plus there’s the somewhat distracting sensation of one's thighs steadily cooking from the heat of the laptop. However, get yourself one of these lovely lap desks and hot sweaty thighs will be a thing of the past. At least in this context. 

1. The Lavolta laptop table is fully adjustable, making it versatile for use on either the sofa or in bed. It also features two cooling fans, powered via your laptop's USB hub. Available from Play for £32.90. 

2. This table has a pleasingly natural appearance. It's made from bamboo and has a cute little drawer on one side. It's height adjustable and the top tilts, so you can adjust it to suit your preferred work position. The table folds away when not in use and costs £16.95 (plus £8.95 delivery) from Songmics on Amazon. 

Five Adorable Bookish Key Rings

Spare a thought for your key ring. It's loyal, it just hangs there, minding your keys, not asking for anything at all. It's time to show the most underrated of our accessories some literary love. We've scoured the internet for the nicest, book-inspired key rings.

1. This quote from J.R.R. Tolkien is very popular and understandably so. It's inscribed here on a hammered copper rectangle by A Twist of Whimsy on Etsy. The copper has been given a patina to make it look worn and aged and a protective coating to maintain its appearance.The key ring is handmade to order and costs around £14.  

Five Things for a Literary Mother's Day

Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday, call it whichever you like, but if it's at all applicable to anybody in your extended family – don't miss it! There are many ways to celebrate the day without spending cash (breakfast in bed is one of my personal favourites – hint, hint), but, as you all know by now, I can't resist the excuse for a bit of book-themed shopping. I've scoured the internet, and here are five of the best ways to celebrate mother's day with literary style. And there's just enough time for you to order these items in before the big day. 

 

1. I know it's playing to tired gender stereotypes to suggest an apron for Mother's Day, but I actually love nice aprons and would be delighted to receive this. Not only is it a good length (practical!) and very pretty, but it quotes Mary Poppins, too. £15 from BerryRed. 

 

2. A striking typographic card for James Joyce fans. The quote is from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and reads: 'Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world a mother's love is not.' The card is A5 and costs £2.95 from Bookish. 

 

Five Perfect Paperweights

Paperweights have gone out of fashion somewhat. Now that we write, work and read using our computers and tablets and phones, we no longer have great piles of paper cluttering our desks. At least that's the theory. I don't know about you, but I still manage to spawn drifts of the stuff. Post-it notes, which have lost their stickiness, lists scribbled on scrap paper, printed pages for hard-copy editing, articles torn from magazines and newspapers, and, of course, towering piles of books. A paperweight is just the thing for keeping papers from flowing off your desk and onto the floor and they're also quite good for gazing at while you're trying to think of your next brilliant plot twist.   

1. This personalised paperweight features a circus-style letter printed onto a vintage dictionary page, encased in a 7cm round glass dome. The paperweight is handmade in Sussex and ships with a pouch and gift box. It's available from Ellie Ellie and priced £24.50.

2. When dealing with your emails seems too dull for words, play with this lovely brass compass instead. Avast, me hearties! £35 from Not On The High Street. 

Five Things for a Literary Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is upon us and, like it or loathe it, one thing is certain: A literary slant can only improve matters. We've found five book-inspired items to give to your sweetheart this February (along with a romantic novel or book of poetry for maximum literary effect). Alternatively, you could send them a link to this post and see if they take the hint and buy something bookishly romantic for you.

1. Despite studying his work for my degree, I have retained a soft spot for E.E. Cummings. This stainless steel heart-shaped necklace is hand-stamped with a quote from his poem: 'I carry your heart with me. I carry it in my heart.' The price of around £12.44 includes the freshwater pearl and chain. The necklace is available from FaithMetal on Etsy.

2. Some of my happiest moments have occurred in libraries (shush, not those sort of moments), so I’d love to receive this Valentine’s card. It's in the the style of a library card (printed from an original illustration onto high quality silk finish card) and costs £3.50 from Sarah Hurley Designs.

Five of the Best...Luxury Notebooks

We've covered notebooks before, but there are so many beautiful ones available and they're just so covetable. Also, this round up features only the best – the most luxurious, the most decadent. Okay, so the list might be more for drooling over than for clicking 'buy', but it's nice to daydream once in a while, right?

1. While researching luxurious notebooks (it's a hard life), I stumbled across the phrase 'soft leather' fairly often, but there is something undeniably classy about this journal by Aspinal of London. Perhaps it's the soft grey-pink colour ('Deer Safiano' according the website), perhaps it's the chunky shield-shaped lock. Either way, it makes me think of preppy Ivy League types and matching luggage. The journal is refillable which, as it costs £175, is pretty essential, and it comes with a 144-page refill to start you off.

