Tag: tips

August 8, 2019

Top 3 Tips and Ideas for a Book Lovers Day Party

It’s celebration time people! Grab your feathered pens and take a seat, because today we’re going to take a look at how to make the best bookish party!

Books have had a long history of being ignored, banned, and worse, burned. Today, reading books has become a little more popular and successful than in past years. From niche genres such as Elf Punk and Amish Romance, to hugely accomplished series of novels like The Harry Potter Series and the new rising industry of graphic novels. Books have come a long way in reaching out to just about every person willing to crack open a cover. That’s plenty to celebrate!

Thus, here are the top 3 tips for your next wild and crazy Book Lovers Party! We even threw in some original DIY ideas for you to try out.

Have A No-Phone Policy

The whole point is to focus on your love of books and share with the people who love them too. So have a case to keep, or even lock all the phones away. There are empty book-shaped boxes you can even use to stash away everyone’s phones.

Image via Pinterest

You can even plan a ten minute break for selfie taking, if people are really itching to update their Instagram. Nothing like capturing memories with photos after all.

Keep Your Guests Busy

While bringing a group of book nerds together will surely result in an endless flow of conversations about all the different fandoms they have in common, that’s not the only activity that should happen at a book party. Keep everyone at the party busy with activities and games that are bookishly fun and engaging.

Try out these games below:

Extreme Makeover
- Bring a classic literary character into the modern age and invent a new life for them. Example: Lydia Bennett (Pride & Prejudice) considers Cosmo great literature and Sex & the City serious drama. She hits the clubs, wears designer knock-offs and has Big Hair. Her eyes are always peeled for Mr. Big.

The overdramatic sighs of Miss Lydia Bennet. | Image via Giphy

Call my bluff: Dictionary version
- For the word nerds of your party. Take turns picking a word from the dictionary, write out its definition, and then add two more definitions of your own. Share the three possible definitions out loud to the group⁠—or get your neighbor to do so if you have a bad poker face. The others must each guess which is the true definition. One point for anyone who spots the real one, and two points for you if one of your fake ones is voted the winner.

Image via Slate

Name in the hat game: Literary version
- Test your knowledge of fictional characters and authors with this quick-paced guessing game. Everyone in the group writes the names four or five literary characters or authors⁠—whatever mix you would like⁠—on small pieces of paper, and throws them into a hat. Split into teams of four to five and let the game begin! With only one minute to spare each turn, one person in a team grabs a slip of paper from the hat and, using as many words as they can to describe the person, hints to their team what the paper says. Try and reveal as many slips as you can for your team until the minute is up. Depending on how confident you’re feeling, you might decide to only allow one pass per round…

The team gets one point per correct guess in each round. When the minute is up, it’s the next team’s go. This keeps going until all the slips from the bag have been read out.

Round Two: put all the names back in the hat. This time, you’re only allowed one word to describe the person on the piece of paper.

Round Three: names back in again. This time: all acting, no words.

The winning team is the one with the most points across all three rounds.

Image via the come back

Bring Books!

What kind of a Book Lovers Party would it be if there weren’t any books? Bring one of your favorites and share it with your friends.

Here are a couple of inspiring ideas for your party of what you can do with your books.

Blind Date With A Book
- Nothing like the classic blind date to find the perfect one for you. Ask all your party goers if they would like to donate books to the cause. When you have the books, wrap them up in brown paper, or whatever you have to wrap with that isn’t at all see-through. Decorate however you like, maybe even based on the book, but the important details are a few words on what it is about.

Image via Pinterest

Book Swap And Chat
- Similar to blind date with a book, the swap and chat introduces everyone to a new book they may like. The main difference here is that everything is in the open, and the aim is to encourage socializing between readers.

All the books will have a designated space with the donor’s name and the genres of the book written on a sticky note, but please be gentle with them. Everyone interested in finding a new read crowds around the books and picks one that speaks most to them. You can choose to flip through the book and see if you might like it, but the purpose of this activity is to find the person who held the book and talk to them about it. This can be a great conversation starter and, at the end of the day, everyone may end up with a new cherished book.

Don’t forget food and drinks, maybe even throw a little literary ambiance to piece everything together for the best book lovers party.

For anyone interested in making the book-decorated cupcakes in the featured image, you can find the edible books and purchase them on Etsy, or try making it yourself using fondant.

