My Name was Supposed to be Elizabeth Ann

(Second in an occasional series on BOOKS THAT MATTER AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM)

So what IS a book that matters? And who gets to choose?

When I spoke with my friend Lorita Foster for this series, she confessed to being initially annoyed with my questions. “They’re not fair,” she said, thinking I wanted a definitive list. “How can I determine what matters to everyone else?”

We laughed. For nearly twenty years before I retired, she taught junior and I taught senior English across the hall from each other, and this exchange was a variant of hundreds–if not thousands–of conversations we’ve shared not only about the books we read for our own enjoyment but about those we read with our students.  Experience has taught us that not every book speaks to every reader, no matter its reviews, awards, or accolades. That’s why, as she explained, “All books matter. Whether they’re fiction or non-fiction, they’re somebody’s voice. Their dream. Every book connects [readers] to the someone who wrote it.”

There was a time writer Kim Charles Younkin would have agreed with Lorita. Now, however, she’s more selective, noting that advancements in e-publishing industries have come with a significant cost. While writers enjoy greater access to and control over independent publishing channels, the fact that anyone can publish anything has, in her opinion, diluted the medium’s overall quality. “At this point in my life, books that matter are the ones that resonate with me because of an author’s voice, a beautiful story, and characters that are real people to me, and [because they address] issues that mean something about our shared humanity.”

Similar distinctions arose among my nearly two dozen reader friends I interviewed for this series. 

Writer, artist, and educator Marta Pelrine-Bacon confessed that the more she tries to settle on a definition, the more she wonders. Those that matter most, she said, are “books that [offer] new ideas and perspectives … and those that make me laugh while making me understand the pain in the world. [They] change how a reader sees the world they’re in or who they are.”

Katy Hewitt (not her real name*) is a poet, essayist, and middle school English teacher who ascribes to Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s belief that, while adults can appreciate literature distinct from their lived experiences, young readers in particular need books that function like windows, mirrors, or sliding glass doors. That’s why diversity and choice are crucial.

Poet and short story writer Neha Mediratta explained that her definition evolved as she did. “When I was young, the ‘books that mattered’ were the ones my elder brother read [because] I wanted to do everything he did. As I grew, [they] became a conduit to experiences different from mine. Now ‘books that matter’ means something else entirely. I look for solutions … rather than escape and comfort.” 

Walter Lawn, who also writes poetry and short fiction, distinguished between the books that matter to him personally and those “which changed the way we read and write our language [and those which] affected history, outside the field of literature.” While the latter titles remain fairly constant, the former can change.

So which books qualify? 

As I wrote in January’s post, each of my reader friends offered titles as evidence to support their definitions, yet very few matched any other reader’s list. Including, of course, my own.

On this, however, we all agreed:

Books matter, YES, but so too does access to them. 

Not only for the benefit of the individual, but for the benefit of the human collective.

You, me. The person you see on your daily commute but have never met. The person who lives in that country whose name you can’t pronounce and will (probably) never visit. All of us.

Why? 

Here’s what my reader friends told me:

5. THEY ENABLE YOU TO SEE YOURSELF IN THEIR PAGES AND REALIZE, “I AM NOT ALONE.”

Books about characters and people who look like us encourage community and validate our place within it.

Two of my former seniors described their adolescent reading as gravitating toward characters whose struggles resonated with their own.  As a child, municipal real estate planner Sharmaine Belton struggled with the mechanics of reading and loved books that she could relate to. “Anything that might help me get through things, that’s how I started to love reading.” Gina MacDonald, who now teaches ninth grade English, shared a similar preference, explaining that such stories offered both escape from her worries and encouragement to resolve them. That philosophy, in part, informs her teaching practice.

Such books are incredibly powerful, novelist Fallon Brown agreed. While even a “cheesy romance” matters if it resonates or “makes you smile when you’re having a bad day,” they recalled a dearth of relatable characters from their youth. “I’ve read a lot of books in the last several years where my reaction upon finishing them was ‘I wish this had existed when I was a teenager.’ If I had ever heard the term nonbinary before I was 30, I wouldn’t have spent so much time hating myself when I was younger.”

4. THEY ENABLE YOU TO ACCESS INFORMATION, PEOPLE, PLACES, AND TIMES THAT YOU COULDN’T OTHERWISE EXPERIENCE. 

Whereas genetics, culture, and economics can foster inequities, books foster opportunities.

