Cyber Monday is tomorrow, so it’s the perfect time for me to 1) get back into this blog of mine and 2) write my annual holiday gift post. This year, I am highlighting the ideal way to decorate the walls of any bibliophile’s home: literary-themed prints. There is a wide array of options in the world of artwork for your home, but if you are a book, adding some literature to your walls just makes sense.
Out of the shops known for lit art on Etsy, the black and white (sometimes red) designs of ObviousState stand out the most. They are sleek, elegant, and somewhat cheeky while paying homage to some of the greatest writers known throughout history. The digital storefront, run by Evan and Nichole Robertson, currently has over 100 prints to choose from. Authors include philosophers like Aristotle, playwrights like Shakespeare, and poets like Rumi. Each print is $22.40 a piece (currently 20% off), or you can purchase three 11×14 prints for $40.* Not finding a quote you like? The shop also offers custom prints!
Out of the prints available at ObviousState, below you can find the twelve that have my heart this holiday season. The top three are ones I will, someday, hang in my dedicated writing space when my husband and I have an extra room in our home.
If prints aren’t your thing, ObviousState has a selection of illustrated books, notebooks, postcards, tote bags, bookmarks, and calendars. Check out their website and Instagram page to stay on top of website sale codes, store announcements, and new items at the shop. Happy holidays!
*Prices are subject to change.
12. “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”
– T.S. Eliot
11. “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.”
-Leo Tolstoy
10. “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
9. “I hate the office; it cuts in on my social life.”
– Dorothy Parker
8. “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”
– John Keats
7. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
– Soren Kierkegaard
6. “When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don’t seem to matter, do they?”
– Virginia Woolf
5. “It is not down in any map; true places never are.”
– Herman Melville
4. “Forever is composed of Nows”
– Emily Dickinson
Out of all 109 prints available on the ObviousState page, these three prints are the ones I could see myself hanging in my future writer’s study (my book nook is unfortunately only a corner in my bedroom for the time being). These quotes inspire and challenge all at once – perfect accompaniments to a creative space.
3. “One who has a why can bear almost any how.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche
Find this print here on ObviousState’s Etsy page
2. “I would always rather be happy than dignified.”
– Charlotte Bronte
Find this print here on ObviousState’s Etsy page
1. “An idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.”
– Oscar Wilde
Find this print here on ObviousState’s Etsy page
The Book Nook Chronicles 