Gift Tips for the Bookish: Bookcases

No, not those bookcases.
Arty and unusual bookcases may work wonderfully as property porn in homemaking magazines, but as actual gifts for book lovers, they're pretty sh*tty. Most hold less than fifty books, and their fashion-not-function designs make any sort of practical categorization almost impossible. And the prices! That silly see-saw design retails for a whopping $1,899! Hell, I wouldn't push such a purchase in the best of economies, never mind our current one. So what sort of bookcases am I pimping?

Bricks and boards.
You can buy a cement block for $2 and a six foot long 2x7 for $3. That's an entire 6'x6' bookcase for less than $50! Now, I know what you're thinking. 'But my bookish friend is gonna think I'm cheap.' Not if you tell 'em it's a one-of-a-kind-artistic-recreation-of-the-classic-collegiate-model, they won't. If they try and call your bluff, simply kick a bottom brick and step out of the way. Ka-boom! That's one less present you'll have to buy next year.