In my online meanderings, I've noticed that several blogs and sites have recently devoted their attention to literary tattoos. Here's a round-up:
-Amanda Nelson of BookRiot and Dead White Guys writes On Literary Tattoos.
-T.S. Tate of Litstack shares a great site that's collated Pretty Cool Literary Tattoos.
With the exception of Fight Club, the top-ranking books according to Publisher's Weekly that inspire tattoos are children's lit or high school required reading.
In my own browsing, I've noticed quotes and/or images from the following children's books keep cropping up: various Dr. Seuss books, Harry Potter, The Hungry Little Caterpillar, and The Growing Tree.
There are also countless examples of cartoon character tattoos, which arguably work in the same way, or are chosen for the same reasons, as children's book tattoos.
We often have a deep emotional connection to books we loved as children. Perhaps the children's book tattoo is like a rune or a good luck charm, continually connecting the wearer and the viewer with the positive aspects of childhood.
Anyone out there with a children's lit tattoo want to speak to its meaning for you?
I don't have a literary tattoo or any tattoo of any kind personally. However I do know 2 friends of mine have Twilight tattoos. I haven't seen the one, but the other has her's on her back shoulder and it's an apple with a quote around it. I also met someone with a Harry Potter on, they had the Death Eaters snake on their arm. That's all I know of.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I could ever see getting one. I can appreciate them and their creativity but I'm not a big tattoo person personally.
I wonder whether people with Twilight tattoos will regret them later in life. Book preferences are so connected to stages in your life, that it seems like you might not be as enthusiastic about certain book tattoos later on. However, maybe I'm just judging by the fact that I really enjoyed the Twilight series, but they seem like soapy, escapist reading, not literature with a deep message I'd want engraved on me forever.
DeleteI'm open to getting a book tattoo, but haven't been inspired yet.