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| Design credit: Nina of Nina Reads. |
Or I could talk about donating my ARCs and other YA books to my local library and hearing them exclaim over the contents of the bag and how excited they are about giving it away for the summer reading program!
Or the local book club I am slowly building. It's so much fun to connect with other women, even if the vast majority of the time, we talk about other things. What brings us together is a desire to find time for books in our lives.
What I'm getting at is it doesn't have to be some big interaction with the community or a huge event - and it doesn't even have to involve your blog. Reading is a connection that can create friendships in unlikely places and form bonds between strangers met online (oh blogger meet-ups, you are my favorite) or strangers met in real life. If you haven't made a "real life" connection, take a book out in public and read it. Or talk to someone who's reading. There's something about that book (or kindle or other reading device) that can bring people together. Try it!
What are your favorite real life bookish interactions?
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Posts
It drives me crazy when someone is reading a book in public and I can't tell what it is. I hate to interrupt their reading, so I try to wait untill they take a break and ask. Great conversation starter...
ReplyDeleteI feel the exact same thing!
DeleteIt really can be a great conversation starter - especially for the perpetually shy like me :)
DeleteWhen we get together with extended family the first question out of our mouths is usually, "So tell me what good books have you read lately?" And we all end up taking notes and writing down ideas. It even makes me look at what I've been reading so I can have something new and exciting to suggest! ;)
ReplyDeleteI love it when my family asks about my reading. AND when they talk about theirs. Not a lot of them have time for it, but it's nice to swap books :)
DeleteI love the idea of just asking people what they are reading :) I never thought of that as networking but it is. I love that story about Twilight and soldiers. That is SO awesome. My hubby liked twilight too.
ReplyDeleteI think quite a few guys liked it, but were too ashamed or embarrassed to admit it. Or even try it. Which is too bad.
DeleteBuilding a local book club is something I don't think I mentioned in my post, but I'd love to do.
ReplyDeleteI also love the real life networking experiences that are just little moments and discussions about books.
It's so much fun to have a book club! And to have those quick little moments of book talking :)
DeleteMy favorite is giving surprise books to people. Just meeting someone, giving them a book, and moving on.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to do this sometime! I meant to do the world book night, but ended up spacing it. I think it must be so cool.
DeleteI just recently found out about donating books to the local library. I had a brand new hardcover YA I wanted someone to benefit from. YAY! I know they don't want a bunch of old crusty paperbacks, but newer books I figured I'd give a shot.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely they want those new ones and ARCs make great summer reading prizes. It never hurts to ask!
DeleteMy current favorite real-life-book moments are introducing my kids to books I also loved as a kid. Sometimes they also love them; sometimes I think I misjudge their reading/listening level, and sometimes we discover new ones together from the library.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to share the books I loved with my kids - and see if they like it or not. Sounds like you have fabulous interactions!
DeleteHa ha! That's awesome about the soldiers and Twilight. So funny. Great post. I think you're absolutely right. Just take a book somewhere and read it in public and you'll be sure to talk to someone about it! Happens all the time!
ReplyDeleteI love that I can have a book prop and something to break the ice in a conversation. Books = awesome.
DeleteAwww, the image of tough soldiers sitting around reading Twilight is just too funny :-)
ReplyDeleteHappy ABEA!
Thanks for stopping by - I had a grin on my face the whole time he was telling me his story :)
DeleteThat military story is pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteI agree that reading can bring people together. If I see a stranger reading in a public place I always ask what they're reading and before you know it, we're having a conversation. I love it!
It's better than prompt cards for conversations :)
DeleteOh I love this mental image!!! Thanks for sharing that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating!
Here's my networking post
Valerie
StuckInBooks
Thanks for dropping by! I can totally picture it and it makes me smile :)
DeleteReally nice blog.
ReplyDeleteI wish more of my friends were readers. I can talk for hours with people if we have read and enjoyed the same books :)
Sometimes you can help your friends become readers - I know I've gotten a few folks to give it a try and some of them stuck with it!
DeleteI love chatting books with my real life friends!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog!
Same here! It's so fun.
DeleteI love the military story ;) Twilight has a lot of lovers out there. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love that it has people reading. It definitely did that well!
DeleteWhat a great post! And you're absolutely right about Twilight - people badmouth it like crazy, but I know tons of people who would never pick up a book, and they gave Twilight a try and it sparked their love of reading. Go figure. I like your idea of taking a book out in public and starting up conversations about reading.
ReplyDeleteIt may not be great literature, but it's gotten a lot of people reading and that's wonderful! I love networking with strangers about reading. I sometimes get a bit too passionate about it :)
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