Trust

I’ve been giving quite a lot of thought lately to book recommendations. Obviously, in my profession, I make dozens of them a day, not just to the public, but to my staff, friends, family, and it goes without saying, anyone who reads this. There is nothing more satisfying than when people let you into their lives enough to accept your reading advice. Actually, that’s not quite true; even more gratifying is when they come back for more because they very much enjoyed what you suggested the first time.

The bulk of what any of us reads comes largely from word of mouth. Most people are inspired to obtain books because of a trusted authority, even if it’s a literary critic, or, say, Oprah. Trust is actually the key factor driving what one reads next. You trust your friend’s recommendations because she’s like you and knows you; you trust your librarian because she knows books.

Literary tastes vary as much as readers themselves. I’m sure everyone at some point has been given a book by someone close to them because it “changed his/her life”, only to discover that it didn’t hold the same magic for them. The dread of talking to that person creeps up because they will inevitably ask how you liked it, and you feel uncomfortable telling them the truth. In such cases, I’d say be honest but positive, or better yet, start a dialogue. “I found the book had an interesting premise, but the writing wasn’t my style. What captivated you the most?” The habit of talking about books is enriching, even if such a discussion is an agreement to disagree.

Two of the titles I read this week were recommendations from the Dewey Divas. Last fall, members of this group presented their personal favorites of the season to an audience of, in our case, librarians. Despite the caveat that they work for publishers, I found them both entertaining and trustworthy enough to take advice from. I couldn’t imagine being in the business of books without being an avid reader. Enthusiastic readers, more than anything else, make the best readers’ advisors.

Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell was my public transit book of the week. The author set herself on a year-long mission to cook every single recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, the progress of which she reported on her Julie/Julia blog. This book does not really contain the posts themselves, but instead reveals not only what she went through, but how the Project impacted her life. The author is very likeable and down-to-earth, but more than anything else, sassy. I liked the ‘Julia in her head’ she comes to know well and understand; the fact that she is imperfect in her execution and is fine with that; and that she loves Buffy. Everyone should love Buffy.

A much more serious but excellent title (one I started reading a few weeks ago), was Karen Connelly’s The Lizard Cage. Most of this novel takes place in a Burmese jail, where a political prisoner named Teza is kept locked up. Known as the ‘Songbird’ because of his previous life as a singer, he learns to interact not just with the warders and servers, but with the small beasts in his ‘teak coffin’: the spiders, ants, cockroaches and lizards. Despite sometimes cruel treatment, he manages to retain his humanity through little pleasures and subtle bonds with a sympathetic jailer and later on, a young orphan. I didn’t feel despair after reading this novel, even if the subject matter was somewhat unpleasant. Connelly did a lot of research before writing, which I appreciated, and I very much liked the characters.

You may or may not take out or buy the books I recommend. It is quite possible that my taste in books is not your own. If that’s the case, don’t worry, I’m not insulted. Every book has its reader and every reader, his or her book. I write with the hope of at least introducing you to titles and enabling your reading lives. If I end up as one of your trusted sources, then I am honoured.

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[Pastor G.S Thomas Jr]

DEAR ALL
WE THE FEED MY PEOPLE MINISTRY WORKING AMOUNG THE ORPHAN CHILDREN AND WIDOWS AND AGES
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOUR TRUST PLEASE GIVE SOME PROJECTES TO US
THOMAS JR