Finishing a really great book is so rewarding. Maybe not “life-changing,” but definitely moment-changing. While some books are good enough to finish but don’t leave you wanting more, others captivate every aspect of your being. In truly amazing books:
You know the characters:
The protagonist is your spirit animal character. You endure every adversity, feel every emotion, and wonder what’s next for you your character. The protagonist’s friends are your friends. You compare all the moments the protagonist has with its friends to those you have with yours. The antagonist is your enemy. Every encounter irks you and makes you want nothing more than to give him/her a piece of your mind.
When you finish the book:
You sit in the same spot where it held your attention from beginning to end pondering what just happened. Whether there was a resolution or a cliff-hanger, you want more. Moments like these remind you of why books are so magical. From the very first line you read, you’re transported into a world that seems real from cover to cover but that sadly reverts back to its true fictional state upon its completion. Although the book as a whole wasn’t real, its essence and what it leaves you with is. Maybe it taught you that life is much simpler than it is made out to be. Maybe it helped you realize that happiness isn’t so far out of reach, that sometimes all it takes is a good book to cure the funk you’ve been in.
I use the phrase “moment-changing” to describe the best books because if I were to say “life-changing,” it would be an unnecessary (and extremely cliché) exaggeration that robs them of the honor they deserve. You see, the just-finished-a-really-great-book-high that every reader experiences has an expiration date. And although it may have you questioning the way you live your life and looking for ways to enhance it, this euphoric, epiphanic moment rarely lasts. However, you never forget the way a book made you feel. If its title comes up in conversation, your initial reaction is “that was such an amazing book, let’s talk about it.” The term “moment-changing” is not a modest title for a book. It is just as capable of being moment-changing as it is of being life-changing. For every moment we spend fawning over a book that left us pondering life, we become that much more in tune with the world and its complexities. That’s what is so amazing about books. They leave you with emotions you never knew existed and thoughts you never knew you could have.
A book-lover’s worst nightmare is seeing a preview for a movie based on a moment-changing book he/she has read. This is hell in digital form for several reasons:
- The publicity of one of your beloved books: You’ve been a fan of this book for ages and one short preview with a hunk of an actor comes along and captures the attention of thousands of non-book lovers who act as if their life depends on the movie’s release. You just want to destroy everybody’s televisions and scream a bunch of expletives at the director who thought that he could recreate the book.
- The known fact that a movie cannot even remotely encompass the magic of a book: The idea that the complex characters, events, emotions, and magic that has transcended Hogwarts of a 300+ page book can be crammed into a less than three hour film is not only insulting to the miraculously talented author, but also to the book’s dedicated fans. Regardless of how much money is spent on the film and how great the plot is executed, the movie will never make as much of an impact as the book because it lacks the effect of looking at each word that makes its essence whole. It lacks the wishing it didn’t take so long to turn a page because you don’t want to waste any time when there’s so much more to read. It lacks the tiny details and descriptions that aren’t so tiny at all, the tiny descriptions that each contribute to the book’s core.
There is nothing I can do about the books I’ve read that became victims of digitized publicity and fake fans. Movies cannot be unmade and non-book lover fans of the movie cannot be de-stupidized. But as for the books that have been lucky to escape without a director looking to make money off of their magic, Hollywood, don’t even think about it.
