My Other Hobbies Beside Reading (which all inevitably relate back to reading)

So, despite what many none readers think, us booklovers cannot read 24/7. Unfortunately, we do not have magical unicorn powers that enable us to focus on a page every second of the day ( unless it’s A Court of Mist and Fury, because that book has legitimate faery magic and glues your eyes to the pages. LITERALLY!) .

We therefore do have to have other hobbies to entertain ourselves when we do not feel like reading or when our eyes need a break. And no, work, sleeping or eating do not count as hobbies, even though they can be pretty nice too. Hobbies are fun things that you choose to do, not that you are obligated to do to survive.

The following activities are some of the things that I choose to do with my spare time when I simply cannot read. They do however, all lead back to reading in the end, because, let’s be honest, everything in a booklover’s life revolves around books, even if you don’t really realize it.

 

Quilting

I love to quilt. It is one of the most calming things in my life and really chills me down when I’m feeling stressed. I love putting colours and fabrics together and watching it all come together to form a piece that I will have forever. I like that I can effectively follow a recipe on how to make it, but put my own twists on it, depending on what fabrics I choose to use and changes I choose to make.

This goes with reading really well because whenever I read, I like to snuggle up with a quilt to keep me warm and cozy. I have a stack of quilts I’ve made in my room and I pull however many I need out, depending on how cold it is.

 

Baking

Baking is another thing I love to do. It makes me happy and I often do it when I’m having a stressful day. Now, I don’t know about you but I love to snack, I almost love snack style foods more than full on meals so baking was basically made for me. I love to snack while I read so I’ll often curl up with a book, a cup of tea, and whatever baked goods are in the house from my last baking day. Because I don’t eat much though, I often end up sending parcels of food to my neighbour who is building his house, he loves it and it makes me feel like a good Samaritan.

 

Journaling

Journaling is another hobby that definitely relates back to reading. I have this journaling system that sort of combines a bullet journal with an art journal. I love planning in times to read, or just writing about all the feels a particular book is giving me, when I fear my parents might send me to a mental institute because of all the weird looks they give me when I fangirl. I also write out lists of my favorite books, characters and quotes. Journaling is SO therapeutic for getting things off your chest and I highly recommend it if you have something that’s bothering you but you don’t quite know what. (TBH I probably took up journaling because it was an excuse to use washi tape more than anything else).

Bookstagram

I’ll most definitely talk more about this in another post but Bookstagram is one of the best things in my life and obviously relates to books. I love communicating with other book lovers from around the world who love reading just as much as I do. I really enjoy taking pictures of beautiful covers on a sunny day, and it never ceases to amaze me how so many people can come together in such an amazing community because of a common passion.

 

Those were some of my favorite hobbies that I end up using to help me read as well. I would love to know what your favorite hobbies are!