Now updated for 2024! Local readers, writers, comic book enthusiasts and patrons of our fabulous new library, take note! And enjoy the abundance of beautiful gifts for you and yours this year.
Maxima Gift & Book Center, 212 Massachusetts Ave. Arlington, MA
Check off the gifts for the book lovers, puzzle fans, and game lovers in your life at Maxima Gift & Book Center.
Bookish Gifts: Highlights of this one-of-a-kind collection include book-themed candles like Page One, with orange, basil, and amber scents, and Next Chapter, featuring leather and old books scent. The bookworm/plant lovers on your list will chuckle at the William Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe ceramic planters. Word nerds will love displaying Dictionary Art featuring author quotes embossed on dictionary pages.
Board games and puzzles galore: From timeless classics like checkers to strategy board games like Catan or silly games like Abandon the Artichokes, Maxima offers something for big and little kids alike. Puzzles include book-themed challenges like Jane Austen's Book Club and 1000-piece, scenic standards like Birds in the Park. 500-piece puzzles are also available for those who prefer a smaller-scale challenge.
Teas and Tea Accessories: Every family has a tea-lover, and Maxima knows it! They offer an extensive collection of loose-leaf teas and various styles of tea steepers, teapots, tea towels, and trivets. Plus, what good book or game night is complete without a cuppa?
Bonus shopping stop: While Maxima's 212 Mass Ave location has always had books, their second location, Maxima Book Center, a few blocks down in Lexington Center, has even more. Get on their mailing list for new book releases and know precisely what books you'll choose before you head over!
Porter Square Books (PSB), RELOCATED FALL 2024!! Now at 1815 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
This "fiercely independent" bookstore in the Porter Square Shopping Center is cultivating readers of all ages and makes the shopping experience so easy. Book suggestions are available online before you go, or you can count on one of their staff to help whittle down choices. If you're genuinely stumped and don't want to go with a gift card, consider one of PSB's Book Bundles, like Hannah's Horror Bundle or Sarah's Mystery Bundle, for that true crime junkie who's looking to branch out.
They have lots of recommendations for the young readers on your list too - they host the very popular spring book fair at Medford's Missituk School and they know what the kids like!
Is there a writer on your holiday gift list? PSB has all the accoutrements that writers crave -- stylish notebooks and journals, swoon-worthy pens, and of course, an extensive greeting card collection. Because what writer doesn’t love to send a card?
All She Wrote Books, RELOCATED FALL 2023!! Now at 75 Washington Street, Somerville
All She Wrote Books is a welcome addition to the scores of stores and eateries in nearby Assembly Row. Devoted to inclusivity, All She Wrote’s shelves are teeming with feminist, queer, and intersectionality writers in a variety of genres, from mystery to memoir, true crime to graphic novels. Don’t leave without perusing the outstanding collection of vintage-with-a-twist humorous cards and salty journals.
The Book Oasis, 311 Main Street, Stoneham
The Book Oasis brings an eco-friendly slant to book sales by offering book trades. Clear your bookshelves of titles you’ve not touched in ages and head over to the Book Oasis to get some new ones for the bibliophiles on your shopping list! Have a budding cook on your hands? Check out the Book Oasis’s Literary Cookbook Collection, including the culinary wizardry found in Downton Abbey, The Princess Bride, or – wait for it! – World of Warcraft and Star Wars! They also have running lists in the LGBTQ+, Young Adult, and Social Justice genres.
You can also stop by Trove, in Medford's Hillside, to buy books for your favorite kiddos from Book Wonder's diverse and inspiring selection of titles for all ages. If you're stumped on what the kids are reading these days, reach out to Book Wonder's owner and curator Mel Raelin; she always has lots of recommendations to hand.
Or maybe you want to remember a book-lover with a special gift to support the good work of Sam Sednek, Director Barbara Kerr and all the dedicated folks at the Medford Public Library? On your way out, grab someone a gently used favorite from the Friends of the Library book sale cart in the beautiful foyer - or keep an eye out for their book sales (with games and puzzles too!) on eBay, Facebook and in-person at the library throughout the year.
Looking for local recs for kids? For the musically inclined? Or your favorite funky homebody? We've got those too - in our Very Merry Medford Gift Guide.
Like what you’re reading here? Want to know more? Sign up for the 4Squares Medford Newsletterand tune in to more conversations with great Medford neighbors!
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