Last night in class I participated in a very interesting conversation. It was one of those thought provoking conversations which kept me thinking long into the night – and even trickled into the next day. The topic of discussion was “why do we choose the books we read” … a concept which I had previously assigned relatively little thought to. Despite the fact that I have been selecting and reading books for years, I hadn’t stopped to consider or attempt quantify the reasons why I made such selections.
Choosing library school and a part-time job at a library over a career in teaching led me to the one thing that I consider to be my most valuable ‘Readers’ Advisory’ tool- the Children’s Librarian. I place tremendous value on her suggestions and recommendations, especially the ones which she considers to be “must reads”. I consider myself to be very lucky to have my very own brilliant RA tool and it always seems like it’s a ‘treat’ to discuss books with a fellow veracious reader.
This makes me wonder if anyone else values my opinions and recommendations. I have started to spread the word through informal “book talks” with friends and family, but find that I don’t hear a lot of follow up. To me, talking about books is simple – it involves never giving away the ending, while discussing the intricacies of the plot, setting, characterization, storyline, writing style, and making evergy attempt at making it seem as exciting and worthwhile as possible.
“What makes us choose the books we read?”
Last night in Library School, our class collectively brainstormed several reasons which might guide people’s selections. One answer offered was that some people base their selections on “the cover”. At this moment I realized that I, too am guilty of this, and there are times I, like many other people, choose books based on their cover. Being a library student, in theory I should be basing my selections on the literary worth of a book, on reviews, or on past experiences but there are times I am guilty of choosing based on beautiful covers, delightfully textured pages, portability, and even on the feel of the book. Past experiences has dictated that sometimes there is simply nothing wrong with choosing a book this way.
In a discussion I had this morning with a coworker, I found that she too, chose “pretty” books, or appealing books. She added an interesting point – that she prefers to “own” the books she reads, and chooses not to own books which are not visually appealing. I agree, that there is definitely something different about “owning” the books that you are reading, and passing them forward to others who you feel will also be interested. An interesting study would be to see if there is a difference in the interest in books and whether people will actually read the recommended books if they are physically passed on, as opposed to someone mentioning the title in passing.
I find too, that I am drawn to both the ‘new’ bookshelf and the return cart. I have noted this character in other library patrons as well. The allure of new books is difficult to describe. Admittedly, I do not base all of my selections on the beauty of the books, but a book that looks nice, certainly won’t hurt and may even help to spark interest in those who otherwise wouldn’t be interested.
Most profoundly, this discussion has made me consider the possibility that it matters not how we came to making our reading selections, but more importantly, the fact that we are reading is what is most important.
