Bonding through Books

At my brother’s wedding last weekend of all places (see boy in suit) I got thinking about the seemingly limitless potential shared love for a book or reading in general has for bridging age, culture, lifestyle, or any type of “gap”.  I know that there have probably been many people to tackle this subject in much more articulate ways than I can, but in this case I was considering how a shared love for reading can bond you to people with whom you are already close to, or who you are supposed to be close to but aren’t actually. Namely, family members.

The first time I met my new sister-in-law a year ago will always be memorable to me because one of the first things I learned about her was that she loves to read. We had both read My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult recently, and while I didn’t like it nearly as much as her I was taken aback at how much that one moment of shared experience bonded us instantly, in spite of the fact we’d only just met and I knew little else about her. On a similar note, one of my most dear memories was when I played librarian/reading mentor to my much younger sister, who was in high school at the time.  We had already been best buds despite the age gap, so I didn’t think it was possible to feel any closer to her. But from the first book I recommended to her – and she read anything I told her to at first (including reading and loving The Truth About Forever) – I knew our relationship was forever changed, and for the better. I have two other sisters, one very close to me in age, and I don’t think we’ll ever achieve that same bond, though I’m able to push a lot of different books on her. What’s most amazing to me is sometimes the instant bonding between strangers can happen without saying a word – two readers just understanding one another. That kind of experience is almost indescribable. Which brings me to blogging.

This is why I blog, period, and why I love it. To belong to this close-knit online community of avid readers who, with each shared read, bond and understand one another in all of his/her flaws and strengths, personality quirks, and heartbreaks and successes in ways no one else can. It doesn’t matter that you live half-way across the country or world, are part of a different culture and/or race, or that we have absolutely nothing else in common or will never meet in real life. You can learn much and connect much to a person who loves the same characters and stories you do, perhaps more than any other hobby or pursuit could do.  So to everyone who shares and loves the same books as me, thank you. You get me, more than many of my closest friends and family do. You make me feel less alone in the world, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.