Books made me want to do it | ft. new hobbies I want to have because I read about it

Books are amazing things, don’t you think? If a book is good or great, you are in deep and you live in that world for a while. The things the characters do, are things you want to do. The hobbies, jobs or anything they have, you want to have.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been inspired a lot to pick up new hobbies because I read about it in a book. Not just new hobbies though, also things I want to learn or just do. Hey, I even went to the States for a whole year to get the High School Experience.

So naturally, I went through my Read-list on Goodreads to reminisce all the things I wanted to do and probably never did.

Hobbies etc. I wanted to have because I read about it

Click on the cover to go to the Goodreads page.

Go on an (epic) road trip

I love books that have some type of travelling in them. Road trip especially are one of my favorites. There is something about the possibilities of it that I love. Like the saying: Life is not about the destination, it’s about the journey. I feel that road trips are proof of that.

These books made me want to do it:

Have a different job

Sometimes the protagonist has a job that just sounds so lovely! Whether it’s a bookseller, work at the movie theater, or work at the formula-1 racetrack (yes, really), the book made it sound great. In one of the books I picked, the main character owns her own flower shop, and because I worked with flowers before and loved it, it sounded so good that made my fingers itch to start arranging again!

These books made me want to:

Be famous/rich or know/date someone famous/rich

Don’t we all have that dream? Especially when in the books the paparazzi isn’t really that big of a problem as it is in real life. I’ve read some books with rich/famous people and those were some great books!

These books made me want to:

Learn to play an instrument – any instrument

…Or be at least a bit musically equipped. When I was young, I gave up on music lesson pretty quickly. I do not have any rhythm. But reading about teens that are extremely talented, or just find an escape in the keys of a piano or the strings of a guitar sometimes sounds like something I would like. Instead, one of my hobbies will be escaping in the pages of the books that talk about teens with musical talent.

These books made me want to learn:

Be a runner

Just like losing oneself in an instrument, some characters seem to lose themselves or get more clarity and focus when they run. Let me just say that I’m not athletic at all, but sometimes I wish I could go on a run when I’m feeling… meh, just to pick myself up a bit. If I would do it, I would probably feel worse though, so I’ll keep dreaming about it.

These books made me want to do it:

Write poetry

So far, there is just one book that I read that focused on this, but I do have the feeling more often. I write, but writing poetry is different and I’m in awe of those who can do it.

This book made me want to:

Learn how to surf

I was think about adding this one to the running, but thought I could better separate them. Mostly because this book needs it’s own category, since it was amazing! I’ve always loved the water, would be the first in the swimming pool when we were on vacation. I wanted to study marine biology because I love the ocean and the creatures in it. So yes, I would like to have surfing as one of my hobbies.

This book made me want to:

Learn a different language

There is always a part of me that wants to be fluent in another language. Technically, English is already another language for me, but I’m also very interested in French, Spanish and Italian. They just sound so romantic. And whenever I read a book that has words in one of those languages, I immediately download Duolingo again and practice for a week or two before I get bored again 😅

This book made me want to learn:

Be spontaneous

I loved this book and it made me feel things. So I had to add it and figure out what those feelings were. I think it sums up to beig spontaneous. Going on a trip with someone on a whim and just living in the moment, is not something I do. But I want to.

This book makes me want to:

What is something you want to do because you read about it in a book? Which book was it?