A Book is a Train

A book is a train. It might sound crazy, but it’s true. A book, just like a train, can take you from one place to another. When you open a new book, it’s like hopping on something that takes you to a foreign place. You have no idea where it will take you, other than the description on the back cover, aka your ticket stub. You meet new people, new things while on this journey. You’re introduced to problems and solutions just like everyday life, just in a different setting. The excitement of staying in your new destination is so tremendous by the end of your journey, you just can’t stop. You can’t stop reading. By the end of your time on the train, you have these wonderful new experiences and know new people and things you’d never imagined before. You step off the train and feel happy, the same feeling you receive once a book is finished. At baggage claim, you pick up all the worries you had left behind when you started. However, you have new knowledge now, knowledge to keep those burdens down.

Coincidentally, Joe Meno also wrote how books can take you away. He stated that “a book is a place” and I agree with that very much. The story of a book is the most important part, although opinions on Kindles, E-books, or hard covers vary, our love for the story has never ceased throughout time. Of course, there are those who seem to think the opposite. Victor LaValle has a different opinion on how books have impacted humans. To him, books are “no more divine than a toaster” he says.  This quote offends me and books around the world. A book has as much meaning as a person. The author did put their whole heart inside of this book, not for themselves, but for someone else to enjoy. I think that’s a very important quality of a good author as well as a good book.

The war between books and e-books has officially begun. Everyone’s already taken sides and put stock into who they think will succeed. However, I think both will succeed. Is it really that hard for the two to live in peace? It’s all really based on preference. Some people prefer the touch of the pages, the way the words grace the yellowing pages. Others prefer the cheaper route, being allowed to hold a million books in the palm of their hand. I personally prefer having a real live book. It makes the story seem—real, like I’m holding it with me just inches away from my heart. But I don’t dislike people who prefer their e-readers. In fact, I live with someone who only reads off their Kindle and I still love her! I think it’s about time each side surrenders so we can live inside of our books without interruption from something with little matter.

Why Read?

I read because it gives me a way to escape the pressures of everyday life. When I’m reading, I become this whole new character inside the story of the novel that is seeing the plot line occur from afar. It lets me know that I’m not the only one with troubles or a hard time by letting me into others’ lives. When you’re holding that book it draws all of your attention to it and your stress seems to dwindle away between the lines of the text. You become consumed with wanting to know what happens to the people whose lives you’ve become enthralled with. Although the theme of these novels may be sad, the feelings you get from these novels are something you cannot accomplish from playing a video game or scrolling through your Facebook newsfeed. 

I read because I was taught at a very young age. The first book I can remember my grandpa gave to me was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Even now I’m scared to re-read that book because I was so overwhelmed when I first opened the crumpled pages and these mile-long words were spread across. I was so intimated that I never read unless I was with my grandpa. We would sit for hours and hours sounding out words and deciphering what the author meant by some of the strange sayings. I greatly appreciate the way Mr. Twain can bring the young and elderly together in one book, a book that taught me the feeling of accomplishment once I was finished. That’s why I read.