At Buy Books for the Holidays we want to let you know about every opportunity to buy books for readers, including some of the holiday book blogger swaps that take place every year. Many book bloggers love these opportunities to pick out shiny tomes for people they know have an insatiable taste for books. If you’re looking for an extra chance to make readers happy by buying them books, consider joining one of the book swaps we highlight here.

Claire at Paperback Reader is running 2010′s Persephone Christmas Swap.

Persephone is a popular publisher that reissues neglected classics, mostly by female authors, from the 20th century. Persephone has a great record of interacting positively with book bloggers and often print comments from their reviews in the Persephone biannual magazine. Book bloggers love the classy grey covers the books come in and the vintage prints used for the end papers. They’re also keen on the content – however pretty a book’s packaging may be all book lovers know you have to look inside to know it’s true worth (hey it’s the holidays, cheesy sentences like that are encouraged).

Book bloggers can sign up until November 5th to swap beautiful book from the Persephone catalogue by emailing Claire (claire.boyle at gmail dot com) their address, name and which Persephone titles they’ve already read (it’s okay to say you’re a Persephone newbie too and let your swap partner pick at random). Each book costs £10 and can be delivered to the recipient gift wrapped.

Be sure to check Claire’s post about the swap for detailed information.

20% off entire purchase (today, 3/6/11, ONLY!)

This list is from Ana at things mean a lot. If you’re not already excited, just by that blog name then you’re missing out – go check her blog out right now then come back and see what you could be buying up for lovers of all kinds of graphic novels:

Comics and Graphic novel aficionados never tire of repeating that they are a medium, not a genre. What this translates into in practical terms is the fact that there’s likely a perfect graphic novel out there for fans of every genre – just like traditional novels, the comics medium is more than diverse enough to satisfy the taste of every reader.

If you’re thinking of buying someone a comic or graphic novel this holiday season but don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. The following mini-guide is meant to help you decide based on the reading interests of the person you’re buying for (or – why not? – on your own). Happy reading and happy holidays!

1. For glbtq folks and allies, feminists and political activists: Alison Bedchel’s The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For collects the best of twenty years of a comic strip that follows the adventure and misadventures of a predominantly lesbian and very political group of friends in an unidentified American city. Bedchel herself described it as “half Victorian serial novel half opinion column”, which is about right. The political musings will mostly appeal to those with left-wing sensibilities, but the book does make an effort to include characters of different ideological leanings.

2. For those interested in recent history and/or current affairs: Safe Area Goražde by Joe Sacco is an example of comics journalism at its very best. It’s an immensely powerful account of Saco’s two years in Goražde during the war in Bosnian, and it includes plenty of testimonials from those who were there for the whole duration of the conflict. If you want to know more about the atrocities that took place in Eastern Europe in the 1990’s, this is the place to start.

3. For fans of travel literature:La Perdida by Jessica Abel is the story of a young American expat in Mexico city; and though full of local ambience it’s not really a story about going to an exotic location to “discover yourself”. Instead, it’s a mediation on all the social and political implications of doing just that, which is to say that it includes all the bits that normally get swept under the rug.

4: For lovers of historical fiction or Victoriana: The Emma series by Kaoru Mori is an absolute delight. In case you’re wondering, no, it’s not a retelling of Austen – it’s a Victorian romance between a lady’s maid and a gentleman, complete with misunderstandings, social obstacles, and exquisite period detail. Kaoru Mori’s greatest strength is her subtlety; her ability to imply everything without saying too much. Emma is comforting and heart-warming, but also nostalgic and never too saccharine.

5. For anyone interested in fantasy and metafiction: If you’re interested in stories about stories, please don’t miss The Unwritten series by Mike Carey and Peter Goss. This is a story in which the lines between fiction and reality are blurred, and where readers are invited to think about why we tell stories and what they mean to our lives. What’s not to love?

6. For children and children at heart: The Bone series by Jeff Smith has everything: epic adventure in an intricate fantasy world, plenty of humour, delightful characters, suspense, and even a little bit of romance. The one volume edition is quite an intimidating tone, but well worth the investment. You’ll fly through it; you’ll see.

7. For fairy tale enthusiasts: Castle Waiting by Linda Medley is a gorgeous book in every sense of the world. It begins as a retelling of Sleeping Beauty and turns into a story about a group of outcasts, every one of which has a story to tell, living together in a castle. (Alternatively, there’s no going wrong with Bill Willingham’s Fables series: the first volume is Legends in Exile.)

8. For mythology and folklore devotees: Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series is a classic of the medium, and with good reason. Rather than starting with the first collection, Preludes and Nocturnes, I’d recommend picking up the standalone volume Dream Hunters, a gorgeously illustrate Japanese folktale. It will give you a much better idea of what the series is all about.

9.For those interested in magic realism and Latin American literature: Heartbreak Soup by Gilbert Hernandez is part of the Palomar series, which has been referred to as the One Hundred Years of Solitude of comics. Need I say more? The series is about the lives of the inhabitants of the fictional Latin American city of Palomar, and it’s full of humanity, tenderness, and slight touches of magic.

10. For fans of coming-of -age stories, or memoirs, or love stories, or… actually, whatever your interests are, don’t miss out on Craig Thompson’s absolutely stunning Blankets. It’s a story about first love, about coming to terms with a family where you don’t fit in, about faith, about sexuality and guilt, about forgiveness, and about finding yourself. To put it simply, it’s one of the most beautiful books I have read in my life.’

Make sure you check out our archive of shopping lists to help you solve any book buying conundrums you might be having.

Our first shopping list this year is from Ari at Reading in Colour. Her range of suggestions for multi-cultural books with male characers should help you find books for the pickiest young readers:

As someone with a little brother, I know how hard it can be to find good books to give, especially for boys. My brother is extremely picky about what he will read and while he’s not yet old enough to try out these recommendations (ok he could read the MG if he wanted to but he still hates reading so the point is moot at the moment), I’ve found all these books to be refreshingly honest and overall great reads with male main characters. While all these books are heartwarming, they are also extremely funny. It’s a winning combination. Without further ado I present my list of multicultural books with male main characters…

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (YA)

First Part Last by Angela Johnson (YA)

Sammy & Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (YA)

We Were Here by Matt De La Pena (YA)

Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz (YA)

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher (YA)

The Making of Dr. Truelove by Derrick Barnes (YA)

Escaping the Tiger by Laura Manivong (MG)

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich (MG)

The Prince of Fenway Park by Julianna Baggott (MG)

The Watsons Go to Birmingham by Christopher Paul Curtis (MG)

Operation Redwood by S. Terrel French (MG)

Make sure you check out our archive of shopping lists to help you solve any book buying conundrums you might be having.