As a child, two of the best days of the year were, of course, Christmas and my birthday. My cousins and I were spoiled blind by doting grandparents, so there was a glut of presents at Christmas. I was an only child from a broken home, so my birthday usually ended up being The Week of Me, receiving parties with my mom, my dad, with friends… Since I have always been a giant booknerd, my gifts were almost always book-related. Yay! It was an embarrassment of riches, except I’m an only child so I feel no embarrassment.

Over the years, I gradually began building, quite inadvertently, a calendar of events centered around my favorite books and authors. After I became aware I was doing so, I started crafting actual holidays around them until I had my own bookish traditions. They give me something to look forward to each month, to have friends over to help celebrate, or just to contemplate on my own.

Below is my personal year of literary holidays. Read More »