Why I Sign All My Books
When I was little, I was fascinated by the books that belonged to my aunts and my paternal grandmother—who passed away when I was still a baby. On the very first page of each book, the women on my father’s side would sign their full names in a way that felt inexplicably elegant to me.
So, around the age of eleven, I decided to do the same.
At first, I used nicknames. Then, depending on the “phase” I was in, I would sign with whatever name I’d adopted at the time—like Morgaine (my favorite character from The Mists of Avalon). Later, as I grew into my teenage years, I began using my full name (minus the “G.”), and I’ve kept that same signature ever since.
Sometimes I even add the name of the person who gave me the book. For example, my copy of Dances in the Forest (which I absolutely LOVED) has my brother’s name written in it—he gave it to me for Christmas in 2010. More recently, I realized I’m not the only one with this little habit. I bought a book at a secondhand book fair in Chiado last year, and inside was someone else’s signature too.
There’s something magical about opening a book and not just reading its words but feeling the history it carries. That secondhand book I found was from 1976—just imagine the journey it’s been on!
Of course, I added my own signature to it, along with the year: 2014.
Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this ritual matters, but to me, it really does. My books are memory keepers. They remind me of important chapters in my life and bring back dozens of little moments I treasure. For instance, I vividly remember buying my book on Wicca: who I was with, where it was, how much it cost, the smell of the occult shop, and the altar dedicated to pagan gods from around the world. And I’ll never forget the joy I felt when my brother gave me Dances in the Forest—because I instantly knew he had gone out of his way to check my Goodreads wishlist.
So tell me—am I strange for doing this? Do you have any rituals with your books?
I bought these two copies of In Search of Scotland at Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness, the first in 2015 and the second in 2023. The first one was signed and dated 1934, which I found fascinating. And of course, I added my own library stamp. Name a cooler memory—I dare you.
