Top Ten Tuesday: A Few of My Favorite Things…

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Bookworm Delights. This is a pretty broad topic, but not a difficult one since I absolutely love books and there are many things about them I love. I could probably make this a really long list, but I’ll keep it to 10.

1. Reading in a hammock on a warm, sunny day. Being outside in the sunshine period and reading is always good. At home I have a hammock, and when I housesit for friends they have an awesome deck with nice comfy deck chairs. It’s the perfect way to soak up some vitamin D while enjoying a good book.
2. Walking into a bookstore and being greeted by that heavenly aroma of coffee and books. You know the smell. The first thing I do when I walk in a bookstore is inhale that scent. I’ve spent six of the last 10 years working in a bookstore with a coffee shop and that smell is one of my favorite things. (It gets even better when the cafe has to bake cookies.)
3. Finding someone with the same love of a book/author/genre as you. It’s always a wonderful feeling when you find “your people” – someone (or a group of people) who shares your love of reading and likes the same books as you. I was particularly excited to find this with my book club because not only do we share a love of reading, we also all love scifi. It’s great to be in a roomful of people and make a TARDIS reference and everyone gets it.
4. An afternoon at the bookstore with a fellow bibliophile. This one is mostly here because it’s always great to spend time with someone who shares your interests, especially in cases like this, when you know they won’t get as impatient with you while you slowly peruse the shelves as some other people may. Never ever rush a bookworm at a bookstore.
5. The anticipation of starting a new book you’re excited to read. I have this problem. I can’t read just one book at a time. I’m sure a lot of you can sympathize. I just get so excited to start another book that I’ll do it before I’ve finished the current one. At this moment I have four different books started. (Though I’ll probably have 3 of them finished by the weekend.)
6. Opening up a book you love to read for the hundredth time (it’s like greeting an old friend). I wrote an entire blog post about this once. I know some people think re-reading books is a waste of time, because there are so many new books out there, but I disagree. I love that feeling of coming back to a book you love and love more every time you read it.
7. Book Mail. Equally exciting is when an eARC approval appears in your inbox.Whether it’s an ARC from a publisher or a book I ordered, there is no better mail than books (except maybe a check for a million dollars, but I never get those). And of course I’ll immediately want to start reading it (see #5).
8. Curling up with a good book and a hot beverage on a rainy day. This is one of my favorite ways to spend a rainy afternoon. I hate going out in the rain and love just curling up all comfy, warm, and dry with a good book.
9. Introducing someone else to a book you love – and having them love it too. I really believe there’s no better feeling than having someone fall in love with a book that you love and recommended. I’m always nervous making recommendations, because I don’t want people to hate whatever I recommend, but I love when they come back really enthusiastic and asking for more recommendations. This is one of my favorite parts of working in a bookstore.
10. Discovering a new favorite author/book. Who doesn’t love that feeling, when you get about half to 3/4 of the way through the book and you realize this is definitely going on your Goodreads Favorites shelf – and that you have to read everything else by this author. Falling in love with a new book is one of the ultimate joys in life.

Make sure to share your lists in the comments! I want to know what your favorite Bookworm Delights are!