They say if you find a magic lamp, you get three wishes. But if you’re a reader like me, you know that’s not nearly enough. I’d be the one charming the genie into giving me ten—because when it comes to books, my wish list is always a little extra. So today I bring you ten reading wishes of mine.

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For this week’s theme of Bookish Wishes at ThatArtsyReaderGirl

🧞‍♀️ If Genies Granted Reading Wishes

I mean, I know/think we have tech or websites or other ways to figure out most everything on this list in one way or another, but the ability to do it ourselves (well, with some magical aid here, still having that power within us) is always cool, and saves time – a few moments maybe – that we could use reading.

📖 Wish #1: Always Know What to Read Next

Common scenario for me: I stare at my shelves (digital and physical ones), convinced I have nothing to read, even though there are a gazillion unread books glaring back at me.

Now imagine this: No more staring at my shelves or scrolling aimlessly. Just a magical nudge toward the perfect book for my mood—every time!

And just in case you don’t meet that genie, here is some

Modern-Day Magic for This Wish

• 📚 The StoryGraph – Smart recommendations based on your mood and reading preferences
• 🔮 Readow – AI-generated reading recs based on your faves
• 🧠 Likewise – Community-based suggestions + personalized picks
• 📚 What Should I Read Next – Discover books you’ll love! is the tagline
• TasteDive – not just for books, but also movies, music, and more

📝 Wish #2: Instant, Insightful Reviews

If you’re anything like me, you’ll find that as you’re reading a book, a steady stream of thoughts runs through your mind:

• “Aha! This quote would be perfect for my review—so beautiful, so thought-provoking, and spoiler-free. Just the thing to entice others to pick up this book!”
• “I need to remember this detail for my review because of x, y, and z—or simply because it struck me as important…”

But then, when it’s finally time to sit down and write that review, poof—those brilliant thoughts have vanished. Or maybe, like me, you’ve marked up half the book in your excitement—only to feel overwhelmed later, staring at a mountain of notes you meant to organize.

Now, if only you could always have those thoughts flow effortlessly onto the page or post—no brain fog, no “Wait, what was that character’s name again?”—just a smooth transfer from mind to review post. Wouldn’t that make the process so much easier?

For those who would that Modern-Day Magic for This Wish instead!

• 📝 Notion (with a reading journal template) – Capture thoughts as you go
• 💬 Basmo – Reading tracker with journaling + quote saving

📚 Wish #3: The Book I Want is Always Available

You know, despite all these wishes for things magical (which could have included unlimited space for books), I do borrow many of the books I want to read from the library! Libraries are magical places after all, granting reading wishes all the time. And I am practical too, more than once in a while. But sometimes the waitlist is miles long (like right now with James; ugh! I know I should have asked the high school I was proctoring at to borrow the copy they had for the summer – for they are closed anyways!).

And for others that you decide to get a copy for yourself, you feel like you should wait instead to pamper yourself with the book a while lover – for you just bought so many other books just last week. You didn’t realize you would want this one so badly just a couple days later after all!

Now think about this instead: the book you want is always available! At the library. At the bookstore at that perfect price-point. Even at a Little Free Library three blocks away. Always, or right when you want it!

Some of my favorite places to use that Modern-Day Magic for This Wish!

• 📖 WorldCat – See which library near you has the book
• 📦 Bookshop.org – Order books online while supporting indies
• 🕵️‍♀️ ThriftBooks and Alibris– Great for hunting out-of-print gems
• The Internet Archive and Project Gutenberg – for when you are in a pinch (works for mostly older books, but you never know, so check it out)

🗺️ Wish #4: A Built-in Library GPS

Wherever I go, I find the closest library—and it is perfect – with a nice reading nook and a coffee shop next door that has the perfect pastries as well! (Yes, kept this one short and sweet for a change of reading pace)

Now you know that I am going to include some Modern-Day Magic for This Wish here:

• 🗺️ Libby by OverDrive – Connects to your library account and shows nearby options (and there is more – CloudLibrary/BookMobile/etc)
• 📍 LibraryThing Local – User-populated map of libraries and bookstores
• 🗺️ Little Free Library – Find the little free library near you

🛍️ Wish #5: A Sixth Sense for Bookstores

You know how some people can smell cookies or coffee from blocks away? I want that—but for the area’s best indie and used and etc bookstores – wherever I happen to be traveling or visiting or passing through. And if it has gorgeous old stained-wood staircases and cozy armchairs to settle in with that favorite book, perfect?

As for that Modern-Day Magic for This Wish, see below!

• 📚 IndieBound’s Indie Bookstore Finder
• ✈️ Atlas Obscura – Search for quirky literary spots. This is how I found many of the spots I mention in my literary passport section.

But what if the bookstore or the library wasn’t the only magical destination? Because I think that every city held a literary story, just waiting for us to find it.

🌍 Wish #6: A Literary Passport

Imagine having a special passport—not for countries, but for the incredible world of books and literary places. Every time you visit a city, town, or even a tiny village, your literary passport guides you to bookish destinations: cozy independent bookstores tucked down quiet alleys, historic libraries, or famous landmarks mentioned in books or that inspired authors or where beloved authors once lived.

