Hi readers and writerly friends!

With everyone trapped at home and most fun activities deemed off-limits due to the pandemic and concern for public health, many people are going stir crazy. Not to worry, though! Us introverted book nerds have been waiting our entire lives for this moment. Oh to be locked indoors for weeks on end and amidst a sea of books to lose myself in…

Okay, that was nice about three months ago. I think even the most reclusive readers are starting to itch for even a little sunlight and the mildest social interaction. Okay, maybe things aren’t that bad here in Oklahoma. In any case, I can’t help but feel like its about time to set the books down and get into some bookish activities instead.

Attend a Virtual Book Event

virtual-con-penguin-random-house.jpg.optimal.jpg — Penguin Random House Virtual Book Convention Poster

If you’ve been around for a minute, then you might know that I am a big of a gamer *blush*. I prefer to play Blizzard games like World of Warcraft and Hearthstone. Now, you’re thinking, what does this have to do with books? Well, let me tell you, every year Blizzard puts on Blizzcon—a fun, fantastical nerd convention based around all the games Blizzard fans love. Too bad this year, it was completely canceled due to the pandemic. A lot of events were canceled due to the pandemic. But one this Blizzard has ALWAYS done is put on a virtual Blizzcon for the millions of fans who are unable to make it out to California for the 3-day convention. Much like Blizzard, many other bookish conventions have converted their conventions to online format for the safety and accessibility of their convention patrons.

Virtual book events come in many forms—it could be a book festival, book launch party, book reading, or even just a virtual gathering of virtual book lovers. Book events are fun ways to interact with fellow bookish people and authors. Although its because of terrible circumstances, many book events have been moved online, thus making such events more accessible to folks from all over the world. I hope once the pandemic is all over, convention planners can continue to find ways to keep events accessible.

Authors are also moving their book launches online and it’s a great way to gain access to your favorite authors and celebrate their launches with them. If your favorite author is publishing a book, check to see if they’re having an online launch party. Many publishing houses and organizations are coming together to create immersive virtual events to connect book lovers from all over the world. . And authors, this is a fantastic way to get closer to your readers and build meaningful connections with them while staying safe. Amy Landino, author of Vlog Like A Boss and Good Morning Good Life (Check out my in-depth book review here) had an in-person and online launch party, just before the pandemic started complete with a countdown timer and champagne. Author Alexa Donne, of Brightly Burning, and The Stars We Steal, has put on (and continues to put on) 1st page critique live streams on her YouTube Channel for her readers and aspiring writers. These are great ways to stay connected with your reader base and for readers to better get to know and engage with their favorite authors.

Here are some online book events you can join:

Author Kelly Yang’s writing workshops for teens on Instagram (July 1st and 3rd)
Books Connect Us Live, hosted by Penguin Random House Ongoing (Previous events videos are available.)
Lauren Jackson and Christina Orlando spotlighting sci-fi and fantasy media on Instagram (every Thursday.)
LeVar Burton goes live on Twitter to read books (every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.)
Middle Ground Book Fest (August 1st)
Virtual Thrillerfest 2020 (July 7-11)
Worldcon New Zealand (July 29-August 2)

You can find more book events in this list on Netgalley and this one on Book Riot.

Watch film adaptations of your favorite books.

Another bookish activity you can do within the safety of your own home is watching book-to-movie adaptations. While it’s true, most books are better than their on-screen counterparts, sometimes it can be fun and refreshing to see your favorite characters and stories come to live on the screen. You can watch the classics, rewatch your old favorites and check out the recent adaptations as well.

Here are some that I’m currently watching/planning to watch:

Pride and Prejudice (anyone else out there still need to watch this whirlwind romantic classis at least once a year?)
Heart of Darkness (Yes, another classic, but since I just read the book in one of my classes, I thought it might be fun to see how the movie adaptation compares)
Silence of the Lambs (I’m saving this one for spooky season!)
The Shining (I’ve never seen this adaptation, and I think its time to give it a go, once fall rolls around!)
Wuthering Heights (okay, so I’m into the classics, what gives? 😂)

Jenn from The Bibliofile compiled a list of book to film adaptations coming out this year.

Join a virtual book club.

I actually started a virtual book club with my guildies from WoW! If you’re looking for some bookish company while you’re stuck at home, joining a book club is a great way to go! You can chat about books with other members through Discord, Skype, Twitter, and Zoom! (We prefer to use Discord, but you can use just about any social media service to stay in touch with bookish friends!)

