All you book nerds out there, were you guys ever judged for sniffing the glorious smell of new books? Ever read a book in public and have people stare at you when you laugh or cry? Feel like you’re alone on this? Don’t worry, I got your back! Here are some struggles only us book lovers will understand:
1. Never-ending TBR pile
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When you’re constantly getting book recommendations from fellow readers and book reviewers/BookTubers, and you barely have any time to read, your TBR (to-be-read) pile will grow and get out of hand before you know it. You can’t help but feel the stress. There are so many books to read, but so little time. At the same time, having so many books to look forward to is the most amazing feeling in the world. It’s both a blessing and a curse.
2. Whoops- Can’t watch the movie yet!
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It’s always a dream come true for readers to be able to see their favorite books come to life on the movie screen and compare it to the images they created and ‘directed’ in their head while reading the book. One of the unspoken rules within the reading community is NEVER WATCH THE MOVIE BEFORE READING THE BOOK. Well, it’s not really a rule, but we all know that the book is oftentimes better than the movie, and watching the movie first is very likely going to make your reading experience less enjoyable since you won’t be reading it with fresh eyes. Moreover, since book to movie adaptations only have around two hours to cover 300+ pages of material, they usually have to squeeze in all the information as best as they can, and it doesn’t always make sense. Watching the movie after reading the book allows you to have more background knowledge of the fictional world, making it easier to follow the plotline, allowing you to have a more enjoyable experience! So whenever there’s a book to movie adaptation coming up soon, we know we have some homework to do!
Book to movie adaptations are becoming more and more popular recently and it’s beginning to become overwhelming for readers (in a good way, don’t get me wrong!). There’s The Darkest Minds, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Hate U Give, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Ready Player One, A Monster Calls, Crazy Rich Asians — just to name a few adaptations released in the past few months. With so much going on in our lives, it’s really hard to find the time to read, which can cause a lot of frustration…
*People talking about this movie you’ve heard so much about in the book community*
Friend: OMG! Have you seen ________ yet?
Me: Ahhh! I want to! I’ve heard so much about it!
Friend: Girl, what are you waiting for?
Me: I haven’t had time to read the book yet.
Friend: Just watch the movie!! Why read it when you can just watch it??
Me: NOOOOOO
3. What was I reading about?
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When life gets in the way and every time you pick up your book, it’s been so long you’ve already forgotten what you were reading about, so you have to reread the previous chapters or start over.
4. Book sniffing and petting
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What’s the normal thing to do when you have a book on hand? Smell and pet it, of course! We all know how satisfying the smell of books is, especially new ones. It is also incredibly comforting to be able to FEEL your book PHYSICALLY — to hold it, feel the weight on your hand, the smoothness of the spine, and the lightness of the pages.
*We all know how the muggles usually react to our book sniffing. SMH.*
5. Emotional wreck in public
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Some people describe reading as a relaxing and calming activity, but in reality, it’s the EXACT opposite. Reading can be an exhausting and emotional, yet an addicting roller coaster ride. We get so attached to the characters, we can physically feel their emotion. Feeling pain over a fictional character’s death, crying happy tears when our OTP is finally official, sobbing when something unfortunate happens. FEELING ALL THE FEELS. We’re often an emotional wreck whenever we read in public, and I’m sure we all agree when I say it’s a huge struggle for us to contain ourselves in public when there are so many emotions bubbling inside us.
Read on, collegiettes. Smell all the books to your heart’s content.