Discussion: 5 Ways to Make Bookish Conversation

Saturday 13 June 2015


Have YOU ever been at a dinner party where there are awkward silences and you need a topic to break the ice? 
 Do you need a REASON to showcase your booknerdy self without being too obvious? 
Are you sick of non-bookish people saying 'Oh not that again' when you're fangirling over your fictional OTP?


Well do I have some tips for you! I can't guarantee they'll work in every situation, but hopefully these pointers will act as some sort of guide of how to bring up books in a conversation so that you can talk for hours on end about the latest developments in your current read, the next book boyfriend to salivate over, or make everyone read that one book you've been obsessing over since it was released. There's a time and a place for an esoteric literary discussion, but when you're around possible non-readers, sometimes you have to keep it subtle before going into the real bookworm talk.

Some phrases and possible methods of integration:

1. When a friend is talking about something daring/resourceful/funny they or another person did and you can think of a book character who acted in a similar way you could say:

"You know what? That sounds like something _______ would do"

Effect: This proves that characters are relatable and it could also get them just intrigued enough to perhaps pick up that book the character is from.

2. Talking about your latest celebrity crushes? Well, 9 times out of 10, someone from a book is going to be even better. Perhaps go in with saying something like:

"OMG I wish I had a boyfriend like ________. He's just so *insert positive qualities here*"


Effect: They may not have heard of the Chaol or Augustus or Jamie or Arin's in the bookish realm, but once they are introduced, you'll be having some epic book boyfriend battles in no time.


3. How was your weekend? - A typical question on a Monday. For most bookworms who aren't on a book buying ban (and even some that supposedly are), a weekend could be spent book shopping. And well, when a question like this comes up, one couldn't help but exclaim if the opportunity presents itself:

"I went shopping the other day and guess what I saw!? *pause* *wait for inquisitive 'Oh tell us!' before dropping the book bomb" _________ was on sale and it was the special edition!"


Effect: Yes, books are a cause of excitement, and hopefully once they see the beautiful cover in person they may be tempted to pick it out for themselves. (A Thousand Pieces of You especially would work well for this).

4. Book-to-movie adaptations are pretty popular right now - so why not capitalise on the opportunity to get your friends into reading the original first?

"You guys we should so go and see ________ this weekend. Oh, and if you haven't read the book you definitely should, I loved it!"

Effect: You now have the possibility of others to either fangirl with over how much you loved both, or rage with over what was horrifically changed. Either way, it makes for lively, book-related conversation.

5. Just go with the obvious.

If all else fails, just be who you are - a proud booknerd who makes no hesitation in blatantly fangirling about their latest favourite read, won't hesitate in making all their friends read said book and will lament over all the #bookwormproblems they are facing.


Effect: People should appreciate you for your perfectly bookish self, and if they don't - they have no idea what they're missing!

So - have you ever used any of these, perhaps without even realising it? What do you do to subtly (or otherwise) bring up books in a conversation?

14 comments :

  1. HAHAHA oh Genie I loved this post so much, so hilarious! I could just picture in my head some super awkward moments with my friends that would be like "What the hell are you saying?" Hahaha the movie one would probably be the one I've used the most.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jeann! Glad you liked it :) Yep, movies tend to be the most popular and work.

      Delete
  2. BRILLIANT POST. Bonus points for "quiche" - haha, I love Ja'mie. I'm lucky to have book lovers in real life, so it doesn't take much to start fangirling :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Emily - Ja'mie was a hilarious show, and when I saw that gif I knew I had to put it in :)

      Delete
  3. Oh, I'm rarely (if ever) subtle about my love of books. I always answer the 'what did you do last weekend/week?' or the 'any plans for the holidays?' questions with reading/buying books.
    Because that's pretty much the only thing I do.

    Great post :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha that's good Cassie! Let everyone know how awesome books are :)

      Delete
  4. Ahh this is such a fabulous post, Eugenia! I am HORRIBLE at making conversations (even bookish ones) and this post is making me cry happy tears. I mention my book boyfriends every single time I can, and luckily a lot of my real life friends are actually readers as well. :) And I love talking about book to movie adaptations with my non-reader cousins! <3

    Aimee @ Deadly Darlings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Aimee, glad you liked it :) I love going to my friends 'oh hey, you know that movie we just watched and liked - well it's a book' - though most of them do read as well which always is good :)

      Delete
  5. Hahaha. Bookish conversations are about the only ones I'm fairly adept at. But it's still kind of hard because none of my friends read! And sometimes I just gotta talk about books. I've probably used several of these methods. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, books are something which for us just have to come up in a conversation somewhere! Thanks for stopping by Ally :)

      Delete
  6. This post might just save me because I'm a potato when it comes to bookish conversations haha. I always refer to a character in a joke and get "why are you bringing up something fictional in real life?" looks from people who spend a lot of their time in real life. Heh, I think the best people to talk to about books are probably the TV show or movie junkies :")

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's true - the people who are into a TV/movie fandom would understand how connected we get to characters. Thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

      Delete
  7. Ha! I unconsciously bring most of these up. I only have one friend who enjoys reading for pleasure so it's so much fun talking to her about all of my OTPs. Most of my other friends are so absorbed in school reading (what? huh? school? reading? does that exist?) that when I fangirl over a book, it's like I'm speaking a foreign language.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess we just have to find *someone* that will listen and understand our fangirling, and at least the online bookish community can help with that too!

      Delete

Feel free to leave a comment below - I love reading them!