A Bibliophile's Fictional Bucket List

“Besides the alternate universe offered by a book, the quiet space of a museum was my favorite place to go. My mom said I was an escapist at heart . . . that I preferred imaginary worlds to the real one. It’s true that I’ve always been able to yank myself out of this world and plunge myself into another.” 

― Amy Plum, Die for Me

I have spoken again and again of the magic found between the pages of a paperback. The kind of magic that happens every time you read an exceptionally brilliant novel. Inspired by Jesse the Reader's Fiction Bucket List Tag vlog, I have compiled my own fictional bucket list.

DISNEY

• Spend a fortnight in Beast's library with Bella.

A Letter To (Magical) Readers

Dear Unicorn,

At the time I was drafting this letter, there were 7,383,852,034 people on this earth. Among these roughly 7 million people, there's a bunch of people that I consider my tribe.

They are a weird bunch. Some would call them crazy. Some would shake their heads at them. 

I call them magical.

By day, some of they are quite ordinary. You might encounter one on your daily commute. At your workplace. At your school. Even in your very homes. They are everywhere. 

But by night (Some do manage to sneak in during the broad daylight - How Scandalous!) they are wizards, superheroes, debutantes, super sleuths, dragon slayers, vampires, undercover agents, soldiers, werewolves and even villains. 

They are time travelers - twirling into the Regency Era, spying their way through the World War II, volunteering as a tribute beside Katniss, whipping up love potions and charms, immortalizing the French Renaissance in their paintings, falling in love in space, racing around on hover cars in 2056 or saving the universe from hostile alien life forms.

Taking the guilty out of guilty pleasure reads

Melissa Cassera at Tiny Buddha re-defines a “guilty pleasure” as something that ignites and electrifies you in a way that should be totally illegal, but isn’t. She thinks it's should be something you should enjoy every day, with wild abandon. 

I could not agree more.

Today I have three wonderful readers, bloggers and fellow “champions of guilty pleasure reads” on the blog. Say hello to Jules from Jules Bookshelf, Mishma from Chasing Faerytales and Sydney from A Daring Adventure!

NUZAIFA: The notion that somehow certain books are more worthy than others is utterly ridiculous. The idea that one should be ashamed of reading mainstream books that entertain/amuse readers is silly. If the book that you choose to read is one that teaches you a life lesson, takes a position on social issues or if it is an award winning one, that's all well and good.

However, the snobbery about what constitutes literature and what doesn't needs to end. 

Wanderlust: 5 Places To Go + Books To Read

“I'm in love with cities I've never been to and people I've never met. ”

Melody Truong

All I ever want to do in life is to travel the world, read the kind of books that enchant my heart & soul and create something amazing every once in a while. While I haven't had the opportunity to see the world yet, as a reader I have had many an adventure in beautiful and sometimes, strange places. My to-travel list is filled with so many gorgeous places to see and wonderful cultures to experience.

Today I've picked 5 destinations I want to visit and paired them with to-read books that are set in these great places.

#01: England: A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

To see: Oxford, heaven to Harry Potter enthusiasts seems to be filled with awe-inspiring architecture. There is nothing more I'd love to do than walk along the same charming cobblestone streets walked by legendary authors and great poets.
I'd love to see Cambridge, Hever Castle, Chinatown, the Big Ben, The Globe, Durham Castle, York Minster, Westminster Abbey, The British Museum, Warwick Castle, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, Stonehenge, Windsor Castle, Natural History Museum and Jurassic Coast.

Literary tattoos for the logophile in you

I am as fascinated by a beautifully done tattoo as much as the next person. For a logophile this fascination is easily doubled when it's a literary tattoo.

“...books change lives, in big ways and small, from the simple desire to spend a few quiet hours in a comfy chair, swept away by a story, to the profound realization that the reader is not alone in the world, that there is someone else like him or her, someone who has faced the same fears, the same confusions, the same grief, the same joys.

Word lovers all over the world would agree with Roxanne J. Coady and would attest to the fact that some words and some stories are simply unforgettable. Because of this, it is hardly a surprise that some would choose to immortalize this profound feeling with a tattoo.

Do We Readers Have Rights Too?

Daniel Pennac a.k.a Daniel Pennacchioni is a French writer of the series La Saga Malaussène. Nope, I haven't read his work but I DID read 'The Reader's Bill Of Rights' that he put together.

Yes! We, readers have rights too! So without further ado here's the list of OUR rights(Gosh!That feels so cool huh?) -

1. The Right To Not Read - This is something that I have to work hard to believe.We read for pleasure. Because we love it. But sometimes we forget that there are people out there who wish to not do so.We have to learn to respect this.We have to learn that there are lots of people who do not have the time nor the love for books. Yes, books are wonderful things and personally I don't think I'd be able to live without them but there are those who might think otherwise.

This is not just something that applies to non-readers-Some of us, book lovers go through 'reading slumps' where we simply don't feel like reading. Do not feel guilty. It's your right.The right to not read.

2. The Right To Skip Pages - There are two instances where I do this. One, when certain parts of a book feel repetitive and boring-I simply cannot bear to hear the protagonist go on and on about the eye color of that oh-so-swoony guy again. Second, when the book is so good that you simply have to know what happens between Warner and Juliette in Chapter 62. Go on take a peek. It's your right.

3. The Right To Not Finish - Oh yeah, remember that book where the MC goes on about guy next door with the jet black hair and emerald green eyes that makes her knees go weak while the entire universe is about to blown to smithereens by some freaky meteorite thingy?Feel free to put it on your DNF pile without an ounce of guilt. You do have the right.