Hey everyone!!
I’ve got a terrible headache from walking around in the snow for an hour. The upside of it is… Snow! We should have a white morning tomorrow.
But still, the headache.
I don’t have a lot of time or energy to invest in an elaborate post, so I thought I would just share a sweet bookish thing I’m trying to do. Me being me, I turned it into a guide-ish.
I don’t really know what else to say, so… let’s have fun!
Inscribing Books? You Don’t Mean Write On Books, Right?
I have to say… Inscribing books is not for everyone.
I like the vintage aspect of it, but I’m also more attracted to pre-loved books than to freshly-out-of-the-printer books. Which, if BookTok and Bookstagram are right, most book lovers disagree with.
So just the thought of writing in a book might make you feel sick. But you can still leave a message in a book without having to actually write on the pages. Think post-its or notes in the dust-jacket.
If you’d like to send a little message into the world, there are plenty of ways you can do it.
♡ Why I Donate My Books
- College student living 8k kilometres away from home = not much storage space.
- Au-pair living in a stacked 20mt square room = not much storage space.
- Not everyone can afford new books, so giving them away to a charity shop or library helps new readers discover them.
♡ Why I’ve Started Inscribing the Books
- It’s a lot about the vintage appeal, see.
- I love buying a pre-loved book and seeing that someone had written something in it before. It makes me feel connected to the book’s history.
- The physical books I get are usually second-hand, so they’re already not in pristine state.
- I’m kinda bored.
- It’s procrastination but in bookish.
How I Inscribe the Books
♡ What I Always Write
- The date when I got the book.
- The place where I got the book.
- The reason why I have the book (gift, self-bought, ARC).
- A signature (my name, blog address, or Goodreads/Storygraph, nothing directly personal).
- I draw three flowers with five petals.
♡ What I Occasionally Add
- A recommendation (a similar book or another book this one has reminded me of).
- A quote (from the book or related to the book’s mood or setting).
- A reason why I’m grateful for having read the book.
♡ What I Want to Include From Time to Time
- A joke (related to the book, possibly).
- A riddle or mini scavenger hunt (this idea is totally from the series Dash and Lily).
♡ Some Examples of Inscriptions I’ve Already Done
- November 2020, London. Bought at a charity shop in XX. Reminds me slightly of “The House in the Cerulean Sea” ~ loveforwords.art.blog
- December 2020, London. “Aim for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Bought at a charity shop in XX. ~ /loveforwords on Goodreads
- January 2021, London. Received this as an ARC from ReadersFirst. ~ loveforwords.art.blog
- January 2021, London. Ordered from theworks.co.uk because of the gorgeous cover. ~ loveforwords.art.blog
Do you inscribe your books? Would you like to get inscribed books? I’d love to know what you think of this!
Love for Words - Book Blog 
This is such a cute idea!! Aaah I really want to do this now. ❤️
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Thank you, Maeve! I hope you’ll like it if you get to do it. It’s soothing and a bit thrilling as well. Have a great week ♡
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This is such a nice idea! I’m already excited to maybe try this on the books I’m bringing to the thrift store!
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Thank you, Joy! I think you’ll like it! It’s kinda thrilling.
Have a great week ♡
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Aw hope you’re feeling better! This is such an interesting post; I don’t think I’ve really donated a lot of books yet, but if I do, leaving notes within the pages would be really fun way to “feel connected to the book’s history”!!
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Not really, I might grab a mug of wine xD I hope you’ll like doing it if you get to it one day!
Have a magical week ♡
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I always inscribe books if I’m giving them away as a present! It makes it so much more wholesome and personal! 🙂
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That’s so thoughtful, Saloni! I always imagine opening a book some years from now and being surprised by an inscription I didn’t remember from a friend. Your friends are so lucky ♡
Have a great week!
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I absolutely looove that you do this. Whenever I got books second hand, I think it’s also so fun when I find names/dates inside. It adds a story and history to the books.
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Yes!! Absolutely!
Thank you for your nice comment ♡
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this is such a cool idea! i’ve never done it before, but i might need to try it out!! lovely post!
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Thank you ♡♡ It’s honestly so soothing and makes me feel like a mysterious lady xD
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this is beautiful omjg I might try it!! tho I’ll probably keep it anonymous because yes
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oooh yes!! (I leave a contact because I’d love to know where the book has ended up, but keeping it anonymous sounds even more poetic. Might do it too from now on)
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I would love to stumble upon a book inscribed by you 🙂 I’m okay with putting notes on books, but I’m more comfortable with pencils than pens/highlighters. And like you, I love finding former owner’s notes in a second hand book.
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Aww, that’s sweet, merci ♡ Pencils is a great idea! I might switch to that.
Bonne fin de semaine, Chloé!
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This is such a cute idea! I don’t inscribe my books, but I love the idea. I like my books to look nice on the outside for pictures, but as for if there’s an inscription on the inside? That doesn’t bother me. Actually, I think it’s really interesting and adds character, almost, when I open the cover and find something inside or if there’s a little something written in the margins somewhere! I buy a lot of second-hand books, and I’m usually so curious about what the previous reader was thinking as they read it. It *almost* makes reading something a social activity … but in a way that’s manageable for introverts who don’t like leaving their house and actually, you know, talking to people. xD
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