Top Ten Bookworm Delights

I haven’t done a TTT in a long time, but this one is right up my alley because I love books about books. 🙂

The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George – Set on a barge that has been converted into a bookstore with a proprietor who calls himself a Literary Apothecary, this book was pretty much written for me (see blog name above). There are a lot of great literary allusions in this book, and you’ll be desperate to get your hands on a copy of the fictional books that populate this story but have only ever existed in the author’s mind. The books that Monseiur Perdu prescribes to his clients are easily recognizable for most bookworms, and will likely inspire you to look at your reading habits in a different light.
Here, There Be Dragons by James A Owen – I just finished this series the other day (and reviewed it), so most of you probably already have an idea of why I would list it. The Archipelago of Dreams is any bookworm’s dream vacation spot. You could run into any number of your favourite literary characters while there, and might even get to meet the authors who wrote about them too! As I mentioned in my review, one of my favourite parts of reading these books was trying to figure out who some of the characters were before their true identities were revealed. Being a bookworm is definitely a huge help in that regard.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – This pick probably seems a bit weird since the story is really about burning books, but I think this theme speaks to a bookworm like no other. Your average person is going to be upset that literary works are being destroyed… a bookworm is going to want to dive into the book to save each and every word. A bookworm can really connect with the characters who are desperately trying to save literary works, and will appreciate the message that Bradbury is trying to convey in a far more personally than the person who visits a bookstore looking for “the biggest book you have” just so they can say that they own it, even though they have never read it.
The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1) by Jasper Fforde
– This is another series that merges the real world (or something close to it) with the fictional. Being able to read yourself into a book and to visit a library containing every book ever written is bound to appeal to any bookworm. And Thursday Next (yep, that’s her name) probably has the coolest job ever as a literary detective, making all us bookworms super jealous that we don’t get to meet our favourite characters or visit our favourite settings.
It’s a Book by Lane Smith – This short picture book will appeal to anyone who hears “what are you doing?” while obviously reading a book. It’s not like we’re doing something completely out of the norm, and yet those who don’t read regularly will often look at us like we are insane for spending as much time as we do with our noses buried in print. I especially like this book because it speaks to the latest generation of kids who don’t seem to have the same appreciation for a visit to the library as we once did.
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell – Okay, so maybe this one is more for those of us who sell books for a living, but I feel like any bookworm will find the majority of these stories rather funny. You can’t help but smirk a little when reading about the person who asks for a “book with a blue cover”, or wonder what rock someone has been living under if they assume that John Grisham wrote War and Peace. It’s one of those books that you can read in small bits, or you can binge read it and laugh your head off, preferably with a like-minded bookworm reading over your shoulder.
The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty – This adorable picture book is a heart-warming story about some casual breaking and entering and the bookworm behind the thefts. I’m sure any bookworm will be on the side of the thief when they realize what his motivations are, and will be happy to sit down with the next little bookworm who crosses their path for a good old fashioned read along. I know that I’ll be keeping a copy of this book on my shelf on the off-chance that one of my cousins will ask me to read to them some day.
I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora – Although the main book focus is obviously To Kill a Mockingbird, this story references a bunch of other great works of fiction and will speak to anyone who just wants their friends and family to finally understand their obsession with books! The main characters find unique ways to draw attention to the written word, hoping that the rest of the kids in their class will become as excited to do some summer reading as they are. Of course, they didn’t expect so many people to become quite so involved in their little adventure.
The Prison Book Club by Anne Walmsley – I think every bookworm will appreciate this story on the merit that it introduces a love of reading to a group of people who are generally under-educated and are often unable to escape their circumstances. We all know that a book can transport you to another world, and that can be a very powerful thing when you are trapped behind bars. It definitely inspired the author and her friends to see their world differently and the books they were reading in a different light. It also made me want to know more about these men who stepped out of their comfort zone to experience something new and amazing.
License to Quill by Jacopo della Quercia – This is another book that I posted about earlier in the year, and I think it will definitely appeal to the Shakespeare bookworms out there. It’s a great take on the origins of Macbeth, and provides some very interesting speculation about what really happened to Kit Marlowe. I just love these books that make me go “aha!” when I recognize a line or character from some other literary source, because then I know that I’ve finally found an author who loves ALL THE BOOKS just as much as me!