Particles of Literature

Reading is entering the secret lives of others. It's being a fly on the wall of people we don't know, and connecting to them in an emotional way. Reading can be about escape, it can be about learning from the experience of others.

I tend to get emotionally connected to what I’m reading. For example: A book that I read recently (a "memoir") I got so emotionally connected I hated the author by the time I finished his book. Since I have personal experience with the subject, I was personally offended many times throughout his ranting.


Thomas Lux wrote, "...the "barn" you say is a barn you know or knew." That barn I can see as my life. In the past, my barn was dilapidated and falling to pieces. It was a barn I despised. Today with the help of others the pieces of my barn have been put back together stronger, more competent, able to withstand the wind. So, when a person uses the word barn it could be viewed literally or metaphorically, it depends on the perspective of the reader. Perspective is why we have so many different interpretations of the same work. Not only do we see things different than others but our own perspectives change as we age.


January 31 Nicholas Basbane author of Every Book It’s Reader was interviewed on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show. It's a very interesting interview and relates very much to this topic. They discuss how the function of books are to get people to read actively.