Books, Writing, and Books on T-Shirts
What reader doesn’t like displaying their love for books? There’s numerous sellers of book-related products out there, but how do you choose just one? I’ve asked Melissa Chan, the creator of Literary Book Gifts, to give us some insight into her online store that is dedicated to bookish tees and totes.Take it away, Melissa!
I love books. I love literature, reading, and everything that has to do with it. I always make an effort to go out of my way to seek out multiple books by the same author after I’ve found a title I like. Sometimes the author only has one great work, but other times I am rewarded with a goldmine of titles to read, enjoy, and appreciate.
I took my love of reading to put together some gifts for book lovers. It’s a collection of designs that I hope resonate with readers and writers alike. While many shirts and accessories extol reading, libraries, or the written word in general, I made a conscious decision to focus on particular titles and authors for the designs. I’ll talk about a few of the reasons why I chose to do this.
I always like to think of curation as an art in and of itself. The collection as a whole is as important as any single piece in it. Because the designs are so specific, down the exact title or author literally printed onto the shirt, it definitely runs the risk of deterring many people. For example, someone who has not heard of Edgar Allan Poe’s work is not going to want to want a Poe Shirt. And what if they are familiar with Poe but actually don’t like his work? Perhaps they are not a fan of the horror genre at all. No size, color, or styling is going to make a difference in this case. Everyone has different tastes in books, and even though there are various designs from a wide range of titles and authors in the collection, because the designs are so specific it’s not humanly possible to include everyone’s favorite book.
I selected individual titles for a few reasons. I believe it’s important to have specific tastes, and share those tastes with others. Few would deny that they like reading in general. Those that are perhaps too exhausted and busy during the day to open a book still appreciate stories. It even doesn’t mean much to say things like ‘I love fantasy or romance’. Nobody likes every single book within a given genre. Specific titles give people the opportunity to find common ground on the exact title. Wearing shirts is a great way start fun conversations between book lovers or those interested in literature. Telling someone to go and read a book is a lot different than recommending them your favorite title.
For those don’t like wearing specific books, there are still designs for you. They are still all in vintage styling so they remain cohesive with the collection. This ‘The End’ Shirt is a reminder of the last pages of each book. The Typewriter Tote Bag is for writer who wants to remember a time before writing took place on computers.
Thank you so much for reading a bit about the collection and the curation of the designs. I had a lot of fun putting them together and I hope that they can spark a least a bit of conversation between readers.
~ Melissa
