I am surrounded by books. At home. At work. Even between the two (if the contents of my bag is anything to go by). I love this about my life.
But, sometimes, they just look too smug.
Normally it’s when I’m flustered about something. I might be panicking about a networking event I am guaranteed to be awkward at, stumbling with a problem at work, or have jumped at my own reflection in the morning. Whatever the scenario, there is guaranteed to be a beautiful book nearby, just sitting there, looking pleased with itself.
Because, let’s face it, books never lose their cool. They’re always beautiful and they’re full of interesting facts that everyone wants to know about.
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BOOKS ARE FLAWLESS
You might look half decent on a good day, but only if you’ve managed to wash, tame your hair, put some make up on, and iron your clothes.
And let’s face it, other than being clean, everything else takes up my precious sleeping time.
Books however, are always beautiful. They are flawless without trying.
You’d hate books if they weren’t so damn beautiful.
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BOOKS NEVER GET TONGUE TIED
Someone stops you in the street to ask directions.
Your boss taps on your shoulder whilst your daydreaming to get an update on a report.
You have the answer right there in your… No. no. It’s gone.
That would never happen to a book. A book knows exactly what it’s about to say. Every time.
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BOOKS AREN’T AFRAID TO DEAL WITH ENEMIES
Your work nemesis. Your partner’s ex. The school bully. The really annoying person in your friendship group that everyone loves but you despise.
Be honest, you’re nice to them all, aren’t you?
A book, however, would cut them down without hesitation…
…Paper cuts, obviously. We’re not violent here!
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BOOKS ARE BETTER TRAVELLED THAN YOU
Maybe you have travelled the world. I haven’t. I’ve done Thailand, Tanzania, a few countries in Europe and Iran (which doesn’t even really count because I’m Iranian).
A book, however, leapfrogs countries – even eras – in a matter of pages. It experiences new places, people and worlds without having to deal with customs, delays or long-haul flights.
Well… unless the book is about an incident at customs after a delayed long-haul flight. But who would want to read that?
I joke, I’d totally read that too.
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BOOKS ARE WAY SMARTER THAN YOU
English is my first language but I still have to pick up a dictionary every so often to figure out what a word means (I secretly love learning new words!).
But books don’t need spell check or a thesaurus. They don’t need a dictionary. They are full of beautiful words (and sometimes even pictures).
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BOOKS ARE GOOD AT EVERYTHING
You might be good at a lot of things or awesome at one thing, even if it’s just ‘being’.
If you’re like me, you’ll try to be reasonably good at a few things.
Books, however, excel at everything! And just for example:
- Telling stories
- Stopping doors (the bigger books are better at this, obviously)
- Decorating houses
- Hurting people (think Game of Thrones hardback being dropped on your foot)
- Stack up to make a night stand
- Protect you from small talk (just never look up from a book)
- Help you with small talk (they are the perfect save for an awkward conversation)
- Educating people (textbooks are books too)
- Cookbooks = life
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BOOKS WILL GET PICKED BEFORE YOU DO
It’s the typical ‘who gets picked last for the football team’ (don’t you dare say soccer!) scenario.
If you had to pick one of the following to spend an evening with, what would it be?
- A book
- A kind but awkward soul who’ll either overcompensate by being too loud and argumentative or sit quietly in a corner and avoid eye contact.
- A puppy, whose poop you will have to pick up all night
OK, so even with the poop collection responsibilities, the puppy wins. But I can guarantee everyone would pick the book over #2 A.K.A me.
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BOOKS BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER
You might be blessed with social skills. Or you might carry a book around with headphones in just to avoid contact with strangers like me.
Whichever side of the line you call, we’ve all felt awkward at one point or another in a room full of strangers. What do you talk about? How do you start a conversation?
Books, however, don’t have that problem. Books can bring two strangers together and make them best friends in a matter of minutes. Books bring whole communities together across the globe.
Now tell me, who you know that can do that?
A Literary Mind 