Book Talk: Bookish Bonding

14:19 Cilla 2 Comments

This month, one of the discussion prompts from the 2015 Discussion Challenge is about bookish friendships. The first thing that came to my mind was all the friends I've made through my love of books.

I actually love that I could think of people and not just one person. When I was growing up, it was lonely being a bookworm. Sure, I had friends who enjoyed Harry Potter; one of my best friends (brought up in a previous post) read; and my parents are big readers. However, none of my friends was as avid a fan as I was; T has always been more passionate about music than books; and my parents largely thought I should read less fiction and more 'serious' books. It really wasn't until I was eighteen that I met some bookish kindred spirits.

Photo from melbourne.vic.gov.au

Jacqueline and I and libraries 

I met Jacqueline in uni, and one of the first conversations we had was about the library. We were both new in the city, but she found the City Library first. She took me to the building and even helped me sign up for it. We got to talking some more and found out we both love Jodi Picoult. The rest, then, is history. These days we talk about more than books and spend as much time having brunch as browsing through bookshops and libraries, but if it wasn't for a shared love for the stories, we might not have become so close.

Cor and I and Harry Potter

Eight years apart in age, living in two separate continents - Cor and I would never have met if we weren't parts of the same Harry Potter RPG website. Ever since we started talking online, we've plotted, wrote together, and shared book recommendations. When I was in Australia, I was at her wedding and baby shower, and she's currently taking care of my beloved books now that I've left the country. She's one of my best friends. It's a fairy tale of online friendship, one that would never have happened if we hadn't both loved a book.

Cam and I and reviews

It'll be wrong to write about bookish bonding without mentioning the lady who inspired me to start writing book reviews in the first place. Cam (whose blog can be found here) and I met on the same Harry Potter website mentioned earlier, then later on we started being friends on Goodreads. I love reading her thoughts on the books she read, and these days I take her opinions into consideration when I'm considering getting a book.

So reading is no longer a lonely activity for me, and I'm so grateful that it has brought these ladies into my life. I hope I'll continue to make friends through books, and maybe this blog will help me with that!