Bookish.

I realize that I have a lot of little quirks (I recently discussed some of them that come with being an introvert...thank you all so much for the lovely comments on that post! They made my day :). Being a book nerd, I have a lot of strange bookish habits.

I love to read. I know that comes as a surprise to most of you...ha. I've loved books for as long as I can remember. Goodreads to me is like Facebook is to most people. I remember, as a kid, going to the bookstore inside our local Goodwill (yes, ours basically has a used bookstore inside) and scouring the shelves for interesting books. Then I was looking for anything in the Babysitter's Club or the Saddle Club series or ghost stories. I do the same thing now, except my tastes have changed. :) It's hilarious to see how many of the books I've purchased in my life have that familiar scrawl in the upper right corner of the first page: the month/year the book arrived at the store and the price written underneath. {I try to erase it now, but sometimes you can still see the faded pencil marks.}

You know the reaction of some people when they find out you read for fun? I feel as much disbelief toward people who don't. I remember reading in homeroom before class in the 7th grade. A boy came in and saw me and said, "Don't you have anything better to do?" I said, "Not really."

Now, about eight years later, I have finally formed a comeback. (Don't you love it how that happens? :) I should have said, "What? Like shoot wasps at people?" That was one of his favorite class past times. A wasp was a small piece of paper folded up until it was as hard as rock, and the boys shot them around class with rubber bands. They were surprisingly painful (I was accidentally in the line of fire and got hit once).

And since I'm feeling strangely nostalgic, do you guys remember Scholastic book fairs? Best day in the entire school year.

I collect books. Sure, I want to own copies of favorite stories and I love the possibility of what is inside a book I've never read before. But I also buy them because I love being surrounded by them. I carry one with me at all times...this seriously comes in handy when you unexpectedly have to wait somewhere. As Lemony Snicket says: Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them. :)

I'm also a bit obsessive about my books. I try to keep them all in good condition, but of course my favorites are a bit more worn (as well as the ones I have bought used). Books that are worn from reading are fine, but stains and crumpled pages and damaged covers drive me crazy. I love old books because they're beautiful and have so much character, but I have a hard time actually reading them because I feel like I have to be so careful because they're fragile.

Here's how my bookshelves are organized: by genre (fiction mostly, plus a small section of memoirs/biographies and then other misc. nonfiction), then in alphabetical order by author's name, then for the most part in publishing order. I know this might sound borderline OCD, but I'm just being honest here. :) Every so often, after I've acquired several new books, I go back in and rearrange where I need to. I'm not a neat freak as far as cleaning, but things must be organized or I can't think straight. And my bookshelves are one of my favorite things to organize (I don't even mind dusting them :).

Let's talk about book covers...I break the rules and judge books by their covers all the time. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but a pretty cover sure does help draw me in. In general, I hate movie covers. I have a few of them, but they're sort of a last resort (as in they were really inexpensive or my only option at the time). I'm also not a fan of covers with faces on them. Occasionally I like it a lot, maybe even love it. But most of the time I don't. I like matching covers. But sometimes I break down and buy unmatching ones if they're much, much cheaper. My Anne of Green Gables set is completely mismatched because they all came from Goodwill. Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern series, which I adore, has original, unique, illustrated covers and blah redone covers that feature faces. I have the pretty Goose Girl, but finally bought the others in the ugly versions because they were much cheaper (seriously...this Enna Burning vs. this one?).

My fascination with pretty covers and different editions is also why I sometimes end up with multiple copies of books, but I'm trying to stop that. :) I have four different copies of Jane Eyre. {A big part of the problem here is that I'm so sentimental over books...if I get a new copy, I can't bring myself to get rid of the old one.}

I try to only read one book at a time. If I'm reading more than one, I get distracted and end up focusing on one more than the other anyway. One novel, I mean. I also have one nonfiction book going at all times, usually a devotional or something by C.S. Lewis that I read at the time of day when I journal and read my Bible.

And even though I have several pretty bookmarks, I never seem to use them! I always end up using random slips of paper (like sticky notes folded in half) or little promo cards that are always lying around.

I used to feel like a criminal when I didn't read all of my library books before returning them. Several weeks ago I brought home a big stack of books, and I've been reading through most of them. But there are a couple that I was really excited about at the time but don't really want to read right now. I was contemplating reading them anyway, but it hit me...life is too short to read books that I'm not excited about reading. I know that sounds silly and a bit obvious. I'm finished with school, so my days of required reading are over! There are so many books that I can't wait to read (or reread), so why should I waste time with ones I'm not excited about? (Besides, seven out of ten library books isn't bad at all. :)

P.S. I collect pictures of my weird book habits on Pinterest on my Bookish board.

 

So, fellow book nerds, I've spilled my embarrassing habits. Now it's your turn. Please share in the comments! :)

Until next time,