11 One-Word Tattoos For Book Lovers

So you've decided to get a tattoo to celebrate your love for reading ... and now you have to choose from the millions of beautiful words and phrases and sentences you've ever read. Yikes. This could take a while.

There are the quotes about reading, and there are lines from books. You could get a tattoo of your favorite author, or your favorite novel cover. You want something sentimental, but not cliché. Maybe you could get a Margaret-Atwood–inspired tat, or you could pretty much get a tattoo of anything Hermione Granger ever said. And why stick to Hermione? Harry Potter is full of ink-worthy quotes. And let's not even get started on Lord of the Rings tattoo ideas, or we'll be here all day. With so many passages to choose from, perhaps all you need is one little word. After all, isn't that what's so great about reading? One little word can sum up everything you love about books, and remind you of it every day.

These 11 gorgeous one-word tattoos are a great way to tell the world how much you love books. And of course, there's another serious bonus to getting a one-word tattoo. It will hurt way less.

1. Wanderer

It doesn't matter if you've never even left your state. When you've got books, you can travel anywhere you want to go.

2. Lumos

Because Harry Potter brought light to your world — and that deserves to be tattooed on your skin.

3. Bibliophile

Own it.

4. Unless

The Lorax etched this word onto a stone to pass on a pretty important message: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better." Having this inked on your skin will remind you to take action towards the things you care about.

5. Utopia

Not only is Utopia a book, but it's also the perfect definition of curling up with a stack of books and a cup of tea.

6. Pemberley

Take Mr. Darcy's home with you wherever you go, and one day you might just be invited to a ball at the magnificent Pemberley.

7. Bliss

Bliss: The most accurate description of a book I've ever seen. It was Nora Ephron, the genius behind Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally, who summed it up the best: "Reading is everything ... Reading is bliss."

8. Yes

"Yes," as in the last word of Ulysses. "Yes," as in you finally made it to the end. "Yes," as in that book is really long.

9. Escape

Is there any better way to escape to another world than through the pages of a book? Even planes can't take you as far away as this.

10. Always

Because your heart breaks for Severus Snape on every reading. Even after all this time? Always.

11. Books

You might as well just cut to the chase and tattoo the love of your life onto your arm. This is the one romantic tattoo you know you'll never regret.

Images: Alice Carrier/Flickr; liningtattoo, smara522, followthesontattoos, hnmcbride, angelopez, sarahsmiles84, letty_inc, molly_bl00m, kaylareneestorm, betweenthelines14/Instagram