2. Back down at the 'actually affordable' end of the luxury notebook market, we have this beauty from Castelli. The Arles Quarto notebook is 21 x 26cm and is refillable with either lined or plain pages. It comes in a range of colours including indigo blue, coral red, pink, purple and baby blue (pictured). The notebook costs £23.50 and you can personalise it with two lines of text on the front cover for a further £4. 

Five of the Best...Inspirational Accessories

We've already sourced five of the best motivational posters to decorate your office and give you the drive (dare we say, the moxie) to write your book, but there's always room for more encouragement. After all, writers deal with procrastination, fear of failure and the urge to give up and take a nap on an almost daily basis; we need every little bit of help we can find. Or buy.

1. This wall decal hails from the can-do city of New York and, appropriately enough, it reads: 'I Will Win, Not Immediately But Definitely'. If that doesn't fire you up, I don't know what will. The decal measures 26 by 16 inches and is handmade in black vinyl. It costs around £9.88 and is available from MyVinylStory on Etsy. 

2. We all know how much writers like hot drinks and vintage typewriters, why not combine the two with this 'Stay Up Late and Write' mug? Hopefully, the message will goad you into getting a few more words down before bedtime. Around £9.89 from Etsy. 

Five Marvellous Motivational Posters

At the beginning of the year my mind is focused on two things: Setting goals and finding the motivation to achieve them. If you write (or want to write), you may have already discovered the terrifying gap that exists between 'I want to write' and 'I have written', and you may even have fallen into it a few times (I know I have). So, you need to stack those odds in your favour. Set yourself up with a comfortable work area, add some of your favourite novels to spur you onto greatness, and give your muse an unmissable hint by hanging one of these inspirational posters above your desk. 

 

1. You. Yes, you. Stop messing about and do some work! This light blue Kenneth Williams comedy catchphrase print is a limited edition (one of fifty). It is hand screen-printed in London onto high quality recycled paper. The screen print measures 50 by 70cm and costs £39 from Ministry Of Words.

 

2. I don’t know if you’re familiar with the video blogger, Ze Frank, but this poster is taken from his brilliant Invocation For Beginnings (great video, great poster, but be warned, there are some rude words). The poster shows the entire script from the video and is designed by Stefan Bucher. It costs around £15 from Ze Frank. 

 

3. This Nelson Mandela quote is one of my favourites and I have it on a piece of paper next to my keyboard for when I'm struggling with a book. The 'It Always Seems Impossible Until It’s Done' print is made from a handwritten chalk picture, printed onto linen recycled paper. Each print is signed and dated on the back and measures 8 by 10 inches. The print costs around £9.50 from Etsy. 

4. This 'never never never give up' print is perfect for those inspired by slightly bossy artwork. The words are printed on an old book page using archival quality ink and the print costs around £5.70 from ExLibrisJournals on Etsy. 

5. This wooden wall plaque has a subtle vintage feel and would look good in a hallway or living room, as well as a writing studio. It measures 43 by 50cm and is currently on sale at £28 from NotOnTheHighStreet. 

Which is your favourite?

Five of the Best...Desk Planners

Perhaps your resolution to get organised hasn't quite got off the ground yet, but we're still in the first month of the year and there's no time like the present. Why not treat yourself to a lovely new desk planner to help you get into the swing? You may already have a wall calendar and a diary, but these planners are great for scribbling to-do lists and daily notes. Yes, you could use scrap paper for the same purpose, but these planners are split into days of the week and are much prettier, too. Sold? Read on...

1. The weekly planner pad by Lollipop Designs has over 55 sheets, which can be dated and used as a calendar or for menu planning, time tables, or notes. It comes with a bulldog clip and magnetic pencil, so you can hang the pad somewhere useful (like the fridge, for example), and the pad is printed on recycled paper using vegetable inks. The pad costs £9.75 from Not On The High Street.  

2. I like the muted colours and vintage charm of this pretty desk pad, as well as the watercolour image of the Eiffel Tower in the corner. The Paris weekly planner measures 20cm by 21cm and contains 50 sheets. It costs £8.50 from The Fox and Star Stationery Company. There is also a London version available.  

Five Sensational Sharpeners

I love writing with a pencil, but it has to be a freshly sharpened one. In fact, I can't abide a blunt lead! I usually get around this foible by using a mechanical pencil, but there is something undeniably pleasing about a freshly sharpened pencil. My architect grandfather swore by a sharp knife to do the job, but if you don't have one handy (or are too clumsy to want to risk it), these sharpeners will hone your pencil without danger to life and limb.

 

1. I don't know about you, but this sturdy box-shaped pencil sharpener reminds me of my primary school days. It even clamps to the desk if you want to recreate the full experience. There is a guard to hold the pencil (and stop it from becoming over-sharpened) and a generously sized shavings tray. Better yet, there are replacement blades available so that you'll never have to replace the entire unit. The Ikon sharpener by Swordfish has an RRP of around £25 but is currently available at Amazon for £12.87.