When I think about why I love to read books, a particular line of poetry comes to mind. “There is no Frigate like a Book,” the first line in the poem with that same title by Emily Dickinson, seems to say it all. There is something so beautiful and powerful about how a novel, a storybook, or a memoir transports you to a magical place, a different time, an unknown reality while you’re in the comforts of your home or on the familiar train ride to work. There’s something fair, just, and good about being able to visit places and meet faces with just the cost of a bus ride and a library card or an ebook on sale for less than a dollar.
Celebrating Books and Reading on World Book Day
Every World Book Day, April 23, I am reminded of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful ode to books. This poem carries some sentimentality as it brings me back to my elementary school years. It was sometime then, maybe in 5th or 6th grade, that I learned this poem together with my classmates for English class. And if memory serves me right, we had to write an essay about it.
There is no Frigate like a Book (1263)
by Emily Dickinson
There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away Nor any Coursers like a Page Of prancing Poetry -- This Traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of Toll -- How frugal is the Chariot That bears the Human Soul --
(from poetryfoundation.org)
Unfortunately, I can’t remember what I wrote about it, but I’m sure I thoroughly agreed with the great poet about the power of books.
How Books Take Me to Faraway Lands
I didn’t travel internationally when I was a child, but I was able to visit small-town USA through the Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and Bobbsey Twins book series. When I was in college, still without any travels outside the Philippines then, I got glimpses of a gothic 18th century Louisiana through the Interview with the Vampire and its first few sequels by Anne Rice. Before I was able to visit London in person when I was in my forties, I had first gotten a feel of its streets (and a taste of how it might be if it had hidden alleys and were visited by wizards every now and then) through the ubiquitous Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling which I read in my late twenties and early thirties. I don’t know if I would be able to enjoy a true and heavy winter, but I thoroughly loved imagining the deep snow and the dark fairy tales of medieval Russia while I was reading the Winternight trilogy by Katherine Arden. I’ve not been to the Middle East, but I was captivated by the mystery and majesty of tales about powerful djinn, noble princes and epic battles throughout the Daevabad trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty.
How Books Bring Me Closer to Strangers (and to Myself)
I don’t often think about my mortality or my future legacy, but the late Randy Pausch not only made me think about them but also inspired me to keep doing my best to seize the moment and to live my life as fully as possible through his humorous, poignant memoir The Last Lecture. When I was still fairly new to homeschooling, I got boosts of hope and courage from the experiences of Gregory and Martine Millman and their family as told in their memoir Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey. When I serendipitously found the book Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds by David C. Pollock and Ruth van Reken in the library just a month after my family had started our second expatriate stint in 2016, I thought I would only be learning about my children’s situation but instead I was blown away at how much of the book’s insights resonated with my own struggles. Recently, I had read Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott and I finally may have heard the words I’ve been needing to hear so badly all these years — that writing, publishing, making money, being successful are not all slices of the same pie; that I need to be the one to give myself permission to call myself a writer, or, more frighteningly, an artist; that writing can be its own end.
Too many books to list down but I’m sure you know what I mean if you love to read, especially fiction books (or travel books, cookbooks, memoirs, biographies, history, etc….okay, maybe all books. Except for business or other textbooks. Though I could be wrong.). Books can transport us to different places and spaces. They allow us glimpses into the minds and hearts of people of different cultures and experiences. All without the need to buy a plane ticket, get a visa, pack winter clothes. And a fraction of the cost of real, physical travel, or even free in an ideal situation where you might have free or cheap access to a library or second-hand bookstores.
After I remember how Emily Dickinson so beautifully likens books to ships that take us to distant ports, I must not forget to share another favorite line that honors the power of books, this one from my favorite books on writing, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” — Stephen King
from “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft”, by Stephen King
How I Learned to Love Books and Reading, and How I Passed On this Love
I’m so thankful that my mother encouraged me to read a lot when I was growing up. She modeled the behavior; I used to see her reading fiction books, newspapers, and magazines all the time. And while we didn’t shop much as a family then, my parents would always let my siblings and me pick up a book from the store every now and then. I was reading Encyclopedia Brown or Choose Your Own Adventure books at bedtime or in the car. I was spending much of my after-school free time in the library — browsing, reading, and grabbing a few titles to bring home for the week.
I read to both of my children from the time they were still in my womb (at separate times; my two children are five years apart in age) until they could read and choose books on their own. My daughter knows that I used to read Oh, Baby, the Places You’ll go by Dr. Seuss to her while I was still pregnant with her. My son used to be crazy about dinosaurs and would ask to borrow Tyrannosaurus Drip by Julia Donaldson from the library repeatedly so I could read it to him and laugh with him again and again.
Encouraging a love of books and reading was easy in our household because both my husband and I are bibliophiles. We’ve always had a decently filled bookshelf in any of the houses we’ve lived in (8 houses to date). My kids have been seeing my husband and I read and talk about our favorite books. When my kids were toddlers until they were around ten to eleven years old, we would go to the library together to browse, pick books to bring home, and attend the weekly storytelling sessions that my young son enjoyed so much. For my kids’ leisure reading, they’ve always been allowed to pick the books they want to read (with some consultation from me when they were younger, just to make sure there weren’t age-inappropriate images and content). This is how my daughter discovered how much she enjoys reading dystopian stories after she first read The Hunger Games by Susan Collins. This is how my son fell in love with mythology stories after he (and I) devoured the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.
I could go on and on about books. I’m so glad that they were invented in all their forms, shapes, and sizes. Books and stories are a great way to connect with family, friends, acquaintances, even strangers. I hope that even as technology keeps evolving to allow us to share ideas, experiences, stories in much faster, easier, cheaper, and more sensory ways, may we never lose our thirst for books and our love of reading.
Photo by Marga Santoso on Unsplash
Last Updated on April 24, 2022 by lea