Ten Bookworm Delights

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created at the Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme where participants will try to fill them up.

This week’s topic is Top Ten Bookworm Delights.

The Smell of a New Book

There’s nothing quite like the smell of a new book. When you first crack open the spine and catch that first whiff… there’s no words to describe that tingly sensation you feel when you’re about the jump into a whole other world. Especially if it’s returning to a book in a long series.

Tear That Wrapping Off

Speaking of new books, tearing off the wrapping around the book is also a great sensation too.

Cheap Book Haul

Finding books at 10% of its full price has got to be one of the best joys in the world. Finding dozens of them even more so. Second hand book fairs and reject goods are the treasure troves of this. I still rate my RM5 (that’s about USD1.50) find of a hardcover Way of Kings as the best find ever. It was at a reject section of a clearance sell. Beyond a small marking on the side and several minuscule tears on the dust jacket, it was good as new.

The book in question.

Browsing the books at your local bookstore

Browsing the books at my local bookstore is an enjoyable past time of mine. I drop in occasionally to see what’s new and what’s interesting. I don’t usually buy anything without planning though, but once in a while, there’s one with a great cover and a great blurb that I just can’t resist.

Totally Immersive Reading

Sometimes I get so lost when I read that I’m not aware of what’s happening around me. And that’s awesome. I feel so immersed in the world, flipping page after page wanting to know what happens next. When I was younger, I would get lectured for reading too much. My mom would be calling me from another room and I wouldn’t hear it because I was too into the book.

Great Conditions for Reading

Reading in my favorite conditions are some of the small joys I find in life. A cold weather, preferably with a light drizzle, coupled with a soft bed and blankets makes reading ten times more enjoyable.

Awesome Finales

I’m generally a fan of long series. This has changed as I get older, mainly due to the lack of time to follow them. But nothing beats a satisfying conclusion to a series that you’ve followed for a long time. It’s a bittersweet moment. You finally get the end you wanted to see for a long time, but you realize that it’s all over. You won’t see those characters again (barring a sudden sequel nine years later… ah hem…). You get a gut wrenching feeling as you feel a part of your life getting ripped from you. You feel empty for a while. And then you…

New Series

…find a new series! It’s always starts off tentatively. You read some reviews and think that you might enjoy it. You see people recommending the book to readers who liked some books you love. You read the actual book and you think you’re going to love it. And when you’re halfway through the second, you realize you’re totally in love with it and you get excited all over again. There’s times that this isn’t the case, but boy, when it hits, it’s a hit.

Speculation

Speaking of series, speculating about the next book is fun too. I don’t usually do the speculations myself, but it’s entertaining to read other people’s ideas. Who killed Asmodean was one of the earliest speculations I followed (which of all things was answered in the glossary section of Towers of Midnight) and I’ve been following it ever since. Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere is a nice playground for this kind of thing. Trell and the God Beyond are some of my favorites to read about.

Getting Teased

“Wait, Bavadin’s Shard is Autonomy? This changes everything!”

– Actual quote from me

What’s better than speculating? Getting more fuel for speculation! And what’s even better? An author confirming those speculation.  A series + an author who likes to drop hints is a perfect combination, which is one of the reasons why I like epic fantasy and authors like Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan.

That’s ten of my bookworm delights. Any of them similar to yours? Let me know in the comments down below.