Dear friend,

It’s World Book Day! The one day when sniffing the pages of a paperback in public is socially acceptable. The one day when quoting a fictional wizard, a grumpy detective, or a teenage vampire gets you admiration instead of side-eyes. The day when bookstores feel like sacred temples and libraries smell like home. Honestly, it’s my kind of holiday.

Now, if you’re thinking, “Eh, I haven’t read a book in a while,” let me stop you right there. First of all—same. Life gets busy, screens are shiny, and our attention spans are shorter than that one haiku I wrote in high school. But reading is magic. And not just Hogwarts magic. I mean the kind of magic that quietly rewires your brain, expands your heart, and sometimes makes you cry in a coffee shop because the plot twist hit harder than your ex ever did.

Books Are Basically Time Machines, Teleporters, and Therapists

Books are sneaky little things. You think you’re just flipping pages, but suddenly you’re in 18th century France, running from the guillotine. Or you’re in space. Or you’re in someone else’s messy, beautiful, complicated life that looks nothing like yours—but also exactly like yours.

And it’s not just about reading other people’s words. World Book Day is also about writing them. So if you’ve got a little story living in your head—maybe about the time you accidentally ghosted your dentist or fell in love with someone at the airport (aisle 4, near the Cinnabon)—write it down! The world needs more voices like yours. Even the weird ones. Especially the weird ones.

If You Don’t Like Books, You Just Haven’t Met Your Book Yet

Maybe you think you don’t like reading. That’s cool. But let me ask you this—have you tried reading:

A murder mystery with a retired cat detective? A rom-com where the main couple hates each other over sourdough starter? A memoir written entirely in poems? A self-help book that actually makes you laugh instead of cringe?

There’s a book for every single mood. Grieving? There’s a book. Falling in love? There’s a book. Existential dread at 3 AM because life is confusing and also your rent is due? Yep—there’s a book for that too.

Start Small. Start Silly. Start Anywhere.

You don’t have to finish “War and Peace” by next Tuesday. You can start with 10 pages a day. Or one paragraph. Or just open the dang book and admire the font for a bit. That counts. Don’t let BookTok shame you with their color-coded reading goals and six-book weekends. This is not the Olympics. This is a soft, cozy, curious little journey—just for you.

So this World Book Day, let’s do something rebellious. Let’s slow down. Let’s disconnect. Let’s wander into stories. Let’s write badly and read joyfully and support our favorite indie bookstore with wild abandon (and maybe buy that pretty journal we’ll never use because, aesthetics).

Books don’t just help us escape. They help us arrive—more fully, more thoughtfully, more joyfully—right where we are.

Happy World Book Day, friend. Now go crack a spine (a book spine, please), and let the magic begin.

Love always,

Butter

Want some book recs or writing prompts? Drop me a comment or come raid my bookshelves (they’re alphabetized only in theory).