Literary Book Gifts

Today I am doing something a little different here. Instead of looking at indie books, I'm focusing on an indie shop that celebrates a love of the classics. I was made aware of an independent online shop, Literary Book Gifts, which, as its name would suggest specializes in bookish novelties. The owner, Melissa makes all the designs herself, for the cool collection of t-shirts, hoodies, tanks and totes. She has generously offered readers of The Princess and the Pen an exclusive discount of 20% off your purchase from Literary Book Gifts and agreed to a little interview about the store and her passion for books.

Thanks for agreeing to this little interview! Hi Malia, thank you so much for having me on your blog! What made you want to open an online shop selling literary inspired items? I hate shopping at the mall because I can never find shirts I like. And when I do it is never in the right size, color, and material. So recently I decided to solve that problem for myself by putting books on shirts so myself and others could appreciate and enjoy the titles! Since many of the titles are very specific I knew the best way would for them to be available online so everyone can pick and choose exactly what they like. How involved are you in creating the designs on your products? I do all the designs myself. Some of the titles and authors come from ancient artwork or book covers. I say ancient because some of them are literally from over 100-300 years ago, or more! These ones always require lots of cleaning up and alterations. However many of them are designs that are new for the title or author. Have you always been a reader? Yes I have, and I have enjoyed reading classics since I was quite young. Who are some of your favorite authors? I love Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, and of course, a fan favorite Sir Conan Doyle! What are you reading right now? Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, it's amazing! Use the promo code MALIAZAIDI20 which is good for 20% off anything in the store, no minimum, and can be used unlimited times.