Why are some books more dear to our hearts than others?
Yes, the common writer adage is that all our stories are our children and we can't pick a favorite. Buuuuut what I've discovered over time is that, although all of my projects are very dear to my heart and yes, my children, some of them feel dearer to my heart than others.
The same thing applies to the books we read. This one was good, this one's a classic, but that one, that one's just so dear, so precious, the spine worn nearly to breaking, every page caressed a thousand times.
What makes these stories so special? What makes us connect with these stories more than others?
I'd say it's a personal connection.
I'm not normally a reader who needs a personal connection with the character in order to like them, but thinking over books I've loved recently, I find that nearly all of them feel personal in one way or another. It's sort of different, and I'm finding I like it.
In The Agony House(it was scary, but not nearly as scary as it sounds, promise), I felt a deep connection with Denise, what with her constantly changing houses all over the country, sometimes with pretty questionable landlords. Eliza and Her Monsters struck a chord with me because of how much Eliza needed time with the story she was writing in order to function. And the symbolism in the climax of Nimona made me sit back for a second and stare at the wall just going 'wow'.
In The Agony House(it was scary, but not nearly as scary as it sounds, promise), I felt a deep connection with Denise, what with her constantly changing houses all over the country, sometimes with pretty questionable landlords. Eliza and Her Monsters struck a chord with me because of how much Eliza needed time with the story she was writing in order to function. And the symbolism in the climax of Nimona made me sit back for a second and stare at the wall just going 'wow'.
And right now, my editing project, Crash and Burn, gives me the same feeling. I buried so much of my personal life deep within the pages that it has become something very dear to me. Lexie's family especially is based on my own family relationships when I was younger, family get-togethers and all. Her cousin has the same name as one of my cousins. And so much more. I love it so much because I've put so much of myself into it.
There may be other reasons why some books are closer to our hearts than others. I hold almost no personal connection with Skulduggery Pleasant, but I love the series so much that I buy them even before I've read them. (Living dangerously, I know)
But I would say that one of the biggest reason why some books feel more special than others is that we feel understood. That character just gets it. The author finally said what it seemed no one wanted to say. Something was just different. It was special. And we adopt it as our own.
Thus ends another one of my philosophical posts. If you liked this, here are some suggested links for ya:
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