It’s that time again, my lovelies! The third Saturday of each month wherein I ask a [strictly] reader to come and share his or her thoughts. (Well, okay, so authors are welcome too, but space is solely for those with only their reader hats firmly on.) Ms. Bella is also a lifesaver, as she stepped in. I loved this post and her thoughts. I also can’t wait to hear your responses to her questions!
“In Western Civilization, our elders are books.”―Gary Snyder
Every now and then something inexplicable happens to me and it seems like the universe is trying to speak to me through others. It’s a very Oprah thing to think, I know. But lately I can’t help but feel that the universe conspires to speak to us with little coincidences that happen in ways that statistically make them much more than coincidence. This is mystifying yet wondrous to me because I’m not one who believes in fate, lol!
One of the main ways I experience this phenomenon is through random books that seemingly fall in my lap. Sometimes just the right book lands in my hands for reading at just the right time. It’s more than serendipity because it’s more than just finding an enjoyable book or a fun new series. It is more of a synchronicity that happens, just when I need it most in my life. It feels like a sort of connection happens more than just a coincidence.
I once read somewhere that books are powerful because they are people talking to mass audiences not only in different places but also in different times, able to reach out to future generations and to people other mediums aren’t capable of reaching. I think about this when I read a book that particularly moves me or challenges me in ways I hadn’t expected. When I feel a personal paradigm shift occurring from simply reading a book (a technology that is centuries old!), I marvel at how amazing it is that reading and the process of internalizing the story can impact me so much.
Even more impressive to me is that the majority of the stories that do this to me most are fiction. I think it’s common to think fiction is just for fun but I find that, for me, it’s often more transformative than anything nonfiction I’ve ever read. The biggest surprise was when I began reading romance novels in 2008 and I realized they were some of the most life-altering reads for me. Pretty good for a genre often dismissed as trashy, superficial, and of no literary value, huh?
There have been a lot of books in my life. All made their mark on me and in some way added to the person I am now. But among them all there are outliers; books that stand out because they seemingly came from out of nowhere, weren’t on my radar at all, and yet somehow find me and get me to read them at just the exact time when they are capable of meaning so much to me. I most recently experienced this with a book called Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. It was a book I’d heard great things about when it released but I wasn’t really planning on reading it. Then I won a copy and was asked to discuss it with a book club! It has turned out to be a favorite for me, and the writing was so good it had me thinking about all kinds of aspects of my life in different ways.
So how about y’all: Any books in your life ever seem to be kismet for you? Does it happen to you often, do you have just a few outliers, or is it something that hasn’t happened to you in your reading life? What was the last book that seemed like the universe sent it to you just when you needed it most?
For me that Universe-is-handing-me-a-gift book was 10 Mindful Minutes by Goldie Hawn. I was having my first freak out as a mom. I didn’t feel as if I was doing enough for my young children’s education and was going from school tour to school tour, wondering how we were going to pay for private school, willing to drive miles and miles each way, every day, talking to every mom I could, (and watching many slowly back away from me.) All because the local elementary school was rated an 8 out of 10 on Greatschools. I was getting frantic.
I saw Goldie on a talk show, ordered the book and within two chapters it completely changed my attitude! I realized no matter where my kids were at, if they weren’t happy they weren’t going to have a great learning experience no matter where they were.
Now we’re all happy and the kids both have amazing teachers!
hi Shannon 🙂
that’s so true! at one point I was going to be a teacher and one of the things we learned in student-teaching is making sure the kids were comfortable with us. The veteran teachers said, “if the kids dont feel safe or comfortable with you they’re not going to learn very much from you”. And I love Goldie Hawn too, she always seems so happy!
First of all… that Warm Bodies cover is beautiful.
But okay, I love those meaningful coincidences. I think I have them a lot while reading but it’s hard to nail down just one or to even put it into words. I strongly believe that reading is a meeting of the minds between you and the author. The writing is the opening line to the dialogue that will happen throughout the book. Reading isn’t passive – it’s active.
definitely!
I agree with 100%, Amber. In a psychology class I once read how reading not only uses many different parts of the brain to process it, but also receives the same mental benefits to memory and synapse activity that would be the equivalent of doing a full workout for your body’s health. In using the different types of memory (working memory, long-term memory, etc). So when a friend found out her mom was at risk for Alzheimer’s, I told her to get her actively reading again. It’s actually helped keep her mentally focused and she surprised us by now using goodreads.com! lol
Bella,
Hmmmmm well I don’t know if that’s happened with me with books. More like songs, personally. Maybe I need to pay more attention to books. 😉 Or… read more genres, instead of just genre fiction and non-fiction.
I loved this post though! And the comments. I definitely agree reading isn’t a passive experience, and the fact that it’s so emotional and memorable means something.
There are certain phrases from books that have stuck with me and given me inspiration. One I’ve even used as an inscription. It’s that one descriptor, or phrase, that perfectly captures the essence of you – and so many others, but it’s all you at that very moment. Love it.
Thanks so much for guesting with us today!
thanks for having me!
And I’d say you HAVE had the experience, cuz even it’s just one line that spoke to you it still was from a book and it touched you enough to mean something:) I think everyone does, however, have a preferred method of communicating just like they have learning styles. Some people are more aural, some more visual, and others kinetic. I find most people do it with music much more than books but I think that maybe it’s because of this personal diversities. Idk, it’s pure speculation:P