This October in the Senior Library we are celebrating International School Library month with a display, from two of our wonderful student librarians, of books that take us around the world. Reading is often described as a powerful (almost magical) means of travelling without leaving your chair, but in an age when we are surrounded by so many fabulous audiovisual sources that seem to bring far flung places direct to our devices, what does reading have to offer that a good documentary, or film set in another country cannot?
I would argue that your TV/phone/computer may be able to bring the world to you, but it takes a book to take you out into the world. Books, and in particular fiction books, are the ultimate immersive experience. They plunge you into the sights, smells, tastes and feelings of the characters. You have the opportunity to see though their eyes, walk in their shoes and live in their skins. You move at your own pace and are not dragged through at a pace determined by a director. I was speaking to a Y8 student the other day who described her experience of reading the classic book "Alice in Wonderland", where she chose to read and reread certain passages because they were confusing at first, and in the rereading a richness of understanding emerged that wouldn't have been there if she had been rushed ahead - and she must have enjoyed it because she has moved on to "Through the Looking Glass".
Reading can help us to identify with others more strongly than other media. Malorie Blackman, author of the fabulous Noughts and Crosses series, believes that
"Books allow you to see the world through the eyes of others. Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while"
and I certainly see that in stories that I have both read and seen on screen - particularly when the novel is written in the first person. Film is a third person medium. When shot from a first person point of view, this often feels jarring, and over use of voice over is a clunky device. With film we are watching from the outside, with books we can see the view from the inside. Jean Rhys, author of the acclaimed classic The Wide Sargasso Sea, tells us that
"Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but more important, it finds homes for us everywhere"
- and as an immigrant herself she should know. By allowing us into other people's heads, reading can make us more comfortable in our own. Many readers report that reading helps them to feel better about themselves because they realise that other people go through the same difficulties that they do, and that reading helps them not to feel lonely.
So this October, why not travel the world to celebrate International School Libraries month? You could discover the refugee camps of Australia with Zana Fraillon's The Bone Sparrow, escape the Amazon rainforests with Katherine Rundell's The Explorer - or choose to make the jungle your home with Kipling's classic The Jungle Book. You might want to be "swept away by the sights and sounds of Kolkotta (India)" with Sita Brahmachari's heroine Mira in Jasmine Skies, head to frozen Canada with Jack London's classic story White Fang, or become a samurai warrior in ancient Japan with Chris Bradford's Young Samurai series.
The world is just a page away - where will you go?
"The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go."
(Dr. Seuss)
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