Sixth grade teacher Travis DiMartino explained books that matter “give you something you can take with you. Sometimes it’s nice to immerse yourself in a world where anything is possible.” While such stories can be escapist, the best ones develop critical thinking by encouraging readers to situate themselves within the story world and evaluate characters’ decision-making. Educator Chris Tracey called such books “keys.” They are a way to unlock a deeper understanding of the self and the greater world, he said, and they have the potential to build otherwise impossible relationships. 

Such is librarian Kim Martino’s philosophy, as well. She curates books that “meet students where they are” and that encourage them to consider the bigger world, the latter of which is key to developing a growth mindset.  

3. THEY ENABLE YOU TO EXPERIENCE PERSPECTIVES DIFFERENT FROM YOUR OWN AND REALIZE, “I AM NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE.” 

If reason four is the invitation, reason three is the RSVP that, once accepted, allows strangers to make transformative connections. 

Said writer Gabrielle Johansen, “I was taught from a very young age that knowledge shouldn’t be hoarded or denied.” She recalled a teacher chastising her for reading Rita Mae Brown’s Southern Discomfort and asking seventh-grade Gabrielle what her mother would think if she knew. “I blinked at her and said, ‘My mom gave me that book to read.’” Gradually, she came to recognize “that books are portals to observing and understanding other worlds, other cultures, [and] ways of being other than my own. [They show] me what we all have in common.” 

Writer and educator Leslie Stack’s eyes sparkled as she described immersing herself “in the perspective of someone outside of [her] norm, particularly those written by new voices that haven’t been heard before.” Such books, she said, inspire and challenge her to be her best self.

Angelica Johnson, former student and now data analyst for a major gaming platform, described a love of reading forged among similar kinds of stories. She categorized books that matter as those which impacted her own journey and those which make a difference within our shared humanity. Regardless of genre, they are the books, she said, that address big ideas and difficult topics that some may find challenging to discuss. However, that’s exactly why they’re needed in the world.

2. THEY ENABLE YOU TO NAVIGATE THE NON-BOOK WORLD WITH GREATER EMPATHY AND COMPASSION.

Whereas reason 5 recognizes the power of seeing your physical and emotional selves reflected, reason 2 recognizes the power of trying to understand rather than demonize difference.

Former student and poet Abigail Greenwood thrills to books that make her think, especially those that ask tough questions about civilizations’ ugly chapters. “Seeing different perspectives helps us see and feel the humanity of the experience and to understand why people do what they do–even the bad guys. It helps us understand life’s ‘grays’ and act accordingly.”

That awareness reverberated throughout every definition, every memory, every title my reader friends shared. Books that matter aren’t merely entertaining and instructive, but rather a force for change. 

How?

1. THEY ENABLE AND ENCOURAGE US TO CREATE.

Books that matter nourish the curious and generous spirit that says, “I want to share what I’ve learned. I want to add to our understanding.”

While my reader friends acknowledged the very real dangers of hate speech and the validity of monitoring a child’s access to adult content, they celebrated their identities as readers and the significant and necessary role books have played in their lives, art, community involvement, and professions. “That’s one of the most important reasons for reading,” said writer and former corporate attorney Robin Stein. “To develop who you are by accepting, rejecting, questioning, [and] by listening to people. By throwing the book away or giving it to all your friends because you love it so much. Let people read and have arguments and think, because we don’t do enough thinking.”

Chatting with this fascinating group of readers has certainly made me think, particularly about books’ creative impacts. Sadly, so much of our current discourse centers around what we SHOULDN’T say. What we SHOULDN’T read.

What if, for a little while at least, we just listened to each other’s stories?

What kind of world might we then help create?

My reader friends have some ideas.

See you back here next month and they’ll share.

***** 

THANK YOU to all my reader-writer-educator friends who so graciously contributed their time and insights. I’ll be sharing more of our book chats over the next several months.

Can’t wait? Check out more from my reader-writer friends, below, and participate in the conversation. What is YOUR definition of a book that matters? What titles do YOU recommend? Share your thoughts and recommendations in the comments.

*****

FALLON BROWN is a nonbinary writer from northwestern PA, spending their days writing about queer characters falling in love and solving mysteries. They live in a small town with their husband, 2 children, 2 dogs and a cat who thinks she rules over all. Find more of them at Fallonbrown.com and on Instagram & Threads @frbrown906.

KIM CHARLES YOUNKIN can be found on Instagram @thedoggedwriter. 

