What’s your favorite book? I’m talking fiction here, of course. Or sci fi, fantasy, mystery – whatever you like.
I’m curious, can you describe your experience of reading it?
For me, the best stories draw me in, steal me away from reality, drench me in otherness. I’m seduced by the characters, implicated by the plot. If the writing is good enough, I can literally feel the story.
Every single time I pick up Murakami’s The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, I am instantly transported back to that well, dark but for noontime and full of thought. I’m walking the streets of Sapporo and spending listless days sitting on a park bench.
Lately I’ve been reading the Game of Thrones series, in which George Martin spends copious amounts of time describing glorious settings, gorgeous clothing, and delicious meals. His plots are secondary, yet his words transport me to another time and place. I can honestly say that I have inhabited the world of Westeros, even if only for the span of his novels.
I think certain books appeal to certain people, appealing to their pasts, invading their psyches in some highly personal way. We may not even realize the effect the story has on us until it is too late, until the twists and turns are permanently lodged somewhere in our memory banks. Those stories change us. They fascinate us, filling a blank, offering a clue to some mystery. They fuel us. They give us a chance to step outside our everyday reality into something new, something unexplored and unknown. They let us meet people, know individuals whom in our real lives would remain strangers.
Have you experienced this? Do you agree that fiction can be transformative, even transcendent? Have you felt that allure of becoming an audience member, of possibly learning something new about yourself? Has a story ever reintroduced you to your imagination? Tell me, what book did that for you?
Dude, I felt that way reading the Game of Thrones books too. I was sucked in, and inhabited Westeros for about three months while I read them. When it was over, I felt a big, empty hole for a few weeks.
My favorite book (right now) is The English Patient, because it is just so beautifully written. However, I have lots of favorites, come to think of it…books just make me happy. 🙂
I know, I feel the same way about the GoT books. My husband and I sometimes pretend that we are in Westeros! I will have to check out The English Patient.
I LOVE fiction books but am not a fan of series..such as Game of Thrones, Hunger Games, Harry Potter etc. They just don’t appeal to me.
I was never a fan of series books either, until Game of Thrones. I saw a few episodes of the HBO series, and it was so beautiful that it sucked me in and I started reading.
Oh my gosh, totally. When I’m really into a book, I dissolve within its pages. Transcendent is a great word. Diana Gabaldon’s The Outlander did this for me, as did Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. There are so many, but those are in my memory at the moment.
Drenched in otherness… Exactly and that’s the perfect description. I feel that way when I read Kerouac’s books.