For National Book Lovers Day, 5 Reasons to Read

For National Book Lovers Day, 5 benefits of reading

For National Book Lovers Day, 5 benefits of readingThe bookish interwebs are buzzing today with fun and funny tributes to National Book Lovers Day, celebrated on Aug. 9 each year.

For some of us (like me!), every day is book lovers day. But I feel the spirit of setting aside one day a year to acknowledge and celebrate what you treasure. I mean, if grilled cheese sandwiches and yo-yos get a day, then books deserve one too, am I right?

To honor the occasion, I offer five great reasons to cultivate a love of books and invite you to share yours in the comments! Continue reading “For National Book Lovers Day, 5 Reasons to Read”

How does reading change us?

While reading, I observe and interact with the world through another’s body and mind. Closing a book and returning into myself, I’m not quite the same person. I change from reading.

While reading, I observe and interact with the world through another’s body and mind. Closing a book and returning into myself, I’m not quite the same person. I change from reading.Growing up a voracious reader, I was drawn to books both for the beauty of the stories and language and for their power to transport and change me.

I mean “transport” in two ways. Books transport me to different times and places, and they transport me out of my self. While reading, I enter another’s body and mind, occupy another’s position in space and time, observe and interact with the world through another’s way of thinking. Which brings me to the change part: Closing a book and returning into myself, I’m not quite the same person. Continue reading “How does reading change us?”

Why I’m rereading Harry Potter, again

The world of Harry Potter shows me how to choose love, beauty, and meaning even when the world feels very dark indeed.

The Harry Potter's world reminds me of the power of choice - that I can choose joy, beauty, and love even when the world feels very dark.I’ve mentioned before that I first discovered the Harry Potter series when I was looking for a children’s book to read in Greek. This is because reading children’s books is one way I maintain my language skills (or try to, anyway).

The book engaged me so much that I ended up consuming it in one giant gulp, in English, before returning to work my way slowly through the Greek version, dictionary in hand. But it wasn’t until reading the third book, the Prisoner of Azkaban, that I well and truly fell in love with the series. That was when I began to see it as an allegory about growing up and becoming a grown-up, which has to do with taking responsibility for your life and choices, especially when they’re imperfect and undesirable. Continue reading “Why I’m rereading Harry Potter, again”

#BBAW: 5 books that inspired me to do and be better

Fireside reading

Today I feel inspired by The Estella Society’s Book Blogger Appreciation Week, going on Feb. 15 – 19. The day one challenge: “Introduce yourself by telling us about five books that represent you as a person or your interests/lifestyle.”

Beautiful old booksI love this because it feels so impossible. At first, I couldn’t think of any books and then I couldn’t narrow down the list. In the end, I picked five whose characters and stories have inspired me to do and be better, in some way. In my heart of hearts, I’d like these books to represent me as a person, but I’m happy for them to represent what I aspire to live up to and be. Continue reading “#BBAW: 5 books that inspired me to do and be better”