Unfortunately marking an item as a gift will only double the tax-free zone to £36 if you want it insured and I'm sure that you do then they have to mark its value.
That said, I don't believe books are subject to import taxes so it might be worth trying to mark it as a book. I will investigate this further.
I've attached the importing/exporting start kit guide from the .gov website for information purposes. Looks to be a hefty read but could help in finding a tax-free loop hole to evade paying.
EDIT2 : after reading the attached document it appears they've segmented off all the useful information about what does and doesn't attract customs duty into a 3 volume of books they call "The Tariff" to get access to it you have to pay £245 per year.
EDIT3 : Might be worth giving these guys a ring to find out what gets through cheaply or even free.
Quote:
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For details about the rates of duty applying to particular goods you can call the HM Revenue & Customs Tariff Classification Service Enquiry Line on Tel 01702 366077
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