This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
While it's true that a bibliophile's life is one full of unbridled, book-loving joy, it also comes with its issues. If you’re a fellow book nerd, you can probably relate to these 30 problems.
1. ‘I couldn’t possibly come into work – I was up all night crying over One Day’ isn’t a valid reason for a sick day.
2. Falling head over heels in love with a fictional character.
3. Stupidly small handbags that won’t hold your current book and an extra ‘just in case you finish’ the first one.
4. Lying awake at night worrying about how George Weasley is doing.
5. Books that won’t stay open when you’re trying to read and eat at the same time.
6. Knowing you’ll never get to read your favourite book for the first time again.
7. Ugly crying in public. Your boss totally should have given you the day off after One Day.
8. Missing your stop because you’re so engrossed in a storyline. Every day.9. Getting to the last ten pages and having to stop reading because it’s time to go to work / sit in the dentist’s chair / pick the kids up from school / walk down the aisle. Pfft.
10. Books so scary, you have to hide them in the freezer, wardrobe or under the couch cushions at night just so you can get some sleep.
11. Books so funny, you’re that person laughing hysterically in an otherwise quiet coffee shop.
12. The words: ‘It’s just a book.’ Why are we even friends?
13. Library closures on Bank Holidays.
14. Waiting for the next installment in a series. Contemplating kidnapping the author and locking them in your attic to make them write faster.
15. ‘I don’t really read much.’ – Your blind date as the waitress serves drinks. Only an appetizer and main course to go before you can get the hell out of there.
16. Your colleagues have taken to looking for you in the bathroom stall when you’re not at your desk, where you’ll be sneak reading a few pages. What? So you take a book break every hour or two? It’s like a smoke break with words.
17. Invitations to do sociable weekend things just as awesome book post drops through your letterbox.
18. Missing pages. A plague on both your houses!
19. A perpetual state of exhaustion thanks to late-night reading sessions.
20. Constantly checking JK Rowling’s Twitter feed just in case she announces another Harry Potter book.
21. Rubbish casting in film adaptations. You should clearly cast every book film in the world ever.
22. Tea and chocolate stains on your favourite lines because you’ve read them so many times.
23. Not wanting to start a new book because you’re so hungover from the last one, but not really knowing who you are without reading. Depression sets in. ‘What have I become?’
24. Alarmist articles predicting the death of real books. Not on our watch, pal.
25. Everyone you know becoming ardent Harry Potter / Hunger Games / Divergent fans after seeing the films, but they still haven’t read the books. Eyeroll.
26. ‘I’ll just have a quick look’ turning into a three-hour rummage every time you pass a bookstore or a charity shop with a healthy selection of paperbacks.
27. Bruising from dropping a book on your face while reading on your back.
28. Chronic shoulder pain from carrying around too many hardbacks in one tote bag.
29. Worrying about your favourite author’s health because you want them to write beautiful books forever. Sending care packages containing echinacea, vitamins and homemade chicken soup.
30. Lack of shelf space. Even though the only furniture you have consists of shelving units.
Spot a few of your own nerdy book problems here? How many of these can you relate to? Any to add to the list?