By Reader
What to do when they might already own it
The duplicate is the reason most people give up on books as gifts. Five ways round it, ranked by how much of the surprise each one costs you.
By Scooter M. · Published · Last updated
1. Give a duplicate on purpose
The best answer, and the one people never think of. If they love a book and own a paperback of it, a clothbound or illustrated hardback is not a duplicate — it is the upgrade, and the fact that they already own the story is exactly why it lands.
It costs no surprise at all, because they are not expecting it, and it requires the one piece of information that is easy to get: a book they love, rather than a book they have not read.
2. Buy something published in the last month
Recency is the most reliable proxy for not-yet-read. A book published three weeks ago has not been in anybody's to-be-read pile long, and if they were waiting for it, receiving it the month it came out is a good outcome rather than a duplicate one.
The risk is that new releases are also the books most likely to have been pre-ordered by somebody genuinely waiting for them. It cuts both ways.
3. Include a gift receipt
Unromantic and effective. It solves the problem completely at the cost of signaling that you were not certain, which is a smaller cost than most people assume — very few people are offended by a gift receipt in a book.
4. Pair the book with something else
A book plus a bookmark, a clip light, or a book sleeve. If the book turns out to be a duplicate, the gift is still a gift — the accessory carries it, and the book becomes a lending copy rather than a mistake.
It is also just a better gift shape. A book alone is one thing; a book with something tucked into it reads as considered. Small gifts for book lovers covers the things worth pairing.
5. Ask someone who would know
Their partner, their sibling, the friend they talk about books with. It costs you nothing and it costs the surprise nothing, because the recipient never finds out.
The version of this that works best is not “has she read X?” but “what has she been reading lately?” — which is a normal question with a useful answer.
Or sidestep it entirely
The reason the whole non-book gift category exists is this problem. A book light, a bookmark, a set of annotation tabs or a reading journal cannot be a duplicate in the way a novel can, and they improve every book the person reads afterwards rather than adding one more to the pile.
Gifts for book lovers that aren't books is the full version of that argument, and it is the most-read page on this site for a reason.
Answers
Questions people actually ask
What do you do if you think someone already owns the book you want to give?
Give the duplicate deliberately — a clothbound or illustrated edition of a book they already love is an upgrade rather than a mistake, and the fact that they own the story is why it works. Failing that, buy something published in the last month, include a gift receipt, or pair the book with a small non-book gift so the present survives either way.
How do you find out what books someone has read?
Ask somebody close to them what that person has been reading lately, which is a normal question with a useful answer and costs the surprise nothing. It works better than asking whether they have read a specific title, which sounds like exactly what it is.
Is it rude to include a gift receipt with a book?
No, and very few people are offended by one. It solves the duplicate problem completely at the cost of signaling that you were not certain, which is a much smaller cost than most people assume — particularly with books, where duplicates are common enough that everyone understands.
What should I say if I give someone a book they already own?
That they should take it back if they have got it, and mean it. The awkwardness in that moment comes from the giver being embarrassed rather than from the duplicate, and most readers are quietly pleased to have a spare copy of something they liked enough to be given twice — every reader has a shelf of books they lend out.