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5 Things Every Bookworm Loves to Hate

5 Things Bookworms Love to Hate

Written by Kelly St. Clare

1. The E-reader

How many times have you heard the phrase “There’s nothing like holding a book in your hands.”? As e-readers take over the world faster than Taylor Swift’s latest tweet, it is all we bookworms can do to hold on to the traditional form of a story.

But you have to admit…

Taking your entire library with you to Hawaii is oddly convenient. And reading a romance book without having to flash the mandatory hot guy on the cover to everyone on the train is a nice change. Then there’s the fact that books are cheaper…

But whatever. Print is better. So e-readers will remain something I love to hate and hate to love.

2. The Merciless Author

Dear JK Rowling,

Why do you kill everyone I love? And why do I still love you? You are the serial killer of the book world and seemingly hold no remorse for your actions. You made unicorns cry when you killed Snape. And Fred. And Dobby. Even Harry for a little bit, somewhere in there.

You cold soul.

P.S. Please keep writing books.

Twilight Love Triangle3. The Love Triangle

I estimate around 50% of people will hate that I have this here #sorrynotsorry. And I agree the ol’ LT sucks…except when it doesn’t. There is nothing like a love triangle that is served cold with a slice of lemon. When you genuinely cannot guess who the main character will end up with. But you need the Author to pick the person you’ve fallen in love with. They have to! Because if they don’t….you will have one serious grudge toward the writer. Forever. And you may not tell them. But hell if they won’t be able to feel your glare from across the world.

Conclusion: I hate them. But I love them.

book hangover4. The Book Hangover

Definition: The aftermath of an uncontrollable urge to continue reading past your bedtime, occassionally days long. Often associated with extreme emotion and/or lack of hygiene and sudden ravenous hunger.

You are so tired! So emotionally wrung out. That last book is haunting you, to the extent you feel unable to start another! You sludge through school or work. It’s horrible. But would you change it? Would you rewind life, stop on the second-to-last chapter and put that book down? Not for a second! A true bookworm has their priorities straight. Book Hangovers are a burden every reader must bear.

cliffhanger5. The Cliffhanger

[DISCLAIMER: I have a 100 percent cliff-hanger ending rate. I apologise to Bookworms world-wide. Don’t hate me.]

For the most part, I don’t believe the majority of Bookworms mind them. I know I know, a lot of authors do them and it’s refreshing to read the occasional stand-alone. And really, if I think about it, hanging off the side of cliff must be quite unpleasant. Especially if you have to dangle there for a year until the release of the sequel.

But then…

…there’s that brain frenzy after a good cliffhanger! It’s addictive, teasing, frustrating! What’s going to happen next? Bookworms need to know the character’s problems will be resolved! In this day and age of instant gratification, the suspense is like sleeping with sunburn.

The relationship is bittersweet. The plight is real.

There you have it. My top five reading annoyances that I love to hate and hate to love.

But here is my question to you, fellow Bookworm: Out of the five things listed above, which do you love to hate?

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From Bookworm to Social Butterfly

wwywtryWritten by
Julie Tuovi

The eReader was a great invention for YA fiction-addicted adults everywhere—for those who dared read that awful Twilight gender swap book without getting flack from coworkers! In PRE eReader days, there was no hiding your reading preferences from the lunchroom crowd: your cover was right there for the world to see!

(YOU know what I’m talking about, you book addict, you. I know I’m not the only one who got odd looks for reading Harry Potter during my law school downtime, instead of catching up on Wills and Trusts…)

But the eReader era brought a breath of relief, didn’t it? Thousands of books at your fingertips, and no one is any the wiser as to whether you’re reading Hunger Games or an age-appropriate, snooze-worthy biography on the subway. Because hey, all eReaders look essentially the same from the back, don’t they?

But good news! Socially outcast bookworms everywhere now have reason to rejoice! There’s no reason to hide that copy of Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer behind your Chemistry textbook anymore. Contrary to what the popular “antisocial bookworm” stigmas might have you believe, recent studies have shown that reading fiction actually helps you understand social cues better than your rather boring coworker who “only reads the New York Times, thanks.”

As Scientific American put it:

“… stories are simulations of a kind that can help readers understand not just the characters in books, but human character in general… The seemingly solitary act of holing up with a book… is actually an exercise in human interaction… it can hone your social brain, so that when you put your book down, you may be better prepared for camaraderie, collaboration, even love.”

BOOYA, HATERS!!

According to the smarty pants scientists running these studies, reading fiction actually STRENGTHENS my social ties and INCREASES my empathy towards others. How’doya like that, Professor?

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this fiction reading simulation thing also applies to any future zombie apocalypse that may or may not take place in the near future. Look, all I’m saying is that if reading fiction is a simulation for real life, I’ve got this zombie thing under control.

Just saying.

But, if you really wanna get nit picky about genres, literary fiction is your best bet for understanding emotional intelligence. In a study published by the journal, Science, researches found that:

“… after reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people performed better on tests measuring empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence—skills that come in handy when you are trying to read someone’s body language or gauge what they might be thinking.”

Apparently this is because literary fiction leaves more to the imagination than, say, fantasy does. (Um… okay? Not sure I agree with that…) But in turn, this “encourages readers to be more sensitive to emotional nuance and complexity.”

This “fiction-induced empathy” is serious business, you guys. Through a series of MRIs, Scientific American proved that while reading fiction, a person’s emotions mirror that of the protagonists. (So basically, it’s okay that you cried when Dumbledore died—it’s just science!) And it is exactly these fictional, empathetic feelings that prepare us for handling emotions in real life.

So DOWN with the antisocial bookworm stigma! Books aren’t just an escape from the “real world” anymore… they’re a vehicle to understanding human emotion. Bring it on Wallflowers. It’s your time to shine!

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