Book Power

"One must always be careful of books and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us." -- Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

On pretext of this wonderful quote I just HAD to write something about the impact a book can have on its readers. So here it goes:

  Have you ever thought of the impact a book can have on your life? Give it a try. Think of the last book you’ve read. What new feelings did it cause to you? What new experiences? What new ways of seeing things?

  Reading a book is like traveling without moving, going to new places, learning new things, meeting new people and making friendships, all by the simple movement of turning a page. It’s a whole new world every time, and you can visit it again and again, every time discovering something new. A book can be a portal to help you escape to a new dimension, or a window to another world. Or even a way to understand your own world, your environment, yourself. If used well, a book can be your best ally, your closest friend. It can bind you with thousands of people of different genders, ages, nationalities, colours, social classes even different ways of thinking. It unites people by giving them something in common.

  But the most important of all is that every book can change you in many ways, according to the kind of book it is. Literature, especially novels give you characters to identify with. Provide you with experiences unlikely to ever live in real life. They can put you in the shoes of people completely unrelated to you and make you empathize with them; see the world through their eyes. This can have huge impact to one’s way of thinking, provided that they’re open to feel all these things.  On the other hand, non-fiction can teach you things, help you in many ways when trying to gain knowledge.

  Different books can achieve different things but the main point is that every book can hold great power. Whether you use this power is up to you. But as C. Clare has written: “Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry” 

  So what do you think? Has a book ever changed you? If yes, in what way?

  If interested, see also what J.K. Rowling has said about the importance of human imagination, here. Personally I found it really inspiring...