Two events this week prompted me to think about what I read. The first was my husband coming home with a brochure titled, �An Inclusive and Diverse Summer Reading List.� Compiled by librarians, authors, and children�s literature scholars, the list suggests picture books, middle grade books, and young adults novels that celebrate diversity. It incudes, for example, Hana Hashimoto�s picture book, Sixth Violin, about a young girl who decides to study piano after listening to her grandfather�s music during a visit to Japan; Rita Williams Garcia�s middle grade story, One Crazy Summer, about three black sisters in 1968 learning about cultural and ethnic identity; and Aisha Saeed�s young adult novel, Written in the Stars, about an American born Pakistani teenager whose parents take her to Pakistan to arrange her marriage.
The second event was a conversation in a writing group about reading, after one of the participants wrote about a character being influenced by a variety of authors and the books.
The two events together got me thinking about reading ruts. We read a particular genre like mysteries or historical fiction or fantasy. We read just nonfiction or only fiction. We read books by certain authors whom we �know.� On the one hand, nothing is wrong with reading good books of a particular genre or style, or by a particular author. On the other hand, given the vast reading material available to us, what do we miss by sticking to the known, the familiar?
I confess that I rarely read nonfiction. With three children, three jobs, and participating in numerous volunteer groups, my time to read is short and precious, so I gravitate toward fiction as a way of escaping from my crazy life. While I believe there is great value in nonfiction reading, I find that nonfiction articles and books give me more to think about, when honestly I am just too tired for more thinking.
This week, though, prompted by the above musings, I read a nonfiction book recently recommended to me � Andy Crouch�s Culture Making. Yes, the book made me think, and yes, it was not the escapist fiction I usually crave, but I discovered, to my pleasure and surprise, that I really enjoyed the book and learned something as well. And I was reminded, again, that we live in a world of multiple cultures and our books and our reading should reflect that. Books are ambassadors as well as teachers.
And when you�re just too tired, they�re a great escape as well.
Paula Castner is a mother of three and a co-founder of Seven Bridge Writers' Collaborative, as well as a freelance writer, writing and baking workshop facilitator, and drama director. She receives emails at pajamalivingwriting@gmail.com.
