Happy World Book Day! Talking About Books I Have Special Memories With

Happy World Book Day everyone!

I mean you had to expect a post from me today, who even am I if I’m not posting on a day where the whole world celebrates books? Granted I’m writing this as I furiously prep for my exams but whatever, everything is fine.

I’ve been reading since so freaking long, it’s a part of my personality and anyone who even remotely knows me knows that. This also means I have like thousands of memories attached to books, I mean practically half of my life is books. But you know what, some of the memories are very special. You know when you see a certain book and are immediately reminded of a vivid memory? Yup, that’s what I’m talking about.

So today I decided to take a slightly nostalgic road and talk about some memories I have attached to specific books. This probably also includes some books that I no longer love or remember much about but I still smile when I think of the events attached to them so I decided to include them anyway 🙂

Oblivion by Anthony Horowitz

I absolutely adore Anthony Horowitz’s books and part of that is because I have some nostalgic memories attached to his books. Oblivion is the last book in The Power of Five series and it’s the first book that made me cry. I have such a vivid memory of sitting in a bedroom and finishing the book and being so numb. I took a few moments to process something heartbreaking that had happened and then I started crying. Like actually sobbing. When my family found out they straight up laughed so hard and made fun of me. But still, it was a show of how much that book impacted me and how I’m still scared of re-reading that final book because of that painful event…

The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan

Oh my god, there are literally waves of nostalgia rolling over me right now. Don’t be surprised if I start a re-read very soon. Anyway, The Maze of Bones is the first book in the 39 Clues series and my first ever Rick Riordan book. But apart from that I have so many memories attached to this book and series because it was the first time that I joined a fandom! This series was the one that I first wrote fanfics for. Looking back it’s so cliché and terrible but it gave me so much joy, introduced me to new people and friends and was basically the start of my fandom journey 🙂

Oh and of course then I picked up the Percy Jackson series next and the rest is history.

Chanakya’s Chant by Ashwin Sanghi

This might have been the start of my love for Indian mythology based books. Chanakya’s Chant has a great story behind it. This is give or take 6 years ago when I had been obsessing with some Indian shows about Chanakya and the emperor Chandragupta Maurya. I remember being in Jammu for a huge function which lasted for a week. My much older than me cousin was reading this book at that time and when I read the word ‘Chanakya’ I all but snatched the book away from her.

I spent the whole week, all the time I could find between the functions trying to read the book. It was SO good. I was absolutely hooked! I remember trying to frantically finish the last 100 or so pages on that last day because of course I had to give the book back! But then my mother told me to put it down and actually attend the function and that she would buy me the book later. Hah, that was a time. I am now a huge Ashwin Sanghi fan, all thanks to my cousin!

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Of course Simon was bound to be on this list! In case you don’t know the story, I read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda before it blew up. My then best friend bought it as a birthday gift for me and none of us knew what a huge impact it would have on me. I think this was the first book I read centered around a queer couple and I was just so enamored by it.

Then about two years later I joined Twitter and found that the book had blown up and ended up making so many friends because of it 🙂 So much has happened since then but I still treasure my battered, first edition, sticker-less copy of Simon.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I distinctly remember that I was reading Attachments in 12th grade and someone in class got intrigued by it. I lent it to her because she was a friend and then someone who saw her reading it asked if she could borrow the book after my friend had finished it. One thing led to another and I think no less than seven girls ended up reading the book, even non-readers! I was so proud of myself for making so many people read a book I liked, even if it came back to me in a battered condition!

Note: I no longer support Rainbow Rowell and do not recommend her books. But this memory still makes me smile and there’s no tainting it

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

You all know that I love the PJO series to bits but it’s quite literally a safe haven for me. I’ve always been one to take insane amounts of academic stress and one time during my last year of highschool I found myself on the verge of a panic attack. I was terrified of breaking down in such a public space like my school so I snuck to the only place where I felt safe. The library.

I vividly remember going up to the shelves and picking up a copy of The Last Olympian and breathing in the smell of its pages. It was a desperate attempt to calm myself down and somehow it worked. I sat down and spent a good half an hour reading a random part of the book. I just remember the characters making me laugh and the familiarity that came with them. I walked away feeling so much better and since then I often turn to the PJO series for comfort 🙂

Dare Mighty Things by Heather Kaczynski and Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Both these books are a sweet reminder of the bookishwish tag on Twitter. This was probably the one time I’ve seen the whole of bookish twitter being incredibly sweet and kind and the absolute best. It was a time when people were putting out books they wished for and others acted as bookish fairies and helped them get those books.

I remember saying I didn’t own a signed copy of any book and it was a dream of mine and Heather kindly sent me a copy of Dare Mighty Things and I absolutely fell in love with it! It’s one of the best sci-fi books I’ve ever read and literally ever time I see it I just smile. Similarly, I got sent an arc of Darius the Great is Not Okay and like that was the first physical arc I ever got! I was just so stumped at the generosity of the person who sent it to me and of course it ended up being another favourite of mine.

How are you celebrating World Book Day? By reading and buying books I hope!

Do you have any such vivid bookish memories?

Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts on them?