The Books That Made Me

Include this article in your Skills Builder Journal. It could help you develop... 

It’s National Book Lovers Day! If you’re looking for something new to read, check out what Eve has to say about two books that made her...

Books are enjoyed and loved by millions around the world. From manga to true crime, comics to poetry, books (in one form or another) have something to suit everyone’s taste. So if you meet someone who says they don’t like books, I think they simply haven’t found the niche that’s right for them yet.

Books aren’t just a medium for pleasure: they are also used as tools for learning, to facilitate studying and enabling memory patterns. Without books, it would be a struggle to teach essential content and advise students on how to improve, broaden their knowledge and ultimately pass exams. Books are also used to spark imagination, creative thoughts and to form perceptions of the world around us. We learn empathy from them. We learn to unpack complex emotions and trauma from them. We begin to understand major societal issues that are prevalent in everyday life, that we may not have taken notice of without our eyes being opened by books.

Stories shape our personalities and the people we become. We share these stories with those around us and pass them on to others. One of my favourite books is Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman, and it deals with sexuality, growing up and finding out who you are, through others and your own experiences. André’s writing style is so beautifully worded, it feels like the words are just being gently poured through your ears like music. The issues he raises in a delicate, but almost brutal coming of age story, embed in your head and make you question your own choices, and to an extent question your life. The novel also deals with some larger issues, that give a bittersweet tinge to an otherwise refreshing and honest relationship. He creates an idea of correctness in the eyes of the reader but by adding constant complications, he breaks down this view and opens up suffering and pain. This also allows him to solve any anguish with a ‘will or will not’ structure which makes the reader hang off his every word, especially in the last scenes.

Another book I enjoyed was The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read Call Me by Your Name for pleasure, whereas Jekyll and Hyde was for academic purposes. This is therefore special, as when people read for academics they don’t necessarily enjoy the book. They memorise and re-read and often it becomes monotonous, boring, even tedious. In short, the fun of reading is removed by the studying surrounding it. However, for me, Jekyll and Hyde continued to be intriguing and captivating each time I read it. Every time I read a chapter again, I noticed new details that I didn’t realise were there before. Not because I wasn't looking, but because the structure and interweaving plot lines are so complex and well-constructed, that each interaction, each deed, each line of speech seems different every time. This is due to Robert Louis’s tone and unique writing style. He manages to create an almost grotesque atmosphere surrounding Hyde and a pure one surrounding Jekyll. But, as the story goes on, and the two begin to merge, Jekyll becomes a criminal and a delinquent, showing how Robert Louis’s meticulous and exhaustive writing style.

All in all, I think books are a necessity not a choice. Books are needed in paper form especially so that reading isn’t just a mental and imaginative task but a real, concrete, physical act too. We should all enjoy our favourite pieces of writing this National Book Lover’s Day. What’s yours?