What Is A Book?

A book is a scene. A book is a moment. A book is a second, minute, day, lifetime. A book is my childhood memories. A book is the peace of nature, the noise of a city. A book is a laugh or a tear. A book is life, death and everything in between. A book is, well, everything.

                A book is like a train. Sometimes you don’t get a very smooth ride, but sometimes you find just the right train that takes you exactly where you want in a very soothing, entertaining way. Sometimes you don’t ride a train after a long time, but in the end you always go back to it.

                What is my opinion on digital books? I hate ‘em.

                In this day and age, our society is literally obsessed with technology. I mean seriously, think about a weekend camping in the mountains with no technology. That includes cell phones, TV, iPods, laptops… BORING.

                I’ll be the first to admit that I am dependent on technology. Who isn’t? But once in a while I do tire of the constant screens. It’s nice to lie down on my couch and pop open a book. I like to take in the feel of the cover, the smell of the pages, and the swish as I flip through it. The physical aspect of the book is soothing, to hold something in your arms and to be able to look back at the stack of pages you’ve already read is a childhood tradition that I as one cannot seem to let go.

                My outlook on this subject is a bit outdated, I know. I do agree that the Kindles and the BookNooky things are very cute, but looking at a screen just screams “VIDEOGAMES” to me, not reading. I guess my mind separates reading as an old custom from long ago and technology screens as present, and the clash of those really boggles my mind. So thank you very much for the BookNooky devices, but I’ll pass.

Why do I read?

Recently I have been asked the question, “Why do you read?” Good question, why should anyone read? I read because I have always enjoyed it. From as long as I can remember, reading books has always provided me with a satisfaction that simply cannot be found anywhere else.

I have a memory as a child reading the Junie B. Jones series and finding them hilarious beyond compare. I guess that’s where my passion really started. Along the lines of reading The Magic Tree House and Peter Rabbit, I became addicted with this lifelong obsession.

As I started to grow up, Harry Potter became my best friend, following me around everywhere. I still remember the first time I decided to start the Harry Potter series; there was a girl in my 3^rd grade class who had already started reading them, and quite frankly, I was kind of jealous she was already reading a book that big. So, I dragged my mother to the library and, voila! , I held Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in my little hands.

Then I grew older, and my book choices matured. Reading became very prevalent during summers when I would enter the reading contest at the Mason Public Library. In 8^th grade, I spent almost every intervention at the library hunting for books; I must’ve scoured that place so many times the librarians started to recognize me!

Sadly, however, my passion for reading started to dim when I reached high school. In my first two trimesters, I already had an English class that required me to read, so I simply fell out of the habit of regularly visiting the library. In my English classes, I learned different purposes for reading that had never occurred to me before. I learned how to read to analyze a text, and I learned that all books were not meant for entertainment, some had deeper meanings and morals hidden between them.

Through English class, I got the chance to read books that I’ll admit I would’ve never read by myself. And I enjoyed the challenge. Learning to read this new way now drives me to get a deeper understanding of books I read outside of school, and I have learned this realization is quite thrilling.

Now I read for an interesting plot, well-rounded characters, clear imagery, and many other writing crafts that I have learned make, in essence, a good book.