Here’s a screenie from my guild’s book club channel in Discord! I blocked out names and profile pictures for the privacy of my friends, but you get the idea! Our first book we’ll be reading is Shadows Rising by Madeline Roux, just in time for the Shadowlands expansion release in October 2020. 📚

Here’s a list of virtual book club lists from Time, the New York Times, Hugo House and The Nerd Daily:

Create a book journal/scrapbook.

Over the years, journaling has grown in popularity and for many is a relaxing and cathartic exercise. A book journal is a great place for you to scribble down all of your bookish thoughts, favorite quotes, bookish pet peeves, favorite authors, book lists, mini reviews, reading trackers, and any other bookish musings. It’s you own little bookish corner, so just have fun with it!

The creative possibilities are endless here. You can create one from scratch with any notebook or use free printables available online! It doesn’t have to be elaborate or fancy ad long as it works for you! Etsy is a great place to find beautiful reading journals.

If you need some inspiration or help starting a bookish journal, here are a few useful links:

Start a Bookish Youtube Channel.

Maybe all this extra time indoors is just the push you need to get you started with your new book-related hobby—making videos for your Bookish Youtube channel! If you’re anything like me, you hate being on camera, but don’t let that stop you from chatting about the books and authors you love. You can talk about books, do book reviews, record reading vlogs, do bookshelf tours, and tons of other fun, bookish activities for your internet friends to see. You can use a phone or laptop camera to record and free video editors such as Windows Movie Maker or DaVinci Resolve to edit the video. Audio editors such as Audacity work great as well, if needed. You can check out more of my favorite free content creation resources in my online course, How to Create A Stunning and Highly Marketable Website.)

Read an interactive novel.

Take your book adventures to the next level by reading an interactive novel or chose your own story book. Interactive books allow you to engage with the story in ways that regular books just can’t. They allow you to steer the plot in different directions and towards several possible endings. Check out Bustle’s list of interactive books for adults.

I remember how I got into the Starcrossed trilogy by Josephine Angelini by playing through an interactive novel on Figment when it was still around. In the book, Helen wakes up night after night of being trapped in a maze. The interactive novel on the Figment website consisted of readers making their way through the maze. It was so interesting and engaging and certainly brought my reading experience to the next level. R.I.P. Figment. 😭

Match books with objects or create outfits based on your favorite book characters.

If you’re on book twitter or Bookstagram, you might have come across the #booksasoutfits trend where people match their clothes with books. It’s a fun way to play around with color schemes and dress up since most of us are stuck indoors lately. You can match books with anything, and you don’t have to share it online—just have fun with it! Likewise, you can dress up as your favorite character and see how you can bring their fictional styles to life with your own wardrobe.

Lauren Kiss’s YA book cover-inspired outfits.

Many bookish YouTubers have made videos following this trend. Lauren Kiss made one called “YA Books as Outfits.”

Create some awesome book art

This might be easier said than done if you don’t consider yourself artistic at all. But this is supposed to be fun so just dive in and don’t think about it! Book art can be almost anything—doodling in the margins of books, creating bookmarks, drawing your favorite characters, or making jewelry inspired by characters and elements in your favorite books.

It’s safe to say there’s something for everyone in the artsy/bookish world. You can paint the edges of your book’s pages to add in some colors and vibrancy. Or you can take an old book and make found poems out of the already-constructed sentences inside. You can make some amazing book sculptures with folded book art! If you’re into baking, you can make book-inspired cupcakes or try making a 3-tier cake inspired by your favorite trilogy. This totally counts as book art and it’s a yummy win-win!

This beautiful lakeside #wtj painting was done by @thepinkdoodler on Instagram. Check out the book-paintings all the artsy/bookish people are doing on Instagram with #wtj (stands for Wreck this Journal, created by @emma.wtj and friends.)

These lovely watercolor book paintings are were done by @rabiosa.art on Instagram. She says books hold up surprisingsletter-for-updatesly against watercolor. And the words make a lovely texture/pattern in the backdrop of any sheer watercolor painting. Likewise, she finds poems between the lines and couples them with her paintings which is such a fun idea! So, next time you want to bring some life to an old book, consider finding poems in the existing writing or making a beautiful landscape over the words.

And that’s it for my list of fun bookish things to do at home! These are just some of the things you can do, so if you think of some, comment below and let me know! I hope you enjoy this post and hopefully it gave you some ideas about how to spice up your reading life. What bookish things do you do at home? Thanks for reading! And if you liked this post, consider signing up for my newsletter for more bookish and writerly content.

Thumbnail photo by Lacie Slezak.

Fun Bookish Things to do at Home