“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… "

Reading soothes, entertains, humors, educates, thrills, and through them we travel to foreign places, and the past. Through reading we learn to empathize, relate, draw parallels with the human condition, and most of all widen our perception of the world around us. Different from the visual media-based culture that is encompassing our lives, books provide us a mechanism to combine our previous perceptions and knowledge with new ideas and character stories easing us into expanding those ideas and perceptions. Alternatively, the visual media-based outlets spend a lot of time and money figuring out how to “market” to you to keep you watching.

The wonderful, but sometimes overwhelming, pleasure of working behind the circulation desk is seeing so many books that have the ability to expand my world view, challenge me, and even sometimes "touch a nerve". Through reading each of us can walk away gaining something different from the same book.

The National Book Foundation sums up great literature with these values:

• Books are essential to a thriving cultural landscape
• Books and literature provide a depth of engagement that helps to protect, stimulate, and promote discourse in American society
• Books and literature are for everyone, no matter where the reader is situated geographically, economically, racially, or otherwise.

Next time you are in the library and checking out your favorite genre or author - take home an additional read outside of your "comfort zone". Pick up a novel with characters with a cultural background you are unfamiliar with, read a classic or historical fiction to gain a perspective from the past, or try a non-fiction book about a country or current topic in the news. Even a different genre can often surprise you and alter the way you think.

Here are a two interesting and engaging books which were outside of my favorite genres (Mystery and Historical Fiction)  and presented intriguing multiple perspectives:

“Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario is a nonfiction story recounting the story of a Honduran family torn apart when the mother decides to migrate to the United States leaving her family. As her children mature they too attempt that same journey. Recommended as a young adult summer read I picked up this book because of immigration being in the forefront of our current news. Engagingly written it provided historical, emotional, and thoughtful insight.

"An American Marriage" by Tayari Jones is a novel about the lives of three people who are brought together through love and friendship and tested as a result of unimaginable circumstances. On many "top reads" lists and very popular with patrons, the book was available as an audio through Hoopla so I downloaded it to listen to on my walks. The story is told through the voices of three characters, each with the same hopes and dreams of most of us. In such a lyrical and engaging manner, the author weaves in the common threads most of us share of family, love, friendships, and working our dreams into our careers with the glimpse into the realities and perspectives changed by growing up and living as an African-American. Whether you read or listen to this story - you will find it hard to put down and the voices of Roy, Celestial, and Andre will draw you into their families, lives, and their own perceptions of the world around them.  This book is listed on the Goodreads Most Popular Books published in 2018 and National Book Award long-list finalist.

Reading provides connections with characters with which we might not have anything in common. It exposes us to ideas we might hear in our family, educational, and societal circles .. with these connections comes compassion.

Books that will "broaden your perspective" and also stand out in my favorites are: "An Invisible Thread" by Alex Tresniowski and Laura Schoff, "Homegoing"  by Yaa Gyasi, and  "What is the What" by Dave Eggers.

However, as I compiled this list I realize most the books we find as favorites are probably something that touched our compassion and altered our conscience.

Engage and  be entertained by your reading, embracing the world around us.