Gifts for Book Lovers That Aren't Books: Art Above the Reading Chair

They know the way through their favorite books by heart and take it again anyway, usually from the same chair. In Tome of Endless Realms a stone path starts on the open pages and leads into a valley. A dragon flies over the valley so far back that in the picture it's smaller than the mushroom by the path. Down low the grass is green and some trees are yellow and orange. Higher up it's mist and gray-blue mountains. For strong color from top to bottom, look elsewhere in this guide.

They skim the peaceful chapters and slow down the moment things go wrong. In The Chronicle of Legends a dark dragon with a glowing mouth looms over a misty valley, with a castle on a rock below. On the right-hand page of the book, a bare tree stands alone. That open mouth makes the print a poor match for a reader who prefers the peaceful chapters.

They sit down with a book after lunch, and the next time they look up, somebody has switched the lamps on around them. The Codex of Creation is an old book lying open on a bank of cloud, with a river running out of its pages. Follow the water up past the waterfall and you reach a huge tree standing in sunlight. In the spray near the middle of the book there is a small rainbow, easy to miss. If they like their pictures dark and dramatic, this isn't it.

They live in the city and read their way out of it most evenings, without leaving the sofa. Foliant of the Elder Forest shows an old, quiet forest. Light comes down in rays between mossy trees, and a stream falls into the open book. Then look left into the dark, where a wolf stands watching; in the root of the left tree, an opening glows. Much of the picture is deep green shade, probably too dark if their taste runs to pale, airy colors.

They take sensible vacations close to home and pack more books than clothes. In Tome of Distant Shores the open pages are a map, and the coast grows straight out of it. A harbor town with a castle and a lighthouse lines the shore, and a golden dragon flies above the sailing ships. Down on the right-hand page, the map has a compass rose. All those ships and rooftops may feel crowded to someone who likes quiet, simple pictures.

They're the person on the park bench in a jacket that's slightly too thin because the sun is out and the book is good. Magic Book of the Sakura Shrine is full of warm, golden spring light. A stone staircase climbs to a red gate past glowing lanterns, and cherry petals have landed on the open pages. Look for the cat: it sits on a stone by the waterfall and watches the water. There's a lot of pink in it, so if pink isn't their color, leave it.

From November to March they are, for practical purposes, a blanket with a book in it. In Saga of the Old North the sea streams out of the open book, and a sailing ship is out on it. Northern lights and stars fill the sky, while a bright glow sits low between the snowy peaks. A castle on the right has its windows lit. Look at the lower edge of the book: the sea has run over it and left a puddle on the wood below. Above the book the color is cold nearly everywhere, so it's not the print for someone who only wants warm tones.

They always stop at the end of a chapter, just later than they meant to. In Legend of the High King the book lies open on a dark desk. Beyond it stand a stone statue of a king and a white city under snowy mountains. On the desk only a candle is burning, while in the book a low golden sun shines between the peaks. The catch for someone who likes bright pictures: the corners are dark too.