Surely there is at least one book out there for everyone. Having said that, I’ve known people I liked and admired who admit they’ve skated through life never reading an entire book. Skimming books during their school years, using Cliff’s Notes and asking others about a book has gotten them through somehow. Their life is full in ways that have never sparked the desire to give reading a try.
Reading is a door to knowledge I want for myself. I’m constantly surprised by people who go to a doctor and are told a diagnosis and don’t bother to find out whatever they can about it. Or a person who buys plants for their yard and never bothers to look up what care they need.
History brought only a groan during my grade school years. Presented with mostly dry facts and dates (after we learned of Johnny Appleseed, and George Washington and the cherry tree—one of which has been debunked and the former may not be as useful and altruistic as it sounded). Because of the lack of animation in history studies, I struggled to have reason to delve into more.
Then I had the most wonderful teacher for World History one year. He made history came alive for me. For every event he mentioned, he had an anecdote for someone involved in the event, or who lived in that time. All of a sudden, history no longer held only dry facts, it opened doors. People in whatever time they live respond to their surroundings. They work with what is available, and they make decisions with what they know. People have always, loved, hated, approached life with a single focus, or only looked at the broad picture. People have always been people, and emotions have always guided decisions. Those people were like me, and I could finally relate.
But reading doesn’t have to edify us in any meaningful way. It can also be an escape. A good book allows a person to get out of their own head. For a while, they live someone else’s life, in another place, another time, or another world. I will admit I have more than once put down a book in disgust, annoyed that a character made an ill-thought decision or action that will clearly come back to bite them. I invariably pick up the book again to find out how it all plays out, but when I first run into that moment where it is clear something will go wrong, I’m so invested in the story that my heart beats faster and my stomach somersaults in anticipation of the negative consequences. So I put down the book and distance myself until I can find calm in my real life before I read more.
Part of the reason I have the reaction I do, is that we have all acted upon ill-conceived decisions, thoughtlessly blurted something we can’t take back, or found ourselves in a physical situation that could go very wrong (or has). Maybe not the one in the story, but one that causes us to be able to put ourselves in that person’s place.
I write romance because it has the clear requirement that the main characters have a happy ending, either happy for now (HFN), or happily ever after (HEA). The plot can be a mystery, adventure, comedy, fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal…you name it, the plot can be any of those things, but there is not complete doom and despair at the end, at least, not for the main characters. There have been enough bad endings and sorrow in my life and the lives of those around me, I don’t want to close a book to ponder someone else’s, even if they are fictional. So, if you haven’t done so in a while, pick up a book lying around, go to the library, or a book store (e-library/store or brick-and-mortar ones), or ask a friend to lend one—and take a few minutes to read. Hopefully, you’ll be glad you did.