Featured Image via Imgur

July 11, 2019

9 Tips to Help Balance Summer Vacation and Reading

Summer is in full bloom and most of us will be taking some class of vacation, whether it’s going away or just taking a little time off work for a staycation and some R&R. So whether you’re looking into reading more books or trying to find a new escape from reality, here’s how you can balance both of them this summer.

1. Set goals for the Summer

Image via tenor

Making a short and reasonable list of the things you would like to do for the season will help you keep things in perspective and on track. Your list can be whatever you want it to be, but it has to be something that you can actually accomplish. For example, “read a book a day” or “visit all of Europe” might be a bit overly ambitious, unless you have Hermione’s time-turner! The items on your list should be things you’ll find enjoyable and that won’t stress you out; try ‘finish a book every week’ or ‘visit at least one place you’ve always wanted to see’.

2. Include A Good Group Of People In Your Plans

Image via Giphy

This is not to say that you should exclude anyone, but especially if you are spending a great deal of time with these people, the people you take along with you on your summer vacation should be folks you won’t want to strangle if things become heated. If you’re planning something simple and short, like going to a nearby boardwalk or a movie then “the more the merrier”, but for long trips it’s definitely best to keep your invites to your closest friends or your family. But most importantly, if you’re looking to have some quality time reading, then it’s good to have people around who understand and respect that.

3. Keep a book on hand at all times

Unless you’re a magician, don’t try this at home | Image via giphy

Bring a book with you wherever you go. There will always be some downtime to read, waiting in ridiculously long lines at the airport or when conversations run dry during the long drive. Even if it feels like it may be dead weight, you’ll be happy you brought it with you just in case. Especially if you’re not used to reading often, having the book on hand is a good reminder to starting turning those pages!

4. Share your book

Reading. Pass it on! | Image via TED-Ed

If you’re with people you love and feel comfortable around, chances are they share your interests to some extent. They may even ask about the book you’re reading. Talk about it. Maybe even loan it to them when you’re finished. Who knows—maybe one of your summer goals could be to start a summer book club on the beach! Why not?

5. Take advantage of the sun

Image via Giphy

There’s nothing like soaking up the sun while soaking up some quality literature. Set yourself up for a tan in your backyard when you have time. If the neighbors are being noisy, plug in your headphones and play some music that doesn’t distract you from reading. Better yet, play an audio book while you bake in the sun. Just don’t forget the sun screen! This is great for those of us who really don’t have a lot of time or money to go away on vacation.

6. Find New and Comfortable Reading Nooks

You probably won’t be coming across any magic flying carpets, but you’d be surprised what you can find out in the world | Image via Rebloggy

For reading in general it’s important to find a comfortable space in which to settle down. Finding a comfy nook while on vacation can prove to be a challenge, especially on family vacations, but have faith. Bring one of your most comfortable pillows, your favorite reading socks, and whatever else you can to recreate the best reading space for you. It might even be good to look for a space where you wouldn’t normally think of. If the hotel you’re staying at has a quiet lobby or a peaceful garden, try that. If you are looking outside your hotel room or in general plan on wandering a bit, keep an eye out on your surroundings rather than your book.

This idea can also work if you’re taking a “stay-cation”. Try going out to your local library for reading and taking part in summer events. A local park or boardwalk could be relaxing as well.

7. Take a shift watching everyone’s belongings

Don’t worry. They’ll be back soon. | Image via Giphy

While it may not sound thrilling, at some point everyone’s belongings are going to need to be watched whether you’re at the beach or an amusement park. Now don’t be the one to sit around and do nothing while babysitting the bags. You deserve to enjoy the fun too, but when you’re feeling tired and don’t mind being alone for a little while, go ahead and take one for the team. You’ll have your book to keep you company until the group comes back and someone else takes the shift.

8. Read A Little At A Time

Image via giphy

Typically when you’re away or out and about, you’re moving around almost non-stop, but make sure to make the most of any downtime, however brief! Many of us will be tempted to go through the full chapter, and some of us can multitask walking and reading, but if you are hustling through your vacation read only a few pages of your book at a time. When you’re done, put the book away and enjoy what you can.

9. Use your book as a getaway from your getaway

The vacation is falling apart? Bye Felicia! | Image via giphy

Let’s face it, no vacation goes without its mishaps. Many times it can feel like dealing with the planning and the people can feel like more work, even after you’ve chosen your closest people. When you feel you need a vacation from your vacation, take some time alone and use that time to read and escape in your own way.

Featured Image via Twitter