Let's Make Books as Contagious as the Flu!

What if books were as contagious as the flu? (Hello, January...) They are, in a way.

During Christmas break I got an email from a student telling me she couldn’t wait to see me and tell me about this book she had just finished reading. Then the first day of school, another student walked into the room waving Dark Matter, which I had recommended, and saying, “Mrs. Essenburg, this was the best book! Do you have that other book you were telling me about?” “The Flicker Men? No, the science teacher still has it, but I’m guessing she finished it over break, so you should ask her for it.” Dark Matter didn’t even make it back onto my library shelf before it was claimed by another student. 

This is one of the many reasons I read—of course because I enjoy it, and because I want to learn things, but also to be part of instigating that circle of book joy, helping students (or colleagues!) discover a good book, or having them come back to me to share a good book they’ve discovered. People who think reading is an anti-social activity have never experienced this kind of reading!

Just before break, another teacher said to me, “Hey, I saw Contact on your classroom library shelf. Have you read it? It is amazing!” At this point I had to admit that actually Contact was one of the very few books on my shelves that I had not read—I’d picked it up on a give-away table somewhere, recognizing the title from recommended reading lists—but that this conversation had just catapulted it to the top of my to-read list. I read it over break, and it was a really intriguing exploration of the relationship of faith and science.

At Christmas, I gave my in-laws a copy of My Beloved World, the autobiography of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina U.S. Supreme Court judge. I thought it was one of the best-written autobiographies I’ve ever read. (Even better than Michele Obama’s Becoming, which I read on the airplane on the way back from the U.S. after Christmas.) Did my in-laws enjoy the gift? Last time we Skyped, my father-in-law was raving about the book, and my mother-in-law chimed in, “Oh, yes, he read me most of it out loud!” (Both books are in my classroom library now if you want to stop by and check them out.)

Coming back from break, I found my book order that included Skyward by Brandon Sanderson had arrived. There is a contingent of teachers at my school who are Brandon Sanderson fans, but this is my first foray into his universe. Skyward is now #2 on my to-read list because first I have to read Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue—the book the student emailed me about during break. Another student had given it to her as a present, and she is loaning it to me. 

Isn’t book love wonderful? Who do you tell about the good books you read? Who tells you about the good books they read? What can we do to create a book epidemic?