Food for Thought: The Power of Books
Augustine of Hippo once said the “world is a book and those who travel read only one page”. And in all honesty, the man had a point. I find that you can always tell a reader from those who don’t read. Which made me think why do we read?
Throughout history and our lives, we have probably read for different reasons: to escape, to learn, for pure entertainment and to be stimulated. Nowadays with books taking many forms, be it print, electronic, and audio, information is more accessible than ever. I’m personally a print book lover (but at the rate I’m going, there’s not enough space in the Palace of Versailles to hold the books I plan to have so I may have to rethink buying a Kindle!).
Dive into this question with me and I encourage you to think why do you read? What do you read? And why?
Okay so I couldn’t not talk about fantasy fiction first and foremost. Not only is it my favourite genre, but it’s the whole point of A Ballad of Books! Now personally, I read to escape and learn. And fantasy is my way to do just that. Fantasy worlds provide us with alternative universes we can escape to whenever we feel overwhelmed with our own reality. They stimulate our imagination to extreme ends and force us to relate to other people both in the books and in our day-to-day lives.
Fantasy is the ultimate escape, whatever realm you go to, but it’s done so much more for me. A lot of my character has been influenced by the fantasy books I’ve read and that’s been life changing. I’ve found who I am within the pages of my favourite fantasy books and have found the answers to difficult situations as well. It’s fascinating how relatable these worlds are despite being something completely unfamiliar. More so, I have found my ability to understand other people better by reading fantasy books. Not to say I always agree with other peoples’ views and actions, but I have a deeper sense of understanding of people in the last 11 months than I ever did in my 22 years on earth. They allow us to disconnect from our daily lives and connect to a different world and find a new sense of fulfilment.
From a young age we are exposed to a variety of books be it in school or at home. That exposure fosters creativity and shapes who we will become by enhancing our communication skills. Books are pivotal to developing intellect and forging connections with the people we come to meet. The more we read, the more we learn about the world from different perspectives. From my own experience and from many conversations with my friends and university classmates, books have helped many of us understand and process our emotions and understand others’ emotions as well. Especially when it comes to fiction, we are forced to look at the world in the shoes of a character we may not like, or completely agree with.
I remember coming across some characters in the books I’ve read where I’ve really not liked them or understood them at the start. And yet we got to the end of the books, and I found myself not only understanding these characters, but their motifs too. This is partly what shaped me into - possibly the biggest - empath you’ll ever come across. By reading a variety of fictional books I have found the ability to understand others even if I don’t agree with them. In a world that becomes more and more divided with different perspectives and opinions, the ability to understand all people is a huge strength. I’ve been in multiple conversations with people have little to no understanding of others and surprise surprise (not really), they don’t read.
On a personal level, and I know many of us if not all can relate to this, books have been a source of comfort and escape in our early lives, and now we carry this into our adult lives. In my childhood, I found comfort between the pages of my books. Whenever school got tough, or life really, I always found peace in a good book. They gave me (and still do) a sense of confidence because I found myself resonating and idolising certain characters. They became my role models, and if I ever needed a little clarity or direction, I find myself thinking what would X do? And somehow that’s always gotten me through. Books are incredibly powerful; they can make us feel seen as we find comparisons between us and the characters we encounter. Books dictate who we are and who we can become the same way that they have dictated and told history. Books provide society and it’s people freedom and can be eye opening. And it’s not just the non-fiction books that do this. In fact, I firmly believe that fictional books hold more power. They let the author explore real life themes through different lenses and by doing so, educate us readers about the world and ourselves. Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale instantly springs to mind when I think of this. Why is Handmaid’s Tale so impactful? It’s not merely because of the disturbing fictitious world Atwood has created. It’s because the story is rooted in fact, and Atwood has painted a fictional world based off of real life, present day, experiences of women around the world. In my eyes, that’s what every work of fiction does in some way. They resonate with us readers on different levels based on our own experiences and open our eyes to our lives, and the world round us.
When pondering the power of books, I couldn’t help but think of the “classics”. Now listen, regardless of if we like or dislike what we think of as the classics, they’re classics for a reason. They give us glimpses into the past and encourage us to consider why these are relevant to us now and the world we live in. We consider the classics as timeless, and I wonder what other works of fiction we’ll consider “classics” in 10 years’ time.
I remember seeing a poster in my primary school library stating that “books can be your best and true companion” and whilst I didn’t think much of it at the time, I certainly find that to be true – and I know a lot of us book lovers feel the same way. You’ll always have books, no matter what is going on in your lives, books will be that constant that can provide a comfort nothing else can. Books change lives, make us rethink our values and what we know and are immensely powerful in shaping who we are. They make you realize that you are not alone in and give solutions, new ways, and perspective to look at the world around you. They empower us to turn our aspirations into reality and offer guidance in every aspect of our lives, including health, wealth, relationships, and communication. There is truly nothing more powerful than a good book, and I’m interested in what books or characters have shaped your life.