Ruhi Week 12 - A Whole New World
Every night before I go to sleep, I open my Kindle and enter a new universe. Here, there are no parents watching over your back. No teachers forcing you to do work. No rules or right and wrong. Either I'm at Hogwarts where you can perform magic and spells to do whatever you please. Or I'm at Camp Half-Blood, fighting monsters by day and hanging out with my friends around the campfire at night. The ability to fully immerse myself in a whole different world is what I call the power of literature.
For me, reading has always been a form of escape. Whenever I'm feeling down, opening up a book will always lift me up because instead of focusing on my own problems, I can read about a whole other character who is going on thrilling adventures and having the time of their life. This escape from reality never fails to put a smile on my face at my darkest times.
Authors hold a lot of power in the books they create. They include just the right amount of information about the plot in the story itself to engage the reader, but then leave enough holes to allow readers to make their own assumptions. For a book series like Keeper of the Lost Cities, there are so many secrets that are yet to be revealed, but the suspense allows for hundreds of online sites to be created, such as the Keeper of the Lost Cities Wiki. These sites help to create a sense of community amongst the invested fans of the books, allowing them to meet others who have similar thoughts and interests.
Books, even fiction ones, have an incredible power to educate their readers. Though slightly incorrect, the amount of mythology I have learned from reading all of Rick Riordan's books is nothing compared to what I learn in school. Any time we discuss the history of Greece or Rome, I can connect every name of a God or Goddess to the character in the Heroes of Olympus series which enriches my learning experience and actually makes the topic fun to learn. And of course non-fiction books, which I personally find boring, have a huge library of information. If they are written correctly, they can even be memorable as I still remember a book I read ten years ago describing fun facts about the world.
At the end of the day, the true power of books lies in their ability to transport, connect, and educate by turning simple words into memorable worlds.
Hi Ruhi! Your blog title was the first to catch my eye while I was scrolling through our Blogger to see which ones I wanted to read first. I was pleased to open it to find a picture of a book! Reading and the world of fiction is such a powerful thing, I’m surprised it never crossed my mind when thinking of the idea of ‘power.’ I have to admit I smiled upon reading your first paragraph, seeing the mention of two of the most popular book series to people our age. You couldn’t have worded the experience of becoming immersed in a good story better. I love opening a good book and being able to forget that I am reading a book in the first place, when the pages in my fingers turn into an entirely new environment and the words on them take shape as characters. Being so invested in what is happening in a book to the point where I have to stop and go back a few pages after zooming through an interesting chapter. The jolt of being ripped out of the fantasy world in my brain upon hearing my mom call my name. I can relate to your comment on reading being a way for you to escape reality. It is much more fun to read about the adventures of characters I love than to toil over the situation of being alive in today’s world or my mundane life. I really can’t put into words what a relieving feeling it is, how wonderful it is to daydream about silly characters doing silly things or feeling for the main character of a novel I am reading. As someone who has characters of my own, I constantly find myself drifting into their world and building it little by little. I have so much admiration for real authors, who are able to make the little story in their brain leap out onto a document, onto fresh paper, and share it with the world. The act of storytelling is such a powerful ability and requires so much creativity to do, and I know firsthand what a difficult process it is. I loved the mention of the various book series you mentioned! Although I have regrettably never read Keeper of the Lost Cities, I do recall it being a very popular and well loved series. However, I have read many of Rick Riordian’s works, and like you, my ears perk up at the mention of any mythology (although younger me was devastated to learn about how inaccurate his writing was). I have to say, I really loved reading your blog and genuinely enjoyed building my comment for you. I guess you could say that like all of the authors you discussed, you also had much power in writing this blog. Thank you for taking me on this journey, Ruhi! I would love to hear about your favorite books.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruhi, I really enjoyed your post! I particularly enjoyed your explanation of reading as a way of visiting other worlds—it's one that I think a lot of us can relate to, especially with the examples that you gave, like Hogwarts and Camp Half-Blood. Your explanation of getting caught up in those worlds made me feel like I was right there with you, casting spells or fighting monsters. I also especially loved how you highlighted how much power authors have in creating suspense and leaving gaps for readers to fill. And the part about the Keeper of the Lost Cities Wiki was such a cool fact because it testifies to the way that books can bring people together and create entire communities outside of the book itself. I particularly enjoyed your section on how fiction books can end up teaching us more than school. I had the same experience with Rick Riordan's books—I learned so much about Greek and Roman mythology without even noticing. It's funny how a good story has a way of making things stick so much better than any textbook. The part where you included your own childhood memories of reading fun fact books really added that personal touch that made your posting all the more engaging. Overall, I think your reflection did an excellent job of expressing how books have the power to not only transport but to educate and unite us. I'm excited to read more of your writing!
ReplyDeleteRuhi, I really like the way in which you depicted reading over the course of your Blog Post. The way you open by characterizing the act of reading as "[entering] a new universe" is really creative, but also compelling, and the way you juxtapose this pastime with the expectations we are burdened by at home and at school makes it clear why you treasure it. I find it interesting how you describe reading as a form of escape, and I can definitely resonate with that sometimes; often, when life feels empty and bleak, I have found the most joy in fictional stories that I can look forward to reading another little bit of. Another interesting focus you had was on the ways authors provide or withhold information to create suspense. It's pretty interesting to think about and analyze the ways different kinds of stories are structured in order to keep readers hooked and how they divulge information over the course of a narrative. Upon reading your Blog Post, I realize that I haven't actually read as much in the first couple months of this year, so I might need to get back to that. But great job writing a lovely tribute to reading and all the ways it can enrich our lives!
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