From: Cathy Sullivan Seblonka <cathys>
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 10:12:41 -0500 (EST)

I will take up Ruth's challenge regarding the mention of love when discussing books and respond to her comments.

There is a place for the intellectual or scholarly study and analysis of books. There is a place for understanding the mechanics of why a particular book is a great book. School is one such place. Review journals are also places for this. (Perhaps even departmental cocktail parties.)

But this is only one aspect of discussing books. Alone, it is not enough. Part of what books do is to explore what it is to be human. One of the reasons we read books is to feel and to understand our emotions.

When I am booktalking-on-the-fly to a young person or to his or her caregiver, I will not suggest they read a particular book because the diction is consistent throughout the book or because the setting is well developed. I may tell them about the plot, the setting or the characters. I may connect something in the book to something I know about that patron. I may tell them that other children (students) really like the book. I may mention that it is a well loved book. And mention why.

I participate in several book discussion groups--the teen group at the library, a woman's book discussion group other than at the library and the library's adult book discussion group (adult vs. teen--not "adult" books). I've never heard anyone mention diction. We do discuss setting--it's so much a part of a novel like SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS which we all loved, in part because the setting was so dense and because it reminded us of our setting (especially the snow storm) even though rather than strawberries, we grow rutabagas and parsnips. Anyway, we talk of how much we loved/hated, liked/disliked a book, its characters, its setting, etc. and why. Contrary discussion is welcome and interesting. We learn much of each other's lives (and thus our own) through how the other participants respond to a book, through their discussion of how it has affected them, and what it has reminded them of (their experiences during WW2, for example). Most fascinating when it's eldely Lutheran women discussing feminist works!

People love libraries. Some appreciate the building--the architecture, the structure (the staff--my husband (the patron) and I met at the library). But I think more people respond at an emotional level to
"their" library. It's bigger than structure, setting, number of volumes. It's a whole experience and it involves love. We are in the process of fundraising for the renovation and expansion of our library building. People in the community are donating millions of dollars for this project. They would not respond so generously if they valued the library for aesthstics alone. This library is a vital aspect of their lives. This is something they recognize and wish to contribute toward.

To censor emotions when we discuss books negates a large part of the reason we read. Censoring emotions is as bad as discussion books using only emotional terms. There is a place for both responses to books. I hope that in this particular book discussion list serve I may continue to express not only what I appreciate about a particular book in aesthetic terms, but also my visceral response to a particular book.

P.S. My puppy's name is Max.

Cathy Sullivan Seblonka Youth Services Coordinator Peter White Public Library 217 N. Front St. Marquette, MI 49855
(906) 228?10 fax (906) 228s15 e-mail: cathys at uproc.lib.mi.us
Received on Thu 11 Dec 1997 09:12:41 AM CST