World Book Day 2021

I met two of my lifelong “affection loves” when I was three. In the same year I became enamored with the Miami Dolphins, I also forced my mom to teach me how to read. And while I would define myself as more than just a football fan and a reader — those two things are still intrinsically a huge part of who I am and have shaped me. In fact, my favorite Valentine’s day gift (sorry Adrian), was a Ronnie Brown bookmark that a friend from summer camp sent me. It’s not that the quality of the bookmark was stellar, it was literally free from their Floridian library, it was just that it perfectly captured two of my passions. 

There are a lot of things I love about reading, but these three stick out to me today. The first is that reading can transport you to a different time or place, reading can introduce you to stories, ideas, and experiences outside your own, and in books you can find kindred spirits that help you make sense of the world around you. 

Growing up, my family situation was challenging. There was a lot of brokenness and pain and when my parents eventually did divorce, Harry Potter and the Anne books got me through those grueling years of divorce mediation. Yes, it was a form of escapism, but as a 12 year old dealing with things that were heavy and hard. Joining the Golden trio on their mission to defeat Voldemort or walking side by side with Anne Shirley while she navigated the social circles of Avonlea provided a much needed respite from the realities of the world I was living in. But for those who don’t need escapism, they still provide the opportunity to travel to new places and experience new things. Earlier in 2020, I read a book set in Mexico during the 1918 influenza and while at the time I didn’t realize it, it gave me an opportunity to experience life during a pandemic even before I was in one. When I read, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? it ALMOST satiated my need to go to Antarctica because I was able to join Bee down there as she searched for her mom. Books have the power to transport. Even non-fiction books. Often when I’m reading Jen Wilkin, she puts me in her living room and I feel as if I’m just listening to her share truth over coffee, or right now while reading Until Unity, I can hear Francis Chan imploring me to fall at the feet of Jesus. As Tolkien describes it, “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” It’s indeed a dangerous business, opening up the pages of a new book, because you truly don’t know where you might be swept off too.

Books also give us the ability to experience stories and ideas that are outside anything we know. Through books we can wrestle with contradicting or challenging ideas, which is what happens most of the time I read non-fiction. If we only read things that affirm our worldview and ideas, we aren’t giving ourselves the opportunity to grow personally, but also to grow in compassion towards those who believe differently. Reading Michelle Obama’s book gave me such a different view of her from what I had heard on my Facebook timeline. It introduced me to her and explained why she is the way she is and while we may not agree on everything, I learned that we actually agreed on more than I would have realized. Compassion is such an important skill to cultivate, especially for those of us who call ourselves Christians. When we create in-groups and fail to look outside ourselves we lose the compassion that our Savior had for us, compassion that led Him to the cross on our behalf. Books can help grow our compassion. We can read stories of people who are different and listen to them and I think when we start with books, it makes it a lot easier to then translate that humble posture of listening to real life situations with coworkers, friends and family. Reading books with Black protagonists has opened my eyes to my privilege, the reality of the world we live in, and helped begin my process of understanding people who are different from me. It’s interesting to me, how unconscious our bias can be. It wasn't until I reflected on this that I understood more and more why I didn’t prefer certain books or characters, when really it was just because we had nothing in common. When I read Sense & Sensibility, for example, it’s hard because I neither relate toward Elinor or Marianne. Elinor’s sense can be stifling for me and infuriating to watch, Lucy Steele deserved a good punch in the face. But Marianne’s dramatics and immature view of love is equally frustrating to me, like get a grip, girl. But when I realize that I’m reacting because they are different than I am, and I’ve decided that “different” is bad or at least annoying -- I’m showing my true colors. And how deep unconscious bias can be for all of us. Which is why books are important. Because they introduce us to people and ideas so unlike our own and help us appreciate the complex diversity of God’s wonderful creation. Because while I will never understand someone like Jane Eyre or Marrianne Dashwood or anyone from I Capture the Castle, I can learn to appreciate them and how they reflect different aspects of God that I never can or will. Which in turn, gives me the ability to do the same for people I actually know. 

But selfishly, my favorite thing about books is finding Kindred Spirits hidden among the pages. Anyone who knows me, knows that Anne Shirley Blythe is my best friend of all time. And while I’m not sure if I was always destined to be like her or if by loving her, I became like her, I just know I will always love and defend her until the day I die. But she’s not my only book friend. In books I have met women (and men) who have helped shape me. They’ve showed me that there are more important things than books and cleverness, that it’s okay to have your biggest fear be a cage, it’s okay to apologize and admit you’re wrong (looking at you Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Cathy Moreland, and Anne Elliot), in short, it’s okay to be who you are. I’ve learned patience and endurance. I’ve learned the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking. I’ve learned a lot and I owe a lot to books. Books have helped me process the world around me and different situations I’ve faced. For example, I feel an awful lot like book 5 Harry right now, or Bilbo in the Shire. An outcast, surrounded by people who know me, but judge me and hate me or blame me for situations outside my control. Some days I wake up and I just know I’m having a “Jonah day”, like Anne. But most days, I’m just delighted to know that I’m building my own House of Dreams. Whatever season life throws at you, I’m confident there’s a book for that — fiction or not. 

Books are powerful and wonderful. They teach us and help us grow. They challenge and affirm us. They sweep us away and also hit painfully close to home. Books are magic and we should all be magicians. Happy World Book Day, friends! Now go grab a book and read!