25 Struggles Only Book Lovers Understand

1. The sheer annoyance when you’ve literally just opened a book to start reading it and someone asks you, “So what’s it about?”

2.  Or basically, just anytime someone talks to you while you’re reading.  #bye

3.  When someone asks you what your favorite book or author is on a date and all of a sudden your mind goes blank because you literally just don’t understand how to answer that question but then you feel dumb for stumbling over the answer. (Same thing for music tastes!) But seriously, how am I only supposed to pick ONE!?

4. When you see someone has 50 Shades of Grey on their bookshelf and you just can’t.

5. Feeling slightly exposed and vulnerable when someone’s looking over your collection of books because they might as well be peering into your mind and soul.

6. Sizing up a friend when they ask if they can borrow one of your favorite books and wondering if:

a. They can even be trusted with this book.

b. How fast they will read this book.

c. If they will actually enjoy this book.

d. If you can still be their friend if they don’t enjoy this book.

e. If they’ll return this book.

f. If they’ll return this book in the same condition you’re lending it in.

g. How much all of these things will weigh on your friendship.

7. Feeling like no one understands you when you drop a literary reference in conversation meant to be funny but no one seems to get it so it’s just awkward.

8. Getting a weird look from someone when you smell an old book and realizing there are 2 types of people in this world: those who smell old books and those who do not smell old books.

9. When you go to a bookstore and find tons of new releases you want to buy but they’re all hardcover and there’s no way in hell you’re going to pay $25 bucks for each one so you have to weigh the pros and cons of each book before choosing only one.

10. Actually, this happens anytime you go to a bookstore. You find tons of books you want but realize your budget can’t handle it so you pick and choose the ones you can afford to get now and with every one you put back you feel like you’re slightly betraying it somehow and feel bad for leaving it behind.

11. The moment of total sadness you experience when a book ends because you feel like you’ve just left a world you were completely consumed by.

12. When the publisher releases a new version of a book cover with a copy of the movie poster and you develop a slight grudge against the books with that cover because ugh, it’s just not the same.

13. Realizing you’re developing habits or interests based on the characters in the book or you find yourself having sudden and urgent cravings for random things just because they’re mentioned in the story.

14. Waiting for the author to write a sequel and wondering what’s taking him so damn long.

15. The feeling of your heart descending into your stomach when one of your favorite character dies or an unexpected plot twist happens because now you’re not sure if you can even trust this author anymore.

16. Finally being able to understand how you can know someone for years without truly knowing them when they tell you they hated a book you love.

17. Moving.

18. When someone suggests you should maybe get rid of a few to make room for more you just stare at them in disbelief because you can’t believe they would even suggest something so ridiculous.

19. Having no concept of time and place when completely enthralled in a novel and forgetting to do things like eat and sleep.

20. When someone tells you they loved the movie version of a book and you get super excited thinking you can talk about how great the book was with them but then they say they never read it. :(

21. Secretly enjoying bad weather everyone else seems to hate because it means you have an excuse to curl up with a good book and tea.

22. Running out of places to put your books. Desk, space next to bed, any random shelf or empty space is fair game for book storage.

23. The sheer torture of having to do actual life things while in the middle of a book.

24. When someone tells you to get a Kindle because no matter what it just isn’t the same.

25. Immediately reconsidering your relationship when someone you just started dating says they “don’t really read.”