The Enduring Power of Books

List made in class of books I and students thought had an impact on our lives. I think all date from when we were young--I read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" when I was maybe 12 or so.

This week in my Understanding Media class at Mount Mercy University, we’re discussing the enduring influence of books.

The class will look at the cultural impact of different mass media, and we start with oldest fixed medium. It’s arguably not the oldest of all media—cave paintings certainly have a few years on tomes, and what became written literature open existed as epic oral tales or poems. But books are an ancient medium, and one that is at the root of culture.

Empty shelves in Busse Library. Books are being moved around.

Many of our stories in other media are derived from novels or nonfiction books, and even comic books.

I argue to students that the reality is every communication career involves serious, professional writing—and all writers first have to be readers. Of course, you don’t have to regularly consume books to be a “reader,” but I think it makes a huge difference. A student who voluntarily wades through the longer form narrative that a book represents has to exert themselves in logical, linear thought. They stretch their minds, acquire more words and learn so see the world through the mind of another human.

Other media offers some of those experiences. A video series or movie can be a transformative narrative—but books articulate longer, more nuanced narratives and thought. They, books, exercise more of the imagination of the reader.

I've touched on books before on this blog--writing a post about books that meant something special  to me as I was growing up, and one a bit later on the death of Harper Lee. On my more general blog, in 2018, I wrote posts about books by John Green and Hank Green.

And here are more recent highlights of Joe’s bookish life—some of my reactions to books I’ve recently consumed:

“Dead Wake” by Erik Larson. I’m already a big Larson fan, his “Devil in the White City” may be about my favorite nonfiction book, and this book, which tells some of the stories behind the people who traveled on the Lusitania during its doomed final voyage, does not disappoint. Besides the passengers and crew of that ocean liner, the book also follows the crew of the German U-Boat whose single torpedo strike doomed so many to a watery death. I’m a sucker for well-told history, and Larson is one of our best story tellers. His world is the real one compellingly recreated—there are not many heroes or villains here, just people caught in the great web of history and chance.

“The Reckoning” by John Grisham. I’ve read a lot of Grisham books—and do recommend them—but to be honest, they sometimes leave me with mixed feelings. The sucker punch at the end of this book left me feeling a bit down, and I found, as I often do in Grisham novels, that I don’t seem to feel enough empathy for these characters. Still, it’s an interesting story that moves a bit slowly at first, but it does maneuver its characters into a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s not my favorite of the recent books I’ve read, but still one I recommend.

“The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure” by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. I am halfway through this book, and both interested and put off by it, in almost equal measure. It’s a provocative book, and while it makes many valid points, it also oversells some poor ideas. The authors insist, for example, that the “intention” of the senders is a key point when some verbal attack on a protected group is alleged—but, no. On the other hand, whether an expression is offensive is supposed to be given a “reasonable person” test, not a “sensitive person” test, and here is where many of the examples the authors cite go astray. I’m halfway through this book, and interested to read what the second half brings. I feel compelled to keep going despite qualms about these authors’ ideas—partly because I think reading an interesting nonfiction book that you disagree with is a healthy mental exercise. I think I would agree with the authors on one of their key ideas—a university should be a place where diverse ideas can be aired, and diversity of ideas is not always encouraged on American campuses. It remains to be seen what I’m thinking of this book after the second half.

As is often the case during a semester, my “to read” cue is a bit stacked up right now. Here are books I have on hand and plan to read—the "Toxin" one is another faculty reading selection, so it’s not a book I personally chose, but the others are. And the Storm Lake text was a Valentine’s Day gift from my sweetie, so it’s extra special. My current reading cue: