24 gorgeous literary tattoos that make the case for permanent ink

Two of the things we love the most are books and tattoos. Many of the former stay with us forever, literary anchors underscoring pivotal moments and moods of our lives; the latter stay with us forever by virtue of being embedded into our skin. But when you combine the two? That brings us to the wonderful world of literary tattoos, enduring emblems of our favorite reads.

Since we’re lowkey constantly looking for tattoospiration, we’ve scoured the Internet (okay, just Instagram) for some amazing tattoos inspired by our favorite books and authors. Don’t blame us if you end up making an appointment at your local shop after this.

Pay tribute to Junot Diaz and The Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao:

Immortalize your bond with The Catcher in the Rye‘s Holden Caulfield:

Mischief totally managed with this Harry Potter phrase:

The eagles are coming, courtesy of this Lord of the Rings ink:

We love this tribute to Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451:

The Harriet the Spy nostalgia is real and alive:

A totally creepy and trippy tattoo for the similarly strange Alice in Wonderland:

The perfect tribute both to your favorite books and the enduring Emily Dickinson:

Here’s one for all of the fantasy buffs out there, of Redwall‘s Martin the Warrior:

Sometimes, a few well-chosen lines of text are all you need, like this Toni Morrison quote:

Step into the beautiful world of Chronicles of Narnia-inspired ink:

This lovely ode to William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury is stunning and somber in equal measure:

We feel ya, Matilda:

For the reading weirdos out there, this tribute to Haruki Murakami should tickle your fancy:

This piece celebrating Isabel Allende’s Eva Luna is just so gorgeous:

Throw it back with a tattoo inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

We are so enamored with this Watership Down tattoo; doesn’t the art style remind you of the animated show Samurai Jack?

Get inked against the patriarchy with this The Handmaid’s Tale catchphrase:

We’re loving the lines on this Moby Dick tattoo:

Continuing the sea theme, with this The Old Man and the Sea ink:

This stunning portrait is made all the more stunning with the knowledge that it’s inspired by Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway:

Pay tribute to the timeless wit and writing of Flannery O’Connor with this Everything That Rises Must Converge-inspired ink:

An abstract, cute tattoo tribute to one of the most incendiary writers of our time:

Of course, this The Great Gatsby-inspired ink takes the phrase, “Eyes at the back of your head” to its logical extreme:

Related reading:

We’ve got major FOMO from the Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth

Tattoos so simple and gorgeous we’re now super ready to get inked

[Images via Instagram]