Three years ago, in honor of our wedding anniversary, I wrote a little post about what happens when a book lover marries a non-reader. Since Tom and I just celebrated another year of marriage, I was inspired by him to write a post about all the ways someone can support their bookish partner and their reading habits, because he has always been so encouraging towards me and my books! Although I had my husband in mind when I put together this list, I don't see why many of these couldn't apply to other relationships in your life, as well! So, without further ado, here are 15 ways to support the bookworms in your life:
- Buy them books
- Or, if you don't know what book to buy them, give them a gift card so they can pick out their own!
- Don't get annoyed if they pick up a book while you're watching a TV show or movie together - multitasking!
- Understand that a trip to the library will likely be included in many weekend errand runs...
- And have a fully charged phone to play on while your partner inevitably disappears in the library to browse the shelves, even though they were just running in to pick up some holds
- At least pretend that the location of a library nearby is a legitimate concern when choosing a house to buy
- Help create space in your home for your bookworm to display their treasured tomes...
- And stay calm when said bookworm quickly overfills that space and books start ending up in every room of your house
- Really listen when they want to tell you about their current read
- Comfort them when a book makes them cry or angry
- Take them to browse a bookstore
- Help them choose what to read next
- If you need gift ideas, a book-loving individual can never have too many bookmarks/bookish mugs/tote bags/other book-related merch
- Understand that if you're watching a book-to-movie or TV adaptation together, they will point out every little thing that's been changed and that most likely, "the book was better"
- Cultivate your own hobbies for those times your bookworm is lost for hours in a story
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| Photo by The Markows Photography |
What are some other ways to support book lovers? What's the nicest thing someone has done for you as a bookworm?
Great post, Angela! These are so great. I love #9 because YES! It's like, I know you know nothing about this book and have zero interest in it, but please listen to me ramble on about it for 20 minutes. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tanya! Haha, yes!! I told my husband I was DNFing a book the other day, and he actually asked, "Why?" I was a little surprised that he was actually interested!
DeleteBest post ever! I need to send all these things to my family. Maybe they'll finally get it, then. lol
ReplyDeleteI love this! Happy Anniversary! My husband was also a non-reader, but I have brought him over to our side slowly but surely! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christina! I have tried, but after 16 years, I am accepting that my husband will never be a book lover!
DeleteHappy anniversary! Haha, I come from a family of non-readers, so I know that having a fully charged phone is important. I can spend hours in a bookstore or library. They need something to keep them entertained.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Exactly! My husband always ends up sitting in the car while I'm in the library.
DeleteFirst of all, what a wonderful picture! Love it! Secondly, my husband is a reader, but not nearly as much as I am. Most people don't read as much as many of us. Mine golfs as well. Anyway, he is so wonderful about my book stuff. He does many of the things you mentioned. Recently, for my birthday, he bought me a new watchband for my Apple watch that has stacks of books on it. He said it 'looked like me'. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kay! Aww, that is so cute about the watchband! He really gets you.
DeleteThis is such a great post! My husband doesn't read but has always been supportive of my book loving. Even if it takes up all the shelves in out house. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jenea! Well, the one good thing about the fact that my husband doesn't read is that I don't have to fight him for shelf space!
DeleteWhat a fun post! I was thinking, how many of these can apply to our family members in general. My birthday just passed, and once again, I did not get any Amazon gift cards. I got a $50 gift card from my sister, that I will never use (I may give it back to her for Christmas). If only they understood our bookworm needs more.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sam! I know, right?? I always keep an Amazon wishlist of books for those times my parents or sister is insistent on buying me a gift!
DeleteAwww, I love this post so much. Happy Anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne!
DeleteI love this list -- and you and your husband are all sorts of adorable!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, Verushka!
DeleteAhh this is so cute. My husband has never really gotten my love for reading.... sigh...
ReplyDeleteI think my husband is still kind of confused by it, after all these years!
Deletehahah this is so cute! My husband gets it already, thank goodness. Otherwise we'd have an issue with my wall of books, my buying of books when I have 500 unread ones, my bookstagram, my blog...lol. This is adorable, though :)
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks, Molly! I asked my husband the other day what he thought about my bookstagram, and he thought for a moment and said, "If that's what you like to do!"
DeleteI love this post! Number 3 is definitely something I do...
ReplyDeleteThat is me all the time! That's a hard one for him to get used to.
DeleteMy husband has learned that you can never go wrong with an Amazon gift card as a gift. I pre-order my most anticipated books, but there's always a new book coming out.
ReplyDeleteExactly! My husband was going to buy a book for me once, but then decided against it - I still wonder what he would have gotten for me!
DeleteI love this! Your husband sounds like a wonderful man--I don't think all people realize what it's like to be with some who loves books as deeply as book lovers tend to. I can't agree with all of these more, all are so true. Happy anniversary!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jordan! Yes, he is pretty great! I'm a lucky woman.
DeleteAhhhh happy anniversary! This is such a great post, I love it so much and agree with everything here. We all need someone to understand that we need hours to browse through books and just someone to comfort us... or leave us alone when we just want to read haha :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marie! Haha, yes, he has definitely come to terms that bookstore trips will always take longer than he expects!
DeleteI see my husband in all of these too! Even if your partner doesn't read as much as you do, they can still be awesome about it :)
ReplyDeleteAww, that's great! Yes, absolutely!
DeleteLove, love, love these!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erica!
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