12 things only fully-fledged bookworms will understand
<h2>You’re emotionally attached to fictional characters</h2>
<p>Have you ever become so attached to characters in a book that they start to feel like real people? Books provide such vivid insight into characters’ personality and psyche that you might feel like you know them even better than you do your own peers and acquaintances. And if the characters are personally relatable, they can start to feel like actual friends. You may have even experienced a romantic connection to fictional characters (*cough cough* Mr Darcy). But no judgment here. As fellow bookworms, we get it.</p>
<h2>You know exactly when the next book in a series will be released</h2>
<p>As a true bookworm, you prefer reading a series to individual novels so that you don’t have to stop at the last page. However, for you, few fates are worse than reaching the latest book in a series only to have to wait years for the next one’s release. When a subsequent book is set to be published, you know exactly when it’s hitting shelves (because you’ve pre-ordered it, naturally), and you’ve got a mental countdown running in the interim. The suspense completely eats away at you!</p>
<h2>You’re a sucker for literary gifts</h2>
<p>You may not be materialistic, but if you’re a bookworm, you can never resist buying items related to your favourite books regardless of whether or not you actually need them. For example, you wouldn’t think twice about purchasing the Library Candles by Paddywax, which have your favourite quotes printed across the front and scents that are inspired by iconic authors. (We swear Ralph Waldo Emerson must have smelled exactly like his cedar and wild fern candle!)</p>
<h2>You ignore your basic needs when you’re deep in a read</h2>
<p>Books are all-consuming for you, and time seems to stand still when you’re fully engrossed in the text in front of you. But in fact, hours upon hours have passed, and you’ve completely forgotten to eat, shower, or get to bed on time. But oh well. For you, any basic needs can wait until you’re finished with this chapter. And maybe the next one.</p>
<h2>You hate watching movie adaptations</h2>
<p>As a lifelong bibliophile, nothing annoys you quite like movie adaptations of books you’ve read. After all, you remember all the passages so vividly that you can’t help but critique a film’s many discrepancies. You’d really rather not watch movie adaptations if you can help it, as they risk deviating from your beloved literary works and not doing them justice.</p>
<h2>Call us old-fashioned, but we bookworms still resist making the switch to digital texts.</h2>
<p>There’s something about the weight of a hardback in your lap, the sound of turned pages, and feeling the remaining chapters dwindle in your right hand as you power through them. E-books may be more environmentally friendly, but they can’t measure up to the sensory experience of physical books we so adore.</p>
<h2>You can recall the details of fictional worlds as if you’ve been there</h2>
<p>Diagon Alley, Middle Earth, Narnia, and District 12 – these places aren’t just two-dimensional fantasies to you. For a real bookworm, these fictional worlds exist. In fact, you know them so intimately that it can be hard to determine if perhaps you’ve actually been there.</p>
<h2>You can quote your favourite passages verbatim</h2>
<p>If there’s one thing someone should never do in front of a bookworm, it’s misquote a line from a novel. Whenever it happens, you’re quick to correct them. Bookworms have an uncanny memory for text, so if you’re of them, you’re probably guilty of reciting your favourite lines all the time. And you don’t just recite them verbatim; you use the same accent and inflection of the original character.</p>
<h2>Your personal library is a source of pride</h2>
<p>Some people collect shoes, others collect purses, or vintage baseball cards, but you collect books. It’s plain and simple. Your books are like family to you, and they’re a real source of pride. You dream of one day having a floor-to-ceiling wall of books in your home, or even an entire study containing your collection. Whenever you have to downsize or donate your books, parting with them is a genuinely painful experience.</p>
<h2>You love the smell of new books</h2>
<p>Every time you crack open a brand-new book, you lean forward to smell its pages. The scent is not only all too familiar to you, but it also brings you a unique joy. The smell is like being a kid and opening a present on Christmas morning – you feel pure excitement at the prospect of owning a classic. You also know the difference between the smell of old and new books, and you love them both for different reasons.</p>
<h2>You can spend hours wandering the aisles of a bookstore</h2>
<p>Most people feel a rush of excitement walking into a clothing store, but as a total bookworm, you feel completely at home in bookstores instead. You could spend hours scanning the shelves, running your fingers along the many spines, and seeing what’s new in your favourite section. To you, bookstores aren’t just comforting safe havens, they make you feel like a kid in a candy store, because you wish you could try them all.</p>
<h2>You’re permanently inspired by fictional characters</h2>
<p>As an avid reader, you’ve come across a number of protagonists and authors that have permanently changed your life. You’re a different (and hopefully better) person for having experienced these people, real or imagined. To pay homage, you feel the need to etch them into your everyday life. Perhaps you’ve gotten a tattoo of your favourite quote, or named your dog Fitz for F. Scott Fitzgerald. As a bookworm, you see nothing wrong with naming your child after characters like Atticus, Holden, or Rosaline. In fact, you find it commendable.</p>
<p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/true-stories-lifestyle/12-things-only-fully-fledged-bookworms-will-understand?pages=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader's Digest</a>.</strong></p>
<p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>
