I don’t do Black Friday.

This might come as a shock to anyone who knows me, because if bargain shopping were a sport, well…let’s just say I’m the Hawks in The Mighty Ducks. Before they get schooled by Emilio’s scrappy kids from District 5, of course. I prefer TJ Maxx to Bloomingdale’s any day of the week, regardless of whose money I’m spending. Truth. I have a three-year-old gift card to the latter sitting unused in my wallet to prove it.

But as much as I live for a good sale, I’ve never hopped on the Black Friday bandwagon. The reasons are obvious – these people are nuts.

One sale I CAN get on board with is Cyber Monday. All the deals, none of the hassle. What’s not to love?

And, not surprisingly, books are one of my favorite holiday gifts for family and friends. They can be a highly personal gift – an opportunity to demonstrate how much you know your sister loves to bake, or the fact that your friend wants to hike through South America, or that you remember how much your roommate LOVED Middlesex, and you just know she’ll love Jeffrey Eugenides’ new novel. You’re also giving them the gift of time – an excuse to step back from their hectic life and get lost in a good book.

I scoured our amazing internets to find the best Cyber Monday book deals around. I hope this helps you get a head start on your holiday shopping – I just knocked out half of my list!

Amazon – You may have heard of them, they’re a pretty big deal. Amazon always has solid discounts, but today they’re bigger and better. Children’s, cookbooks, romance, fiction, it’s all here, and some at prices up to 90% off. You can also grab the Kindle DX for $120 off. For the brainy beer knurd on my list, I’m grabbing a copy of The Oxford Companion to Beer at a whopping 60% off. This lucky guy is sure to have a “Hoppy” Holiday. Ouch…sorry.

Open Road – The innovative publisher of e-riginals is having a huge sale – all their e-books are 60% off. They’re calling it The Gift of E, and as a bonus, they also help shoppers understand ins and outs of gifting e-books.

Barnes & Noble – The brick-and-mortar chain is offering a nice bonus online today – a $25 gift card when you buy a Nook. Only catch is that you have to pay with a Master Card.  They also have up to 70% off select titles, 50% off New York Times bestsellers, and a coupon code for an extra 30% off one item. That’s a lot of math for a former English major, but it sounds like a good deal to me. Check it out here.

Top Shelf Comics – For the graphic novel lovers on your list, visit the good folks over at Top Shelf. Dedicated to championing veteran creators as well as finding and developing emerging talent, their roster includes Alan Moore (From Hell and Lost Girls), Andy Runton (Owly), and Matt Kindt (Super Spy), to name a few. And today, they’re offering 30% off everything. Stock up!

Scholastic – The beloved children’s publisher is offering savings up to 73% off today. That means you can pick up the box set of The Hunger Games for less than 30 smackers! (sidenote: have you seen the trailer yet??? Our office is beyond excited).

Have you found any other great book deals out there?