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The S.E. Hinton kerfuffle over graphic novels made me think about something. She said that she didn't want The Outsiders to be a GN because it was the first novel many kids read.
This is nonsense, of course. There are novels for very young children—much younger than the intended audience for The Outsiders.
But it also reveals that she thinks she has outsize importance in the literary world. There is no one book that is The Most Sacred.
But it also reveals that she thinks she has outsize importance in the literary world. There is no one book that is The Most Sacred.
There is no one book that's best. Or that everyone must read. Or should read. And the idea that there is, ultimately, is bad for books. Bad for readers. Bad for literature.
The best book is the one that gave you pleasure as you read it, whether the pleasure came from laughter, from tears, or from frustration or wonder.
The best book is the book that made you want to read another book. The best book is the one that made you want to share it with someone else. The best book is the one that changed you in some way, large or small.
There is room for an infinite number of best books, but if we keep holding up a small number as essential, particularly when these books are very old, then we leave readers behind, every time.
I wish every reader, especially young reader, had a list of favorite books too long to remember. A list so powerful that they remember where they sat the first time they read it. A list so treasured they return to it every time they need wisdom or comfort.
And I hope that authors, especially ones who never see millions of readers, know that they are not less important for this fact.
Every single person who touches a book—the author, publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, and readers—are part of an extraordinary chain.
Every single person who touches a book—the author, publishers, booksellers, librarians, teachers, and readers—are part of an extraordinary chain.
The right book at the right time is everything, whether it's a PB, a graphic novel, or something no one else has ever heard of.
Reading is the point. Reading, and all of the good that comes from it.
Reading is the point. Reading, and all of the good that comes from it.
