How to Incorporate Book Nerdery Into Every Holiday

Everyone loves holidays. A whole day where you don’t have to go to work? A whole day where your boss is federally mandated to leave you alone? A whole day to do whatever you want?! For book nerds, that means a whole, beautiful, responsibility-free day to read stacks and stacks of novels.
Except, well, there’s just one thing—holidays are also supposed to be a time you spend with friends and family, celebrating and commemorating a significant occasion. So how do you indulge in your love of books on your one day off, while still spending time with loved ones in a thoughtful, observant way?
Easy. Just incorporate book nerdery into every holiday! Here’s how:
Throw a party and make everyone bring a book.
Whatever the occasion, host a potluck and ask everyone to bring a book along with a dish. Celebrating the Fourth? Ask each of your friends to bring their favorite book and dish from their home state! President’s Day? Ask everyone to read up on their favorite president, bring their biographies, and bring the former president’s favorite dishes.
Have a book club meeting just for books about the holiday.
Here’s an option for those who wish to observe holidays quietly and thoughtfully. On Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day, round up your book club members and honor the men and women of the armed forces by reading about their experiences. Discuss the literature of writers like Joseph Heller, Tim O’Brien, Kurt Vonnegut, Karl Marlantes, and Robert Heinlein, to name just a few.
Read to the elderly.
If you have a day off and want to read, why not read to someone? Look for volunteer programs in your neighborhood and offer to read aloud to the elderly at a nursing home or to people in need at community centers.
Make “story hour” a thing again.
Grab some blankets and some snacks, round up your friends, and settle down for story hour! Pick a short story that’s perfect for the occasion. Read it out loud to everyone, or get it on audio.
Play holiday-themed literary trivia.
Just because it’s a holiday doesn’t mean your brain gets a day off! Write up some literary trivia questions, divide your friends into teams, and see which team reigns supreme in smarts. If you want to get really book-nerdy about Labor Day, ask trivia questions about John Steinbeck, Upton Sinclair, Barbara Kingsolver, and many other writers who shed light on the plight of workers.
Put together a literary scavenger hunt.
Everyone loves scavenger hunts. Everyone. Yes, even people who insist they just want to nap by the pool. Organize a hunt that shows off your literary nerdery! Leave your friends clues they can only decode with your favorite books. “Roses are red, violets are blue, if you give a mouse a cookie, you’re sure to find this clue.”
Host a Yankee book swap!
Invite everyone over to eat, drink, and give the gift of books. The rules of Yankee swap apply, but solely to gifts of books. Everyone brings one book, wraps it up, and sticks it under a tree. At the end of the night, all your guests will go home with a new novel and your party will be the best book nerd bash ever!
Volunteer with a book drive or with a literacy campaign.
Giving back to the community is one of the best ways to spend a holiday. If you’re a book nerd, seek out opportunities to share your love of books with others. Check your local area for ways you can help. Even if everything’s closed on a holiday, you can still do your part—spend the day organizing book donations from your friends or throwing a holiday party fundraiser.
How do you incorporate your love of books into holidays?