Struggles Every Book-Lover Faces In The Summer

Summer days full of beach waves and bookmarks are my favorite type of days, but as glorious as it sounds, it often comes with a set of struggles. Granted, most struggles us book nerds face in a lifetime are tiny and silly, but just as much as it's a struggle to get out of bed each morning, so is trying to find the perfect summer reading tree (as Rory Gilmore has proved).

I'm a big fan of reading outdoors and taking my books with me wherever I go. However, reading outside isn't always as easy as I'd like for it to be. There's bugs, noisy kids, and the constant worry of sunburn on my mind. As a book nerds, I usually find myself torn between socializing and normal summer activities with friends versus staying home and reading a really great book. The case of FOMO is just as high as the rising temperatures outside.

While reading at the park is doable, it doesn't come without a few struggles. Nor does having to decide which books will come with you on your summer vacations and camping trips. If you're a big book-lover and read as much as you possibly can in the summertime, then you've definitely faced nearly all of these 12 struggles at some point:

1. Bugs Ruining Your Reading Day In The Park

In your mind reading in the park under a big oak tree with the warm breeze against your bare legs sounds like the ideal way to spend the day. So that's exactly what you do, but 10 minutes in, mosquitos and bees and flies apparently also had the same idea as you and now you can't flip a page without a new bug bite.

2. Sunburn... No Matter How Much Sunscreen You Use

Book nerds tend to stay indoors, it's just a fact. So when the sun hits our skin? Burn baby burn. It's a struggle because we're so excited to soak up the sunshine after being cooped up indoors with our books for most of the year. However, the sun and your skin don't seem to agree with that reasoning.

3. Getting Strange Tan Lines Due To Books

Have you ever fallen asleep with a book on your stomach? Yeah, it looks as weird as you can imagine.

4. The Sun Always Seeming To Find New Ways To Blind You

The pages of books are white, and that means the sun reflects off of it quite well. Sometimes the safety of shaded trees helps, but for the most part, the sun always finds a way.

5. Constantly Wanting To Read Indoors But Also Enjoy The Sunny Day

Opening the windows is one thing, but going out and embracing the warm summer day is another. And as a Midwesterner who has to remain indoors for more than half of the year, I hate missing out on nice days. But I also want to read without the sun and bugs getting all up in my face. Ugh.

6. Loud Kids Suddenly Invading Your Favorite Bookstore And Reading Spot

Every other season of the year kids are still in school, so your bookstores are quiet, the park outside of your apartment is empty, and the only thing to interrupt your reading time is your cat. Now that it's summer, kids swarm everywhere and it's nearly impossible to escape it. Don't get me wrong, I love kids and their adorableness, but I also like my quiet reading time.

7. Sand, Water, And Popsicle Stains On Your Favorite Books

There's no stopping this from happening if you're a fan of reading at the beach, so it's just become something you have to shrug off.

8. Packing Too Many Heavy Books When You Go Camping

Your friends all packed light, while you're slowly dragging behind because you needed to bring every book of the Harry Potter series and a couple Sarah Dessen books. In our defense, this is the best version of a book nerd's summer bod workout.

9. Or Your E-Reader Dying On You In The Middle Of The Wilderness

It was fully charged when you left the house, but now that you're out in the middle of nowhere, or at your favorite spot on the beach, it decides it's nearing the end of its life and there's nothing you can do to stop it.

10. Your Books Forever Smelling Like Bug Spray or Sunscreen

If you're a fan of either scent, it's no biggie, but if you can't stand the smell of bug spray it becomes a bit of a problem. And that old book smell? Good luck finding it after a long summer.

11. Wanting To Cozy Up With A Fuzzy Blanket But Can't Because You'd Sweat To Death

There's nothing better than wrapping yourself in a blanket cocoon while reading a good book, but if you don't have A/C or are reading outside, this just isn't going to happen. Until fall and winter rolls around, your favorite blanket has to live in the closet.

12. Missing Out On Outdoor Plans Due To A Really, Really Good Book

So your friends all decided to go to the Drive-In, or there's an outdoor concert nearby, but a good book kept you inside. While non-book nerds would see this as a crime, it's actually not so bad. Sure, it's a struggle, but there will always be other nights to go out, and you got to spend your day off reading a really amazing book so it's totally worth it.

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