For fans of classic literature, the ultimate "Cytherea bookworm" is , the protagonist of Thomas Hardy's first published novel, Desperate Remedies (1871).

Unlike many passive Victorian heroines, Hardy's Cytherea is observant and deeply introspective, making her a favorite among modern readers of Victorian sensation fiction . 3. Modern Fantasy: Cytherea the First

Since “Cytherea” (an epithet for the goddess Aphrodite, derived from the island of Cythera) represents love, beauty, and sensual desire, and a “Bookworm” represents solitary intellect, curiosity, and the dusty world of letters, the fusion of these two ideas creates a powerful and alluring paradox.

He stood up and walked to the back of the stacks, a section labelled Folklore & Oral Tradition . He knew the shelf by heart. He returned with a slender, unassuming book bound in faded blue cloth. It had no title on the spine.

"Because you are looking in the history books," Elias said. "You are looking for facts. Myths are not facts. They are feelings."

One rainy afternoon, the silence was broken. The girl slammed a heavy volume shut, sending a puff of dust into the air. She dropped her head onto the book, groaning.

"Thank you," she said to Elias. "I thought I had to prove the story existed. I thought I had to pin it down like a butterfly."