By Jessica Watts and Hugh Kruzel
Ed. Note: Sudbury.com loves books and loves reading (appropriately enough). In this new column series, we’ve partnered with Jessica Watts of the Greater Sudbury Public Library and freelance writer Hugh Kruzel to explore particular books and the local people who have been influenced by them.
What books have influenced you? What one book would you take off the shelf and read again? What one book would you buy to give to a friend or cubicle buddy? Why?
In this upcoming series of articles, these are the questions Jessica Watts and I explore.
That “must share” experience means bestsellers often define a year, a decade or even a generation. Think of the 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye. It has sold more than 65 million copies, and continues to do a million or more annually.
Perhaps, it is to be expected that we are interested in the topic. We are hoping you are too.
Naturally, Jessica and I have our own lists.
“A recent book that has influenced my working life is Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” Jessica says. “This book helped me gain new perspective about the differences between how men and women approach their work and provided me with some insight into how to stay mindful of things like health and well-being while also doing well in the workplace.”
Jessica makes the point that this is a “recent” book. You, too, might find the one you read last week or last month is the “one” you would recommend. I’d turn back the clock a bit to 1973, when I came across The Day of the Triffids by English science-fiction author John Wyndham. It has of late become more of a cautionary tale of Frankenfoods and science gone awry; then it was just a book about ambulatory monster plants that terrorize the globe. Of course, I was just a teen.
Jessica works at the Greater Sudbury Public Library and wants to understand what is of interest to readers. Almost a year ago, I started a little project call “NORCAT Reads” that was designed to highlight what NORCAT mentors, residents and staff think are the best books on entrepreneurship, leadership, and technology. The larger effort was to provide a curated list of key signposts for those who follow in the footsteps to today’s thought leaders.
Sometimes the stories — and concepts in them — can revolutionize history. They can inspire us to action or shape change. On a personal level, we look to books for answers, guidance, solace and so much more. We all know print is powerful. We hope to be uplifted, on occasion entertained, and most often, enriched.
Jessica and I are going to ask a variety of people from across the community to share the book journeys they have taken. Maybe someone will talk about J.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings series) or Alvin Toffler (Future Shock).
We acknowledge the importance of authors and ideas in their lives and the phases each of us pass through. Of course, the novels of our youth may be the ones with the greatest traction.
We are going to develop lists of books based on themes; lists that reflect the person or people we talk with. If words are thoughts, and paragraphs expand and clarify, what a whole book can do is shake your soul.
There are books full of text, photojournalist essays of images, or even pop-up books that amaze and delight people of all ages. The public library is home to all these and more.
Look to the next issue of Off The Shelf where we begin to share book recommendations by people from across Sudbury.
Hugh Kruzel is a freelance writer in Greater Sudbury. Jessica Watts is the co-ordinator of outreach, programs and partnerships with Greater Sudbury Public Library.
