Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Current Faves, I’m showing you a bunch of fun, weird, bookish things that you may or may not have heard of before! Some of these have been recommended to me time and time again while others I only recently discovered and now that I’ve got a pretty good stack of quirky bookish objects, I figured I should share them with you!

Bookly App

You might not have expected an app to make it onto a weird bookish things list but it was so good I couldn’t not put it on the list. If you don’t know, Bookly is a gorgeous app that helps you track your books, read more and improve your reading over time. You can scan your books or simply search for them online to add them to the app, from there you can track to whom you lend them, add favorite quotes and thoughts, and see insightful data that can help you improve or read even more.

I personally love this app because it really gets me motivated to read more books and it keeps me reading regularly because I don’t want to break my reading streak!

Book Sleeves

Does anyone remember using the paper book sleeves or the 99c spandex book sleeves to protect their textbooks back in middle school? No? Just me? Okay.

These book sleeves from Love You More Studio are absolutely stunning. They even come in holiday prints and everything! I’m going to have to snag myself a few of these!

Goodreads App

Okay, I promise this list isn’t all apps. But I had to put this one on the list too, because I recently discovered a surprising amount of my writerly friends had never heard of Goodreads even though its basically been around forever. Goodreads is an American social cataloging website that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. Similarly to Bookly, I really like tracking my reading progress, read, currently reading, and to-read book lists, and engaging with other readers on Goodreads.

Clear Panel Booklight

While this booklight is more of a necessity than a quirky object I had to include it as well because it’s amazing. If you read my Bookish Things blog post for this week, How I Read Books/ My Reading Routine, then you might remember this little gadget from that post. I raved about how awesome it was to have when the power went out last month during the Great Oklahoma Ice Storm of 2020. It was an absolute lifesaver. I found my light on Shein, but you can get them just about anywhere.

Bookish Home Décor

I found these items on the ebookfriendly.com blog where Ola Kowalczyk put together a list of bookish home décor that was just too cute to ignore!

Kowalczyk says,

“In times when most of the books can be stored on a single e-reader or tablet, there comes a problem book lovers haven’t experienced before: how to express the love for books? Hundreds of books on the Kindle means you won’t need a classic floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, or, at least, you won’t need a bookshelf that large. But it’s good to have things at home that remind you of the evening you will spend with the book and a cup of delicious tea.”

—Ola Kowalczyk, Eboookfriendly.com

You can read the full blog post here.

While I personally enjoy physical copies of books, I can certainly see the appeal of keeping all of your favorite reads stored in the cloud. From book-shaped cutting boards to ceramic pencil-holders, these cute, practical, bookish home décor items are sure to serve as a warm reminder that your next read is only a swipe away.

Bookish Pillows

What’s cuter and cozier than a book sleeve or cuddling up with a good book, you ask? Book-shaped pillows! These adorable and surprisingly soft bookish throw pillows on Etsy make a wonderfully whimsical addition to every book lover’s reading nook.

Wood Book-Shaped Coasters

Not the cozy type? That’s alright! Maybe you’re into entertaining or you’re a craft brew aficionado? Next time your friends come over games and booze (post-pandemic of course!) whip out these beautifully made, handcrafted wooden book-shaped coasters. They have some hilariously witty twists combining the classics and alcohol which are sure to entertain.

I hope you liked my list! Please let me know in the comments what quirky and fun non-book bookish items you’ve been into lately and make sure to check out my other posts in Reader Life!

—Payton