I love my local North Shelby Library. I admire the patient librarians who track down and check out the hefty tower of books that my children and I accrue on a weekly basis. I relish their shared passion for great reads, whether classic or hot-off-the-press. (If it’s been awhile–or never–since you asked your local librarian about the last book she just couldn’t put down, ask. You’re sure to discover a new favorite!). And I love browsing through the thousands of books on the shelves–probably more than I could read in a lifetime.
With such a treasure-trove of printed material already available (not to mention electronic forms), why add to the pile? Does the world really need another book–even a good one?
Yes.
Alright, well, but I’m an author. Of course I’m going to say yes. Still, I think it’s important, even for an author–perhaps especially for an author–to honestly answer this question. Writing is often a long and difficult road, and we need to know why we’re on it.
So today, I’ll offer up two reasons why the world does, indeed, need another good book. And in the next post, I’ll add a few more.
A Deeper Understanding
A well-written book encourages us to slow down and pay attention to the details of the world around us. It trains us to “see story.”
It’s so easy to speed through life without ever really being aware of the moments that compose it. Think about the last 24 hours. Can you name five scents that you experienced? What sort of clouds were in the sky? What sound did your shoes make on the sidewalk, and how was it different from your footsteps as you pushed a cart down the grocery store aisles?
A good book fully envelops you in its world, whether real or fictional. Authors achieve that “4-D” experience by paying close attention to the sensory details that our bodies and brains are constantly processing, but which we often fail to observe. They treasure those moments, hold them up to the light, rearrange them, and flip them upside-down.
I’m currently listening to Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief on CD. Zusak has a knack for taking ordinary ephemera like weather, hair, and newspapers, and giving them fresh significance by using turns of phrase that make us really notice them. I don’t often think about a secret “crossing its legs” inside a person’s mouth, or rain blowing in “like sawdust” through the window. But as soon as I read (or in this case, hear) those phrases, I can picture them exactly. They make me feel like I’m experiencing them myself, right now.
A Different Lens
When you look at the world
What is it that you see?
People find all kinds of things that bring them to their knees.
I see an expression, so clear and so true,
That it changes the atmosphere when you walk into the room.
–U2, “When I Look at the World,” All That You Can’t Leave Behind
No other person on earth sees the world in exactly the same way as you. Every detail of your life, from the rickety seesaw on your kindergarten playground to the scent of your grandmother’s perfume, has influenced your thoughts and personality.
Each one of us has unique stories to tell. And yes, there are many platforms for telling them. But books encourage us to tell our stories with particular care and artistry…and draw readers into a frame of mind where they can really feel and ponder them.
A good book expands us: it gets us out of our own little world and into someone else’s. We see through another person’s eyes, walk around inside their shoes. Through this experience, we change and grow. We develop an interest in other people, places and times. We begin to think, “What if…?” We grow in awareness, understanding and compassion. We start to care about an orphan girl on Prince Edward Island, or a young man suffering under apartheid in South Africa.
Every book tells a different story. Tens of thousands have already been told, but there are millions more still waiting to be heard. And I want to join in the reading–and the telling–of them.
Why do YOU think the world needs another good book? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I love this post so much! Thanks for articulating these reasons! I don’t read long books that much these days (mostly children’s books to my kids at night)…reading this blog post has encouraged me to dive in a little more when I can. 🙂 Also, I MISS NORTH SHELBY LIBRARY! I wish it were still a 5-minute drive from home.
Thanks, Kendra! My personal reading time has become much shorter, too, in these days with young ones, but I still believe that even if it takes me longer to get through a book, it’s worth it! Audiobooks while cleaning or driving have been one way I’ve found to squeeze in reading time; also, as my boys get older, it has been a joy to start reading chapter books with them 🙂 Yes, North Shelby Library is so wonderful!
I think the world needs more good books to help rise above all the BAD books that are published! Books aren’t inherently lofty or beautiful or cultured just because they’re books. So much trash has been published in the course of history, and so much is churned out now. We need good books to replace those and be a light to the readers who need them.
I like that thought, Elsie! “Books aren’t inherently lofty or beautiful or cultured because they’re books.” Or because they make it to a school reading list, or the library shelves. To paraphrase MLK Jr: a book should be judged by the content of its character (or perhaps in this case, its characters!).