The hard thing about buying for a reader is that they already have the books. What they do not always have is something for the hour they read in, and that is where a candle earns its place. It gets used up, too, which is the kindest thing you can say about a present for somebody whose shelves are already full.
Every one of ours is named for a spot in the house where a person might sit and read, so the easiest way to choose is to think about where your reader actually sits, and when.
Which candle for which reader
The one who is still up at two in the morning with a thriller and no intention of stopping gets Midnight Study. If your reader cannot walk past a bookshop and owns more books than they will ever get to, The Lamplit Shelf is theirs. The Reading Chair is for the person with a chair in the corner that nobody else is allowed to sit in. Those three are the After Dark shelf, at $29.99 each, in amber glass with a gold lid and a black label.
The other three are the Open Hours shelf, at $24.99 each, in clear glass with a white lid and a parchment label. The Fireside Chapter suits the one who reads by the fire and keeps saying one more chapter, and means it every time. The Herbarium is for the gardener, or for anyone who presses flowers in a dictionary and would like August back in January. The Morning Reading Room is for the early riser who gets a chapter in before anyone else is up.
What the label says
The label is the part they will read before they light it, so it is worth knowing what is on it. It is laid out like the bookplate inside an old book. At the top is the number, then the seal, which is a lit candle standing on a closed book under an arched window with the moon in it. Below that is the name of the room, one line about it, and a line that begins with the word Pours, which names the scent plainly, so your reader knows what they have been given before the lid comes off. Along the bottom it says which shelf it came from, and then the words Open All Night.
Order about two weeks ahead
Every candle is poured after you order it, in the USA, and then it has to set before it can be boxed. We say allow about two weeks so that nobody is left waiting on a promise, and we do everything we can to beat that. For a birthday or a date that matters, order two weeks before the day, and three if you would like to stop thinking about it.
Each of the six is on Etsy on its own today. If you cannot choose, there is the Library Card, which is any three of the six for sixty-nine dollars. That one is coming when ordering opens here on the site.
