I was obviously born at precisely the right time, because I never had to live through that period of time when reading was considered the "bad kind" of nerdy. I started reading at a time when it was fine to walk into the library with your friend and come out with a stack of books; at a time when the entirety of your middle school squad would eagerly await the announcement of the next Percy Jackson book. If anything, the title of "book nerd" was cool in the eyes of my friends and I. Safe to say we were not the most popular of people, but our intense obsession with reading made some memories that are to this day relatable to the book nerd in me.

1. Staying up until morning to finish a book

As a child, this meant using a flashlight and pretending to be asleep at any indication that my mother was coming in to confiscate my book because three in the morning is apparently "the wrong time to be reading." As an adult, this means emerging from my room looking like the happiest kind of zombie and announcing that I’ve finished the book in one sitting because three in the morning is the only time that reading goes uninterrupted.

2. The feeling of first walking into a library

This is literally a feeling of euphoria, like smelling an old book times ten. A library offers the potential of a million books and the lure of a quiet escape. As much as I’ve now grown to regard the library as a permanent residence because of finals week trauma, the idea of walking into a library and curling up in the corner with a book is still just as magical.

3. Not reading for extended periods of time

As someone who used to finish multiple books per month, it’s the weirdest thing to now have some months when I don’t read anything aside from assigned readings. Sometimes life allows for four books in a month and sometimes it only allows for four books in a year and despite constantly hearing friends lament over how they used to read so much, there’s nothing that can be done about lack of time and energy to read in the midst of a busy schedule.

4. The empty feeling after finishing a book

This is such a staple in the emotional range of any book nerd that gets attached to what they read. You barely realize you’ve only got ten pages left to go and the end comes like a speeding truck hitting you in the side: too fast and too harsh. Closing a book feels like the permanent version of finishing a chapter, followed by the sinking feeling of having to walk around reality while your head is still in the book.