Six for Sunday: Bookish Loves
Welcome back to another week of #SixForSunday
This week the theme is ‘bookish loves‘ so I’m going to talk about a few things which I adore in books, both in their content and their presentation.
Some of these are weirdly specific, but I imagine that we all have our favourite things in books, just as we all have favourite foods.
Here are six of my bookish loves:
- If the title has the words ‘shadow‘ or ‘stars‘ in it, I will definitely pick it up for a closer look! I’m not entirely sure why, but something about either of these words in a title makes me want to read a book!
- Any story that mentions folklore or fairy tales is pretty much an auto-read for me, whether it is a retelling of a fairy tale or set in a society where folklore and superstition are given high status.
- Something about stories set on islands appeals to me. Island communities can develop their own idiosyncrasies and the boundary between the island and the rest of the world is very clearly demarcated. Lots of my favourite stories have been set on islands!
- Overall, I prefer stories that are character-driven rather than plot-driven so I can forgive a lot if I like the characters. In particular, I love strong sibling relationships, the ‘found family’ trope and understated romance, where every little action means a lot. I also have a bit of guilty love of the ‘fake relationship’ and ‘hate-to-love’ tropes.
- I love it when hardcovers have something on the book underneath the dust jacket, eg. a hidden design or detail. One of the first things I do when I buy a hardback is take off the dust jacket to have a look! For example, The Cruel Prince has a cool hidden design and The Surface Breaks is just as pretty without the dust jacket as it is with it on.
- I love beautiful end papers in a book, particularly the kind found in many older books where the end papers are marbled, or in some picture books where the end papers contain clues about the story to come.
There are so many things that I love about books that I could probably keep on going with this list for a while!
What are some of your bookish loves?
What makes you pick up a book?
What aesthetic details do you like in books?
Let me know in the comments!
#SixforSunday is created by Steph from A Little But a Lot.
Check out some of my previous weeks of #SixforSunday here:
Books I would like to see as movies
Book characters I would like to stuck in a lift with
Animal companions in children’s books
Book characters I would like to be friends with
Favourite books of 2018 so far
Favourite snacks to eat while reading
Favourite books that nobody has heard of
Books that have made me want to shout
Books people are always telling me to read
Books that have been on the TBR pile forever
Authors who should collaborate
Characters I want to see together
If you like, link your #SixforSunday posts below and I will check them out!
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Thanks for reading!
Chrikaru Reads 
I absolutely LOVE a pretty naked hardback! Cathy Cassidy’s books tend to have gorgeous ones, and the Nevermoor books are stunning underneath their dust jackets too. The Train to Impossible Places had a beautiful one as well! I love nice endpapers too, though I’m struggling to think of any I like offhand…
The word that pops up in the most titles I read (after a very quick look, not detailed analysis!) is secrets I think! Murder/death/ghosts are also not uncommon 😂, nor are girls, boys, crowns and castles, lost/missing things, witches or storms…
Amy x
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Oh yes, secrets, witches, forests, and storms also feature heavily in titles I tend to pick up! Plus, ‘library’, ‘magic’ and ‘dark’ 😀
I read Nevermoor on Netgalley, then bought the paperback, but have a hardback of Wundersmith from the library so will (carefully!) check out the hidden cover. Nice endpapers don’t tend to be as common in modern books, hence why I notice them when they’re there – one recent example was The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. It is funny the little details that make the reading experience even better! x
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I love a hardback with a pretty cover under the dust jacket.
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Glad I’m not the only one who likes this! Maybe Bookstagram has played a part in this… 🙂
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Have you seen The Train to Impossible Places naked? That one is GORGEOUS. I love your list 🙂
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You are the second person to tell me that! I have a hardback copy from the library but it’s quite tricky to remove the dust jacket because it also has a plastic cover on it…I will give it a go!
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ooh yes so agree about fairy tales/folklore! I also prefer character driven and sibling relationships and found families are two of my favourite things! And I love the words shadow and stars in a title. Awesome list!
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Any books you have highly recommended on your blog I have really enjoyed – seems like we might have similar taste!
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Have you ever thought about at start of each month doing a post listing six for Sunday themes for month. Then bloggers could have a think write, their answers and pingback to your post.
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The prompts are written by Steph from A Little But a Lot and she posts the list of prompts on her blog every six months – the link is in my blog post if you want to join in!
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Ha sorry I worked that out in the end and followed her. Now nearly written one for tomorrow. Plus you have inspired me to start writing blog posts for my one day sequalae – thank you 🙏
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You’re welcome! I’m really struggling with tomorrow’s prompt – so hard to think of six! I will check it out and your other blog posts too 🙂
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I have one more to think of!
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I have 5 more, lol
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I have thought of 6th … need to type. Good luck!
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