I’ve always loved books. But there’s a big difference between liking a book and fully spiraling into it. I’m talking deep in the fandom, writing theories no one asked for, lurking on forums, reading fanfiction at 1 a.m. because I need to know what happens if two background characters fall in love during an AU.
For me, that started with “Twilight.”
I thought it would just be a fun read. Instead, I accidentally memorized vampire abilities, had strong opinions about the Volturi and started reading pages of fan-created alternate endings where Bella had an ounce of self-respect (because, seriously, where was it?) The obsession was real.
Then came “Harry Potter,” and things escalated. I read fanfics longer than actual novels. I sorted every friend I had into a house and fully believed I could survive a duel if magic was real. I wasn’t just reading anymore. I was in the world, and I didn’t want to leave.
That feeling of total immersion stuck with me. Even as I got older and life got busier, I still looked for stories that gave me that same spark. Eventually, I found it again in “My Hero Academia.”
Yes, it’s a manga. Yes, it has an anime. But for me, it brought back the exact same book-fueled joy I felt with my first fandoms. I binged the episodes of the anime with my husband and our best friend Harmony like we were racing a deadline. I caught myself rereading scenes, underlining emotional moments, Googling character backstories and obviously reading fanfiction where Aizawa adopts everyone and Shinsou gets the recognition he deserves.
Reading the manga felt like falling back into a world where I had to know what happened next. I stayed up way too late. I cried. I got way too attached. Basically, it reminded me what it feels like to be fully swept away by a story.
I think that’s something only books, whether novels, series, or manga volumes, can really do. They let you come live inside a world and stay there as long as you want. They give you a place to connect, to imagine and to obsess (in a good way).
So yeah, I started with vampires, detoured through wizards and now I’m here crying over a sleep-deprived underground hero who just wants his students to be okay.
It feels like coming home.
