Friday, February 14, 2020

5 Bookish Love Languages


Happy Valentine’s Day, Seekervillagers! In honor of this lovey-dovey holiday, let’s discuss ways we can spread the book love and effectively convey our affections to all our bookish loved ones!

Affirm Bookishness

Use words of affirmation to convey your acceptance of and appreciation for the bookish aspect of your loved ones life.

“Your Bookstagram feed is a work of art!” – for all your favorite book-obsessed Instagram friends

“I love the way you’ve reorganized your bookshelves (again)!” – this one works in person or for shelfies!

“You are so beautiful when you’re reading!” – for your significant other (or things could get awkward and I’m an introvert, I know awkward)

“Your book touched my heart!” – for your favorite authors (they are hard on themselves and need the encouragement)

“This book is fabulous!” – for random bookish people reading your review on Goodreads, BookBub, or any retail site

“Your book blog rocks my socks off!” – for your favorite book bloggers (they work hard too, y’all)

“I love the variety of books you’re carrying lately!” – for your favorite bookseller

“Your new featured books display is lovely!” – for your local librarian

Enable Bookishness

Free up your loved one’s schedule by performing acts of service so they can get their bookish on!

Any and all household chores are excellent candidates for freeing up a little time for story.

Taxes, bill paying, errand-running, grocery shopping… all things that you can do for a loved one who would #ratherbereading because #somanybookssolittletime or #ratherbewriting because #thevoicesarecalling

Bring your favorite bookworm a warm cuppa or yummy snack while they are reading or writing (without dragging them out of the storyworld, just set it down and back away) if the book is especially good, include something more substantial like a meal

Protect their reading time from interruptions (children, phone calls, needy pets, endless cellphone notifications… it’s a lot, just do your best and your reader or writer will appreciate the effort)

Bookish Gifts

Gift special bookish somethings to enhance your loved one’s reader life or writer life and they will be reminded of your love each time they use it.

Book sleeves, bookshelves, bookmarks, bookish apparel, bookish dΓ©cor, fingerless gloves, office supplies, bookish candles, mugs, blankets, ereaders (and accessories like covers or screen protectors, chargers, etc.), gift cards for guilt-free ebook splurging or book hauling!

Bookish Time

Spend quality time with your loved one while engaging in bookish activities (or just be present for the downtime).

Go to the bookstore or library or cozy coffee shop!

Travel to a favorite book setting (bonus points for excellent audiobooks during the drive).

Tag along for a reader/writer event (bonus points for carrying the book haul with a smile).

Ask your favorite bookworm to tell you all about their favorite books... then settle in because that conversation is going to take a while.

Embrace Bookish

Enhance your loved one’s bookish experience with physical touch (keep it PG, y’all!)

Whether paperback or hardcover, the weight and feel of a print book in the hands of a book lover is surpassed only by the weight and feel of a stack of books in the hands of a book lover.

Create a cozy reading environment with a comfy seat and blanket.

Cuddle up with your main squeeze and a good book!

Bonus Book Love

That’s right, I’m talking about loving your books… for a hardcore book lover, loving books is therapeutic!

Show your books a little love by dusting, reorganizing (even splurge for new shelves), rereading, apologizing for bent covers/dog eared pages/dropping into dirt or water, reclaiming from forgetful friends (or former friends depending on the condition of said book), taking your books on vacation or sending them with a friend (books deserve to get out every now and then too), telling everyone who will listen and maybe a few who won’t just how much you love your books!


This post was loads of fun to put together for y'all and in the interest of giving credit where credit is due, I must give a shoutout to the REAL deal, The Five Love Languages, just in case you haven’t heard of this fabulous series of books and its resource-filled website, it’s truly a game-changer!

Sincere thanks to my book sisters for brainstorming this post with me and providing feedback on the four different versions of graphics I created for it. That is love, my friends!


How do you spread the bookish love or how have your loved ones shown affection to your bookish side? Drop all your tips and date ideas in the comments!


33 comments:

  1. Hi Beth:

    Book love.
    Love of a book.
    Own a book treasure.
    Give a loving home to an elderly book.

    I bought a beautiful leather bound book, printed in 1700, which is still in very good condition. It contains dialogues of Plato translated into Latin. It is a treasure to me, yet it was priced under $100. Loving it is like holding history in your heart. How many people have read it over the years. It used to be common for educated people to be able to read Latin. The owners of this book may have been rich and important people. Did any of the founding fathers read it? They could have.

    Yes, authors make books talk. But what if the books themselves could tell their own stories? That would really be something for authors to hear.

    Vince

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    1. I completely agree! Books are such an important part of our history, I'd love to hear the tales they would tell us if they could!

