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The Goods

Bookish Socks for Winter Nights

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Alex Luppens-Dale

Contributor

Alex Luppens-Dale won the “Enthusiastic Reader Award” all four years of high school. She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and received her MFA in Creative Writing from The New School. Her favorite genres are memoir, witches, and anything with cults. She lives in New Jersey. You can keep up with Alex's latest work at her website.

I am not a person who enjoys the winter. Yes, I know that for some it’s a time of cozy long nights reading by the fireplace, but I do not have a functional fireplace and I hate getting home from work in the dark. I do not like being cold, either, and that’s why I am here to make the case for socks. Specifically, bookish socks. Fun socks make the winter more bearable. Plus, they can be a subtle way of telling the world what you’re interested in without making it your entire personality if, perhaps, that’s not something your workplace would accept. I used to love wearing eccentric socks to my corporate job.

The other great thing about socks is that everyone needs them. If worn once per week, socks should last from six months to a year. Confession: I have socks in my sock drawer that could be starting middle school this year, but socks are a thing that people actually do need more of because they wear out. Book-themed socks tell your person that you’ve gotten them a thing they need that references a thing they like, and isn’t that what love is? Socks also tend to be affordable, unlike those Instagram pajamas that have been following me around the internet for the last few weeks.

Will there be any bookish socks under your tree this year?

Socks featuring the title and author of Stephen King's It and the creepy mouth and nose of Pennywise the clown.

If you, like me, cannot walk past a storm drain without muttering “Hiya, Georgie” to yourself, these socks from Out of Print might be for you. $12

Brown/black socks with books that read "These are my reading socks. Leave me alone."

These socks get an A+ for clear communication of needs. $15

Tall black socks with a pattern of red, blue, and green books

These tall colorful socks are ready to take your lounging to new heights. $13

Navy blue socks featuring a pattern of open books.

These socks are both subtle and a little bit fancy for when you’re feeling both of those things. $25

Socks with the words "True Crime" in a heart and featuring a pattern of caution tape, hearts, and handcuffs.

CAUTION: socks for the true crime fan in your life. $12

Pink socks with blue, turquoise, peach, and dark blue books.

These pink book socks just make me happy. You can never go wrong with pink. $11

Peach socks with the text "I like books" (one foot) "& maybe 3 people." (other foot)

These socks are super cute, even if this estimate feels a little bit high to me. $11+

Blue socks featuring a stack of books on one sock and the words "GO READ SOME BOOKS" on the other.

Solid life advice from these socks. $11

Three pairs of children's socks with orange, green, and yellow accents and letters, libraries, and book patterns respectively. .

Here are some socks for the bookish children in your life. In my day, the only fun socks we had were toe socks. $14

Socks in various sci-fi inspired patterns including equations and space.

These sci-fi socks will keep you company on your next trip across the galaxy. $7

White socks with black toes and heels and a vintage-inspired pattern of books.

These vintage-style book socks will bring some whimsy to your reading life. $20

I hope that this helps you find the socks of your dreams — or of someone else’s dreams — and that these socks go a little bit of the way toward making those long winter nights just a bit cozier.