The Perfect Gift For The Person Who Needs To Unplug

Read any good books lately?

In partnership with Barnes & Noble.

The holidays are fast approaching and along with them the New Year. If you’re like me, you make a few resolutions every year and now is the perfect time to check in on the progress you’ve hopefully made.

I have personally made a very conscious effort to do more actual book reading this year as opposed to simply mindlessly scrolling around the internet. And I’ve read some great ones, including Start With Why, Only The Paranoid Survive, Encyclopedia of the Exquisite and Deluxe: How Luxury Lost It’s Luster, just to name a few. I decided to get back to physical books because I really felt the need to force myself to disconnect more than I had been.

Nowadays, it’s safe to say that we all feel the stress created not only by the modern world we live in, but also the stresses we manufacture for ourselves. I know that’s ringing true with many – if not all – of you. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been reading something on my phone but then am distracted by any number of things, including Instagram, email, text messages and so on. This kind of self-inflicted information overload is something I’ve discussed on the site before, which is a testament to the fact that since it’s not going away anytime soon, we’ve all got to find ways to overcome it.

Books have become one way that I’ve done so – though I’m not going to lie and tell you that I’m completely “cured”. Putting a real, live book in my hand reminds me of the pleasures I used to experience when I’d actually go to a bookstore to browse. It was a different time, quite possibly a simpler time and what’s better than a healthy dose of nostalgia, especially around the holidays?

Because I’ve personally unlocked this little secret to stolen moments of unplugged happiness and also because Christmas is quickly approaching, I’ve been searching for gifts for friends and family members that might help them capture a little of the simple pleasure I’ve been able to harness through books. And I’ve been doing it through Barnes & Noble.

Yes, that’s right, after waxing poetic about “the good old days” “when I was a kid” I’m still shopping online – though maybe I’ll hold myself accountable and go to an actual store – but it’s interesting because the experience you have at Barnes & Noble is very much akin to the bookstore experience of browsing, discovery and bookseller knowledge. Bottom line: whether you’re doing your shopping in-store or online, you will definitely get the most out of your Barnes & Noble experience via their booksellers and gifting tools.

For example, it’s interactive – who are you shopping for? Him, her, mom, dad, the kids, the foodie in your life? The gift guide landing page will take you through step by step and ask all the right questions along the way to help you drill down to that perfect gift. It’s really pretty cool and certainly makes the process easy, quick, painless and, honestly pretty fun. I highly recommend trying it out for yourself.

Chime in: Read any good books lately?

Thanks for reading.

Stylishly Yours,

Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style

Photography by Rob McIver Photo