Mother’s Day gifts ideas for your bookworm mum

Clare Rigden
·Columnist
·4-min read

Mother’s Day 2020 is sorted thanks to our awesome gift guide. Here’s what to buy for your book-loving mum…

Grandmothers: Essays by 21st-Century Grandmothers, by Helen Elliott

Grandmothers: Essays by 21st-Century Grandmothers anthology consists of a selection of essays by 24 Australian women about the many and varied aspects of being a granny. Photo: Text Publishing Co
Grandmothers: Essays by 21st-Century Grandmothers anthology consists of a selection of essays by 24 Australian women about the many and varied aspects of being a granny. Photo: Text Publishing Co

Edited by literary critic Helen Elliott, this anthology consists of a selection of essays by 24 Australian women about the many and varied aspects of being a granny. Some of the amazing women contributing include Maggie Beer, Helen Garner, Stephanie Alexander, Jane Caro, Cheryl Kernot and Alison Lester.

Normal People, by Sally Rooney

Normal People is the award-winning book by Irish novelist, Sally Rooney, dubbed by the New York Times as the “the first great millennial novelist.” Photo: Faber and Faber
Normal People is the award-winning book by Irish novelist, Sally Rooney, dubbed by the New York Times as the “the first great millennial novelist.” Photo: Faber and Faber

With the serialised TV adaptation recently landing on Stan, now is the perfect time for Mum to discover this award-winning book by Irish novelist, Sally Rooney, dubbed by the New York Times as the “the first great millennial novelist.” It’s all about Connell and Marianne, childhood friends who eventually become lovers.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing is part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, it’s beautifully written and thoroughly captivating. Photo: Little, Brown Book Group
Where the Crawdads Sing is part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, it’s beautifully written and thoroughly captivating. Photo: Little, Brown Book Group

This New York Times bestseller has been much talked-about in recent years, in part because Reese Witherspoon has been singing its praises through her book club – she’s also reportedly developing it into a feature film. Part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery, it’s beautifully written and thoroughly captivating.

Personalised Peppa Pig book

Not only can you personalise the ‘Mummy’ in the story, you can also personalise the child in the book too, making them resemble members of your family. Photo: Penguin Random House Children's
Not only can you personalise the ‘Mummy’ in the story, you can also personalise the child in the book too, making them resemble members of your family. Photo: Penguin Random House Children's

This one’s for all those buying on behalf of their little ones. They’ll absolutely LOVE reading this personalised Peppa book with Mum. Not only can you personalise the ‘Mummy’ in the story, you can also personalise the child in the book too, making them resemble members of your family. Adorable!

The Mirror And The Light, by Hilary Mantel

From the author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies comes the third – and final – book in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Photo: HarperCollins Publishers
From the author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies comes the third – and final – book in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Photo: HarperCollins Publishers

From the author of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies comes the third – and final – book in Hilary Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy. Every bit as captivating as the previous two, this final book focuses on the end of Cromwell’s reign, and his spectacular fall from grace. Unputdownable.

Book light, $398

This Lumio light conceals itself in a hard-cover book, opening out 360 degrees to illuminate your room. Photo: Top3
This Lumio light conceals itself in a hard-cover book, opening out 360 degrees to illuminate your room. Photo: Top3

How great is this amazing Book light? This Lumio light conceals itself in a hard-cover book, opening out 360 degrees to illuminate your room. It also comes with a custom orange micro-USB charger. Book lovers will absolutely ADORE reading to the light of this stunning design piece.

Plant Power, by Annie Bell

Annie Bell’s gorgeous cookbook explains how to source plant proteins from high-quality unrefined wholefoods. Photo: Octopus Publishing Group
Annie Bell’s gorgeous cookbook explains how to source plant proteins from high-quality unrefined wholefoods. Photo: Octopus Publishing Group

This is great for mums trying to reduce the amount of meat in their diet. Annie Bell’s gorgeous cookbook explains how to source plant proteins from high-quality unrefined wholefoods. If Three Seed Porridge With Berries for breakfast or Spicy Lentil Baked Eggs for lunch sound right up her alley, she’ll love the recipes in this book.

The Loudness of Unsaid Things, by Hilde Hinton

There’s lots of buzz about this debut notel from Hilde Hinton, older sister to Connie and Samuel Johnson – people are comparing it to Boy Swallows Universe and Lost and Found, two other excellent reads. Photo: Hachette Australia
There’s lots of buzz about this debut notel from Hilde Hinton, older sister to Connie and Samuel Johnson – people are comparing it to Boy Swallows Universe and Lost and Found, two other excellent reads. Photo: Hachette Australia

There’s lots of buzz about this debut notel from Hilde Hinton, older sister to Connie and Samuel Johnson – people are comparing it to Boy Swallows Universe and Lost and Found, two other excellent reads. It is a story about family, loneliness and isolation, and is the perfect home quarantine read. Mum will love it.

Foldable reading glasses, $59.90

These stylish reading glasses fold up teeny-tiny, and are perfect for readers on the run. Photo: Top3
These stylish reading glasses fold up teeny-tiny, and are perfect for readers on the run. Photo: Top3

These stylish reading glasses fold up teeny-tiny, and are perfect for readers on the run. Frames are available in a range of strengths, colours and styles, and are great for the mums who aren’t quite ready to admit they might need some help reading the restaurant menu. They come in a soft felt pouch.

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