A Day for Book Lovers
bibliophiles, this one's for you
In January, I made a calendar of all bookish social media holidays, in case any of my author clients were interested in incorporating them into their content plans. August 9th is Book Lovers Day, and it’s the first one I’ve felt compelled to participate in celebrating.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a book lover. Do you remember The Boxcar Children? I was in love with the series when I was little! We had an entire shelf in our home library dedicated to them. I can vividly see it organized by number, and still remember the excitement of filling in missed mysteries from my collection.
Then when we werere in late elementary school (I think), my sister and I shared a room and kept our books in the walk-in closet. It was around this time that we began our Nancy Drew mysteries collection, and would read them in our closet, in the early mornings before going downstairs for breakfast and school.
I also remember learning the specialness of books, as they were consistently connected to experiences for us as kids. As I write this, I’m specifically thinking about both of my parents reading me It’s No Fun To Be Sick any time I didn’t feel well, and if we fast forward to today, the books my niece is emotionally leaning on as she experiences life changes like becoming a big sister, and potty training.
Some of these memories that have surfaced are reminding me that I always loved a good mystery, but more relevantly, that the books themselves were always as important to me as the stories they held.
The way I see it: some stories are library books, others are bookshelf books. Some are Sisterhood-of-the-Traveling-Pants books (the ones you share with your reading friends), and others you underline the shit out of for expansion. Some books are tattered, because the story deserves more than one read in lots of locations that damage the pages. Some even stumble onto your bookshelf because you judged the cover, and couldn’t care less about the story inside.
“Collect books, even if you don’t plan on reading them right away. Nothing is more important than an unread library.” — John Waters, author and filmmaker
There’s a magic in being surrounded by books, as my sister and I figured out in our closet. My favorite place to work has always been the library, and my mom and I pop into bookstores wherever we are, just to look around. I have books all over my home, both for reading and decoration. They’re even are my travel keepsake: I love coming home with a book by an author local to my trip.
And gifting! There is nothing more intimate than intentionally gifting a reader with a book to add to their collection. It’s so special to browse a bookshelf, and not only think of the stories within the pages, but also of the people you love who have shared them with you. Just remember: if you gift a book, add an inscription to the title page!
Funny story about this: one of my college jobs was working as a concierge at a catering hall, and I always had a book on me while I was on a shift. When I came back from a break during one of the weddings, the book I was reading was flipped back open to the title page, and a guest had shared his phone number with a note about going on a date! I went, but it didn’t go anywhere. Still, books are magic.
Anyway, I eventually even started to see books as art. I began collecting coffee table books, buying different sized bookshelves and organizing them in interesting ways. I also became the friend who reads — the one who could always be relied on for a solid book recommendation and story debrief.
I’m privileged that the passion from these objects that have brought me so much joy, hold so many memories and have taught me so much are also the foundation of my adult life. It came as a surprise to no one that I opted for a career in publishing…I wish I could describe the feeling I had the first time I walked into a New York City publishing house. All of the books! Everywhere! Take Shelves! The people bringing them to life! It was easily one version of heaven for me.
And now we live in a world (2024) where books and reading are cool enough to have their own social media holidays. As silly as they are, it’s a testament to their importance. So to all who are celebrating, cheers! Happy Book Lover’s day. May we never live in a world without books.