ABIGAIL GREENWOOD is an aspiring author and poet. She finds inspiration from personal life experiences as well as causes that she fervently supports through action and via the written word. Abigail has written poems for decades and has reached the moment in her career where she is willing to be vulnerable and share her poetry publicly. Her writing style contains lyrical tones hence the name of her website, Siren Song. Abigail is a lover of art in all its incredible forms and loves to find new ways to express herself. If interested in becoming one of Abigail’s songmates, please find your way to her personal website at Siren Song Poetry. You may also connect with Abigail on her Facebook page called “Don’t Talk. Just Write.” or through TikTok. 

KATY HEWITT* is a poet, essayist, playwright, fiction writer, and educator, the latter of which is why she prefers anonymity. Her district is a bit, eh-hem, regimented about who can say and/or read what.

GABRIELLE JOHANSEN creates fiction from her home in Charlotte, NC. She is an avid reader, board gamer and sometimes crafter. Her main partners in all of the above are her wonderful husband and sporadically terrific teenager. Sometimes her two cats try to join the games, but their strategies consist of knocking pieces off the board. Gabrielle’s stories have been published in the premier issue of Haven Speculative and Across the Margin. Connect with her on X  @ellareine17 and Instagram @ellarain17.

WALTER LAWN writes poetry and short fiction. His work has been published at On the Run Press, Heartwood Literary Magazine, Every Day Fiction, and Lily Poetry Review. Walter is a disaster recovery planner and lives outside of Philadelphia.

NEHA MEDIRATTA is an independent writer, editor and consultant based in Mumbai though she enjoys gallivanting around the globe virtually and in real life.

Managing home, hearth, and work, she writes about the things she has mulled over for more than two decades.

She has a postgraduate degree in English Literature and has widely studied Eastern Philosophy, Ancient Indian Martial Arts and Creative Writing. A combination of ancient oral, hands-on teaching, contemporary academic and Indian non-formal teaching methods have gone into making her a pursuer of The Writing Arts.

Most of all, she is interested in digging up and reviving processes of being human—which have been few and far between—in her experience. 

Check out more about her work here: www.nehamediratta.com.

MARTA PELRINE-BACON was born and raised in the bloody heart of the Sunshine State, and she
lived to tell the tale. Then at 17, she high-tailed it out of there to the cold and wild north where
she earned her BA and MA in English literature. She joined the Peace Corps and lived in the
humor capital of the world in Bulgaria (where she also learned about the witchcraft of Baba
Yaga). She married, had a kiddo, and adopted too many dogs. (Kidding! There’s no such thing
as too many dogs.) Cancer tried to work its dark magic, but she got lucky. She is, therefore,
decidedly grateful to be here.

Marta writes, makes art, teaches English, takes care of her dad, and generally fails at work-life
balance. Stories about women and girls, impossibilities and magic, and friendship and strength
interest her most. Read her work and you’ll see. Her first novel, The Blue Jar, is currently
available on Amazon. Her first story collection, A Brief History of Boyfriends, is also available on
Amazon. She’s had stories published in Enchanted Conversation Magazine, The Austin Review,
Flash Fiction Magazine, 50 to 1,    Cabinet des Fees, and Your Turn (In Character). Other stories
appear in print editions of Whigmaleeries and Wives’ Tales and Adelaide, Year V, Number 35,
April 2020.

Marta’s been interviewed in a few places too: Out of Context, New Literati, Seven Impossible
Things before Breakfast, State: The Magazine of Indiana State University, and by author Ami
McKay. Her art has also been published here and there: Onomatopoeia Magazine and The
Fairy Tale Review.

You can find her art and her stories at https://www.patreon.com/martapelrinebacon, https://www.etsy.com/shop/WordsAreArtStudio?ref=seller-platform-mcnav, and https://martapelrinebacon.com/. Connect with her on Instagram @mapelba.

Marta isn’t big on giving advice, but she does say to look at the moon next time you’re out. The
moon is a lovely thing. And please pour her another cup of coffee black as midnight on a
moonless night. Then there will be stories.

LESLIE STACK is a musician and retired teacher who is surrendering to her love of writing. You can usually find her doing research behind dark glasses on a park bench. She lives with her husband in a house in Pennsylvania where the books are plotting to take over.

ROBIN MAYER STEIN grew up in Jackson Heights, New York, across the street from the public library–her second home.  She studied English literature at Queens College, attended Boston University School of Law and worked as a consumer law attorney while continuing to write.
Her work has appeared in 50 Give or Take, The Paterson Review, and Fiddlehead Folio. She speaks at schools about her children’s book, My Two Cities: A Story of Immigration and Inspiration, and leads Writing Workshops in the Boston area. She loves to swim, play piano and create stories with her three grandchildren. Visit her on Facebook or at robinsteincreative.com.