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What is better than curling up with a good book on a rainy Fall day and immersing yourself in a world that couldn't be more different from yours? For book lovers, probably nothing. Captivating stories, characters to love or hate, and immense joy or devastating heartbreak – that's what a truly good book should have.

And when there's something people feel passionate about, there's memes. Here we have a collection of funny posts from the Books of Brilliance Instagram page. If you like the smell of new and old books and the sound of pages turning, this list might be just for you!

The Books of Brilliance page shares funny literary memes, but its creator also runs a blog of the same name. They cover everything from lists of celebrities' favorite books to reviews and exciting new book release announcements. Be sure to head down there if you're looking for good book recommendations or want some fun literary facts!

With its 172k followers, the page demonstrates that the written word is still very much alive and well. Especially print books: in 2023, sellers reported they sold 767.36 million physical copies in total! Some experts speculate that if we add e-books to the mix, publishers sell over 1 billion new books each year.

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Book-Lover-Memes

booksofbrilliance Report

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Momogi
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's get worse when your favorite character died and there's nothing you can do to save them.

veryvenasaur
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

that's what fanfiction is for I highly recommend Archive Of Our Own but Wattpad or fanfiction.net are also acceptable. I recommend reading the tags carefully though if you aren't interested in adult content. No judgement if you are interested but the trouble with fanfiction is it can be hard to avoid.

EM
Community Member
2 weeks ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think that when you read a good book more than once you discover more about the characters each time , for all sorts of reasons.

XanthippeⓐWulf🇨🇦️️🇬🇧
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes! I have 2 series of books I read as a *brain cleanser* when I've finished another book or set of books and don't yet have another lined up to read. I've probably read both series at least 4-5 times, and I'm always finding something new or understanding something differently with each read. It's gonna be a sad day if that ever changes.

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Ravenna Morningstar
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Omg this is why I put off finishing books! I don't want the characters to go away :(

Wintermute
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My favorite author was in the middle of a novel when he died. It was released as a novella, the last of the series (actually a prequel). I have it at home, but refuse to read it for that reason. I'm saving it for sometime far in the future when I'm ready for it to be done.

Auntriarch
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same, it was a few years before I could bear to read Terry Pratchett's last book.

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Norma Luce
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't get this. They just keep going on and on because I extrapolate. They either get more intersting than written, or sometimes less.

Dawn Marie
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Use your imagination and continue the story in your head!! I do that a lot. This way it will always come out the way I want in the future!!

Trophy Husband
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's when you start to daydream and come up with your own sequel...

Heather Wolmarans
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Right!? I always have a long and very silent pause after I finish the last line on the last page of a good book.

Caroline Overill
Community Member
1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don’t then. Make up your own stories about them just for you. Maybe you could be a part of their story.

JenC
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sometimes I won't finish the last book in a series, just so the world and story doesn't 'end'.

Crouching hippo hidden panda
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I also mourn when I finish a good series! Just found out one of my fave authors has announced they will be discontinuing a series I’d been dying to get the next one of

Kalikima
Community Member
Premium
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

One of my faves did that, then a few years later, started the story back up again.. she made the ending a dream, which was a little hokey, but it was great to have the characters back..

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Alyssa Phillips
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jasper Fford writes a series loosely about this. It's actually amazing.

Arthur Waite
Community Member
2 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not all books stand alone. I watched one James Bond movie, way back in High School, went into a bookstore, and bought six books by Ian Fleming. And I've been criticizing Bond films ever since.

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The myth that people have stopped reading books or are reading less often is perpetuated by those who think this is a snob's hobby. Newsflash: books are books, no matter their genre. Sure, purists might prefer literary classics, but those who like romance novels are just as rightful bookworms as fans of Dickens.

Back in the day, people looked down on the fantasy genre, claiming it was not serious enough and silly (Asimov and Lovecraft would beg to differ, I think). But today, the Harry Potter series is the best-selling in history, many universities offer courses in Tolkien studies, and film studios are looking for the next "Game of Thrones" to make into a worldwide phenomenon.

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Only those who don't read might think that the literary world is boring. In reality, some juicy scandals used to rock the book world even in the olden times. Charles Dickens, for example, enshrined himself in the literary hall of shame when he dumped his wife of 20 years with whom he had 10 children and ran off with a 17-year-old actress, Ellen Ternan. Hollywood also made this story into a movie in 2013.

In the many Shakespearean stories and speculations of who is the author of what, F. Scott Fitzgerald also has a scandal of his own. His wife accused him of plagiarizing, claiming that he copied entire passages from her letters and journals. "[He] seems to believe that plagiarism begins at home," Zelda once told a newspaper.

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Book-Lover-Memes

booksofbrilliance Report

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And what about that time Bob Dylan lifted his Nobel lecture from SparkNotes? When the Swedish Academy awarded Dylan with a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2016, there was much contention already. Although he's authored a few poetry books, his contributions don't have much to do with literature, critics said. And then Dylan delivered his lecture on Moby Dick, which, literary critics noticed, sounded eerily similar to the SparkNotes summary.

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A more recent controversy concerns the author of the 2018 hit novel Where The Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens. Apparently, there are some similarities between the book's plot and an experience Owens had in Zambia. The incident, documented in a 1996 documentary on ABC, ended in an alleged poacher's passing. Some say that Owens' experience somewhat correlates with her heroine Kya getting accused of a similar crime in the book.

Shakespeare is probably the most controversial and fascinating figure in literature. At this point, when we say "Shakespeare," who do we even mean? However, in 1796, a law clerk, William Henry Ireland, claimed he had found the lost Shakespeare papers. That included plays Henry II, Vortigern and Rowena, and a "Profession of Faith" where Shakespeare apparently came out as a Protestant. Unfortunately, it turned out Ireland forged them to impress his father.

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Not so much a scandal, but a juicy fact about the great novelist James Joyce is his love letters to his wife Nora Barnacle. Although today we know Joyce as the author of the juggernaut Ulysses and as one of the greatest writers of all time, his raunchy letters paint a slightly different picture. To this day, people perceive the letters as so vulgar that no publisher will print them.

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On the topic of love letters, there are also John Keats' letters to Fanny Brawne. Contrary to Joyce's, they're neither raunchy nor scandalous. They're pure, romantic, and even heartbreaking at times (and a must-read for any poetry lover), solidifying Keats' reputation as one of the most talented romantic (literally!) poets.

#30

Book-Lover-Memes

booksofbrilliance Report

Note: this post originally had 97 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

But we're not here to talk about letters, so, book-loving Pandas, let us know what you think of these memes in the comments! And don't forget to upvote your favorites so we know which ones you liked best! 

Also, share with us what you're reading at the moment; you might help a Panda or two who are currently in a reading slump!

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