In 2013, a study revealed that the US ends up publishing between 600,000 and 1, 000, 000, 000 books every year. That isn’t including some books read, but that number is high nonetheless. That number of books will reach the hands of new and old readers and will unwittingly change their reading style in one way or another. Reading is a major part of everybody’s lives, but for writer’s it’s more important. For every story writers read, their style could change. You could be writing one of the happiest stories ever written, but a dark tale like Moby Dick could make you open your eyes and see the story from a new angle. These stories affect us both as a reader and a person, and there are a few situations in my life where these fantastic stories would change me, most of which was for the better.
One of the earliest books I have ever fallen in love with came to me at the age of seven, when I read it with my mother on the weekends. This story was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone(Though it was called Sorcerer’s Stone in America.). Yes, the message of friendship and power of a family love that is laced throughout the series is great, the reason I fell in love with it in the first place was just the world that the book had made. I wanted to visit this wizarding world so bad when I was a kid, but as I grew older, it made me realize something. When you write stories, you can create an entire world that people can fall in love with, especially with how thick you make its history. With the sequels, the world grew and was able to catch the imagination of every boy and girl who had a chance to read the tale of the boy who lived.
When I was about ten years, most of the stories I read had their ‘happily-ever-after’ as their endings. I was accustomed to it, so it became a shock when I read The Bad Beginning. At this point in my life, most of the books I read had no sequel or continuation to the plot, so picture my surprise to when not only did this story continue, but the end of this “first chapter,” become as depressing as the start of it. Imagine my shock to see that rather than get a loving parent; the Baudelaires had to leave to find a new guardian. It’s quite shocking and eye-opening for someone so accustomed to happier endings. Little did I know that the stories I read as I grew weren’t strangers to it either.
After my deep experience with the orphans, I moved back towards something a little more fantastical. Something that would hopefully pick me up and get me lost in a brand new world. With The Hobbit, I not only found a story that made me happier, but I found something new in me; A love for adventure. The moment Bilbo leaves the Shire, I felt like I was on the journey with him, every step of the way. It could have been the details that J.R.R. Tolkein put into every scene that helped shape this world, but it certainly felt like I was in the battle of the five armies, sneaking around and tricking Smaug, and of course, having a riddle contest with Smeagol/Gollum. The story pulled me into it’s adventure, and it made me seek more out in time.
Despite my love for the fantastical, as I grew up, so did the themes to my stories. Rather than hobbits, brilliant orphans, and wizards, my teachers moved my style of reading towards the more realistic world. While many fell flat for me, Freak the Mighty stood tall. This story hit close to home because one of its protagonists, Max, was like me in quite a few ways. Other than the physical similarities, his mannerisms were very similar to me growing up. Now unlike Max, there are some bits about his past that doesn’t quite fit, specifically with his father. That being said, the story also gave me hope in finding that one friend that could guide me, and I would help him/her through the bond Max and Kevin shared.
The next books that would profoundly impact me as a reader wouldn’t come until about half a decade later when I had reached high school. During the summer of my freshman year, my honors English teacher emailed us about the book we would be covering throughout the first few months of the year. Rather than start off with a pure fiction book as I was accustomed to, we began with a book that contained a bunch of stories based on actual events; The Things They Carried. At the time, I won’t lie and say I took our troops for granted. They were just tough guys with guns. The ironic part is, the writer, Tim O’Brien, thought the same thing, and as such wrote the story. Not only did this book give me a new respect for our armed forces, but it also gave me a better scope on how to handle more realistic fiction.
For my sophomore year, I read books from various ages, but none more stuck with me than The Great Gatsby. The tragedy of Gatsby is something that everyone should get a chance to read. The character of Gatsby starts off as this charismatic mystery man, but when you learn more about his backstory and what his end goal is, you can’t help but root for the guy. It makes the character that much more relatable, even though by all means he is not a good guy. In fact, none of them are. It just shows the characteristics of a long gone age, and it also showed what culture and wealth could do to a person who dreams of something that seems impossible to have.
My junior year took a more brutal turn in my readings with something I never expected. Lord of the Flies looked like the start of something mystical on the cover, but as the old saying goes, I shouldn’t judge a book by it. When I read the book, the tone shook me to my core as the themes of civilization falling apart began to set in. These kids practically tear themselves apart when left alone, and it made me think of what would happen to my class if we were in a similar situation. Would we have all become crazed hunters? Would we have banned together and get off the island with only a few scratches? It’s this kind of thinking that made me realize how powerful a book could be that makes you think of scenarios like that and also have you questioning about the chaos that comes from a power struggle.
Throughout my high school career, I ended up dealing with some of the more tragic, terrifying and truthful stories that anyone wants to handle. When I was in my senior year, the stresses of graduation began to press down on me, so I went to pick out something old, but new. Something silly, but is still considered a good read. I found a Midsummer Night’s Dream. That afternoon, I can honestly say I haven’t laughed at such silliness in reading since elementary school. The story is just ridiculous with very stereotypical characters and one of the biggest Deus Ex Machina endings in most of Shakespeare’s plays. As I finished the story, it made me have an epiphany. I realized that you can still have a ‘Macbeth’ or a ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ while reading the story of fairy high-jinks in the woods. There’s nothing wrong with loving something fantastical while still enjoying your realistic fiction stories. You can still read Harry Potter while reading The Things They Carried, or read The Hobbit right after dealing with the traumatic Lord of the Flies.
As I approach the conclusion of my college years, it made me realize that there were some pretty good books that I never got a chance to read. I never read Fahrenheit 451 or Catcher in the Rye, something that people consider necessary reading for high schoolers. Do I feel like I am missing out and that I should hunt down these books? No. Why? Because reading is meant to be fun. Reading affects us in positive and negative ways, but some of my best experiences came from books I chose to read. One day I will get to them, and I hope they do make an impact on me in some form as these stories have.
How Writers Read... 