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  2. Ok. I had such a long response and then google did something funky and poof...gone. wasn't able to sign in too, so posting anonymously.

    I love this! All of this. Love your twist on the 5 love languages. Beth's got mad skills! ❤❤ I just need to figure out which one is my primary (or primaries)and secondary. Lol.
    Annie aka @justcommonly

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    1. I'm giving Blogger the side-eyes for you right now, Annie (who am I kidding, I'm usually giving Blogger the side-eyes, lol)! Your praise is making me blush, my friend, you are lovingly biased ❤

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  3. I love this, too, Annie... and what's with Blogger and Twitter eating posts???

    What a fun post this is, and the graphics???? LOVE!!! LOVE!!!!!!

    Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I can't imagine a better job than the one I have right now, writing about Faith, Hope & Love... and twining it all through a beautiful romance.

    Oh my stars, aren't we blessed?

    Bethy, great job and thank you!

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    1. 😊 Thank you, Ruthy! I had so much fun with this one (graphics included)!

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  4. Beth, this is awesome!! And I totally want to claim all the bookish love languages. :)

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    1. * whispers * I do, too! #allthebooks 😍 Thank you, Toni!

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  5. So cute! I agree with every one of them!!

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  6. What a fun post! Love this one! I love my books by reading and re-reading . . . and leaving some reviews . . . and loaning out books to friends.

    Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

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    1. YAY! It's fun to just have fun sometimes 😁 Thanks, Jeanne!

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  7. Good morning, all! Heart-shaped cookies for everyone!!!

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  8. This is such a sweet post, Beth! Thanks for the cookies!! I love the calorie-free kind. :)

    One of my favorite gifts ever was when my husband offered to keep the kids (they were very young then) for a day so I could go to Starbucks to read straight through my manuscript without interruption. That's not the same as reading a book for fun, but it was a wonderful time to work on my writing career and to read! :)

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    1. What a wonderful gift, Missy! Work-reading or pleasure-reading, they're both necessary for most of us here!

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  9. Fun post, Beth. I love to get books for gifts and to give them as well. Nothing better!

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  10. So fun! Great post Beth. My hubby is a bookworm like me so many of your ideas of showing bookish love are done on a regular basis in this house! YAY! :) And now you can find our munchkins sitting on a pile of books (okay- just the 2 yr old) enjoying pictures while the older ones have a pile next to them while reading the one in their hands.
    I love giving gift cards for books, or finding copies of books I've enjoyed to give freely to others (because let's face it, if I LOVE a book that much I will read it again so no one better touch my copy).

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    1. That's wonderful, Lee-Ann! I love raising readers, it's really the best ever! Hahaha, your protectiveness over your favorites is understandable! I have the "bookmark and spine care talk" with my trusted friends when I loan books out... if they want to be rough on books, they better buy their own copies!

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    2. LOL! That is ME too!! I can't stand having creases in my book spines...hahaha

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  11. Such a fun post, Beth!

    I have a bookish Valentine story... My dear husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day. Restaurants are too crowded for introverts, and for many years the price of flowers and chocolate made them beyond reach. But my hubby always says "Every day is Valentines Day because I spend them with you." *I'll pause for an "aww" moment*
    But the other evening, as the fireplace was warming our toes and we were each in our chairs with books in our hands, he sighed and said, "This is what I've always dreamed of. Sitting together, reading and enjoying our cozy home."
    Yes, Valentine's Day is every day. :-)

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    1. Awwwwww! Jan you are living the dream, my friend!!! Give your guy a big hug for that one!

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    2. That is so sweet! He's a keeper.

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  12. True story: our date last week was going to a used bookstore and then out for dessert. It was glorious.
    Also, I picked up my copy of Sense and Sensibility to reread for book club this month and discovered it was the copy I used in a college class --complete with underlining, notes in the margins, and (gasp!) bent corners on some pages. I was obviously wild back then!
    Love this post! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. WOW!!! That's mind-blowing, Amy! Thank you for sharing!

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  13. Hi Beth:

    It's late but I just had an idea for a booklover's Valentine gift.

    A gold pin in the shape of a book half open worn above the heart. In the center, written in sparkling diamond chips, is the word "LOVE".

    The gift card says, "My Love for You is an Open Book".

    I'd love to find a pin or broach like this for next year.

    Vince

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  14. I absolutely LOVED this post! It hit me in all my love languages! :) Brilliant! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  15. what does it take to be a successful author ? I would say that initial reviews and marketing definitely boost your book. I used https://usabookreviewers.com/christmas-gift to get a few reviews and also promote my book. Hopping to be in the top 100 genre lists and see better sales this Christmas season…

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