You get to mark each place off your passport, collecting stamps that tell the story of your reading adventures around the globe. Maybe it’s the café where a famous writer penned their masterpiece or a garden that inspired a classic novel. This passport turns every trip into a treasure hunt for stories, connecting you to the soul of literature in every corner of the world.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to combine your love of travel and books, discovering new stories not just on pages, but in real life? The magical wish I would ask? Being able to do this smoothly wherever I go.

Some of My Attempts at a Literary Passport:

• 5 Literary Landmarks in the San Francisco Bay Area
• The Literary Tea Passport: 10 Amazing Stamp-Worthy Stops in Books
• Five Literary Ways to Explore the Literally Great Outdoors
• Literary Tours and Other Wonderful Themed Tours You Will Love
• And check out these as well
  • Plotted: A Literary Atlas by Andrew DeGraff and Daniel Harmon
  • Literary Atlas of Canada
  • A Literary Atlas of Wales

🔁 Wish #7: Reread Favorites for the First Time

There’s something magical about the first time you read a book (that will join your list of favorites ever)—the surprise of a plot twist, the heartbreak of a character’s loss, the joy of discovering a world that feels like home. What if you could experience that magic all over again, as if it were the very first time?

I know I would love to open that well-loved novel and feel my heart race at the unexpected turns, laughing or crying just like before. I would love to rediscover the lines that I giggled at and spilt tears over, the characters who felt like my closest friends, and the moments that stayed with me long after the ‘The End.’

Rereading favorites for the first time would mean endless new beginnings—each read a fresh adventure, a new chance to fall in love with stories that shaped you. Which book would you choose to experience anew?

Note: while I know there are that gazillion books in my TBR (wish #1) waiting to be read, rereading is fine too, for there is always wish #9!

And I did not forget that list. While rereading can give you a fresh perspective if you have completely forgotten the book (which is unlikely if a favorite), I have realized that so often “reading” the book differently works. Like below:

• 🎙️ Audible or Libro.fm – A new voice can make an old favorite feel brand new
• 🔁 Buddy read it with a friend—get their fresh take
• 📖 Try the graphic novel version for a “new” experience, or even a retelling if you so wish

🌐 Wish #8: Read Any Book in Any Language

No translation needed. Imagine picking up a Japanese novel, a Russian classic, or a Tamil masterpiece and understanding every word, every idiom, every subtle turn of phrase—just as the author intended.

This wish feels especially close to my heart, for at the start of 2025, I set a goal for myself: to learn to read my mother tongue well enough to enjoy books in it. Right now, that goal is still in the back burner and I’m still at a kindergarten level, slowly sounding out stories and building my vocabulary. But I dream of the day I can read Ponniyin Selvan in the original Tamil—a book so many say loses its magic in translation.

How amazing would it be to experience the true beauty of a story, exactly as the author wrote it, in any language I choose?

✨ Tools that could help:

• 🌐 Google Lens for translating text on the fly. With Google Lens, you can also have the app read out the text in the language, like a read-along to help you.
• 📘 LingQ – Read real books in your target language with built-in vocab support. I am trying a free version now and it does have loads of appeal (not too many languages yet here but Spanish has been on my agenda for a while now as well)

⏳ Wish #9: Pause Time for Reading

This one is pure whimsy, pure wish! But a girl can dream, right? I have been binging on the show Being Erica and loved it for so many reasons. The literary career, the quotes sprinkled throughout, the time-travel, and the fact that when she time-travels, time just pauses. So when she returns, the others around her at the time don’t notice she was gone!

I can be a little less greedy and settle for ten minutes of reading time turning into an hour—but only for me. I could have a genie grant wishes to do the dishes, the laundry, the chores, but no, I am willing to do all that as long as time pauses for just a bit, and the chores wait for me as I finish my reading!

✨ You could try:

• 🔔 Forest App – Block distractions & “grow” trees while you read
• ⏱️ Pomofocus – Time-block for reading in focused sprints
• ⛱️ Focus with the Lo-fi Girl (NPR mentioned it earlier this week and in time for me to send it to my kids who are studying for their finals this week)

💬 Wish #10: Last-Minute Whispers from Characters

You know those books that leave you with a hundred questions after the last page? I’d love a little magical epilogue! Imagine finishing a book and, as you close it, the protagonist leans in to share one last secret, a bit of advice, or maybe just a heartfelt thank you for joining their journey

For this, there is always

• 📖 FanFiction.net / Archive of Our Own

Reading Wishes et al

If this wish list made you smile, you might also like:

• If Wishes Were Books and Granted: Wonderful Indeed!
• Bookish Wishes That I Would Love to Come True
• Another Wish List of Books I’d Love to See Under the Tree

✨ ‘Reading Wishes’-Granting Bookish Finds

Looking to grant a few reading wishes for yourself? These little literary treasures might help:

• 📖 Book Lover’s Journal – for tracking the books you read and those magical quotes
• 🕯️ Bookish-scented candles – in case your wish for endless reading hours comes true. Like this one that says it is Vintage Library, or this one that Smells Like Old Books. Or maybe this one that is book-shaped
• 📚 Magnetic bookmarks – to help when time-freezing powers are unavailable
• 🏘️ A book nook kit to make it all magical!

And Now, the End of This Post

So dear reader, if a genie appeared in front of you right now, what would you wish for? Share your top three reading wishes in the comments!