As a book lover myself, there is something comforting about reading books that are about books (book-ception, if you will). When I crack the spine and start reading, I find stories and essays that relate to the way I look at reading, at books and the people who write those books. Storytelling has always been a part of our worlds' cultures, preceding the creation of language itself. We continue that tradition in the present day through media like television shows, movies, news, and personal narratives on social media. Yet, the book remains as the oldest of these forms and will remain relevant. The open exchange and circulation of books from different perspectives is synonymous with free thought and spread of information. They bridge divides between the past and the future as well as across time periods. No medium will ever replace a book, simply because there is nothing like it. Readers have personal connections with the books they read at various points in their lives and the genres that capture their attention and imagination.

The books below are like love letters to books and to reading.

1. "The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction"

In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America.

If you still see reading as an obligation or as a dying medium, this book might just change your mind. In a time where reading a book has become nearly counter-culture, it is more important than ever to read for the fun of it and to be an expeditious sort of learner and reader. I actually read this shortly after I had made a list of books to read before graduate school; it was a very long list comprising of all the capital "L" literature that I haven't yet read but "ought" to have. After reading this book, I abandoned the list. While I still want to read many of those, I will do so in my own time, as it should be.

2. "The Thirteenth Tale"

All children mythologize their birth...So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist. The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life."

Granted, I read this book early on in High School and haven't read it since, but "The Thirteenth Tale" is a book that convinced me of the alluring power and mystery of books and storytelling. It is a book you can flip through with baited breath, with intrigue driving your interest, as you wait for the mystery to unfold itself. I'll definitely re-visit it soon.

3. "Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader"

Anne Fadiman is--by her own admission--the sort of person who learned about sex from her father's copy of Fanny Hill, whose husband buys her 19 pounds of dusty books for her birthday, and who once found herself poring over her roommate's 1974 Toyota Corolla manual because it was the only written material in the apartment that she had not read at least twice.

This is a wonderful series of personal essays about Anne Fadiman's history with reading. From "Marrying Libraries" (two readers merging their libraries when moving in together) to describing the beauty of reading a book where it is set, Fadiman depicts her voracious reading life as an absolute pleasure. Though I may never enjoy reading the same way Fadiman does, her essays did remind me of the joys and privileges of being a reader.

4. "The Book Thief"

Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.

This book recently came into the spotlight when it was adapted into a movie, but viewers of the movie should not overlook the book. There are simply too many interesting aspects and facets to this book that cannot be made into a film. I read this in High School as well, and I found it to be endlessly clever and ultimately heartbreaking. It may have been over-hyped recently, but it deserves all that hype.