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What Everyone Else is Reading

I saw How to Walk Away recommended in one of the many emails I receive about books. I checked the library app for the book, and it was not available, so I put myself on the waiting list. It is usually a good sign when everyone else wants to read a book. There were several people ahead of me on the list, so I had high hopes. A lot of what I read is science fiction or classics, so I might not have heard about this book if it wasn’t for that email. If I was strolling through a book store or library, it’s doubtful that I would have grabbed this book. I needed that nudge of a suggestion from a fellow reader.

I try to challenge myself to read outside my comfort zone. I talked about that in this post. Since I’m not using any official reading challenge this year, I decided that I would choose this book based solely on the fact that other people enjoyed it. Sometimes it’s good to read what everyone else is reading. In one of my literature classes I argued in favor of the “Literary Canon.” While I definitely think we should continue to expand what is considered a canonical text, I think there is immeasurable value in a group of people having read the same books. Hello! Isn’t this why we love book clubs? What if our entire culture was like one big book club? What if we read the same text and then amicably discussed our differing points of view? Could we all learn something and walk away with greater collective wisdom?

Is that canon?

Am I suggesting that How to Walk Away become part of the “Literature with a Capital L” canon? Not necessarily, but I do think there is plenty of room to add some enjoyable books to our TBRs. While I am a steadfast, card-carrying member of the “Everyone Needs to Read Shakespeare” club, as evidenced here and here, I do not believe that literature needs to make you miserable to be officially “good.” And I think you can do some literary analysis of the text on a cereal box. (Don’t forget the images are part of the text!)

However, I think it is important for us to have certain literary references in common. Here is a blog with some examples of literary references that people make without realizing it. Reading this broke my heart a little, but there are tons more. And the “without realizing it” part is because people haven’t read these books. I’m a die-hard English major, and I’ve only read 7 of the 11 books mentioned.

I just caught one a few days ago. How many times have I heard The Police sing Don’t Stand so Close to Me and never given a second thought to “that book by Nabokov.” Literary references are literally everywhere!

How to Walk Away

As I mentioned, I had to put How to Walk Away on hold. The library gave it to me a couple of weeks before I was scheduled for vacation. I haven’t flown much, so I am still a bit nervous about it, so here I am reading a book about (spoiler alert) a girl who gets paralyzed in a plane crash. I don’t think that’s a major spoiler. If you read the back of the book, you are going to understand what you are getting yourself into. Maybe I don’t want to get myself into that shortly before taking a plane halfway across the country… but the library app says I only have 2 weeks with the book before I would have to go back to the end of the hold list.

So I dove in. And I couldn’t put it down. Aside from the epic plane crash that happens in the first pages, this is not an action packed book. Most of it takes place in a hospital. But there is plenty of drama and just the right amount of humor. And it pulls at every last one of your heart strings.

I have seen reviews saying it was predictable. Maybe a lot of it was, but there were a few surprises. And there’s a certain amount of comfort in feeling like you have it figured out, isn’t there? There are points in this book where you need some comfort. You need to have the assurance that Margaret is going to come out the other side of this thing in a better place. I know I especially needed that. Aside from preparing for my own plane ride, I was also in some dark days due to my Seasonal Affective Disorder, which hits me hardest in the summer. (I also mention that here.) So I had to be vigilant not to let the darkest parts of this book get inside my head.

Awareness can be half the battle, so “know thyself.” Perhaps you will not be at the mercy of the library app deciding when you get to read this book. I love that library app though, and maybe it sent me How to Walk Away when it did as a reminder that my darkest days are literally a cake walk compared to what some people go through.

I do think this is a good representation of a story about someone who suffers a life-altering tragedy. It’s not a factual account of anyone’s life, but Katherine Center did a lot of research and talked to people who have been through this. I respect that. She’s not just using Margaret’s accident as a vehicle for drama and romance. I mean, I guess she sort of is, but it’s more than that.

I like Margaret. She is very relatable. I like her family. I enjoyed the book. I think there are themes in this book that an English major could write a paper on, if needed. I think all books are worth taking a closer look at, but I also think it’s okay to just read a book because you enjoy it and not write a paper on it. Just kidding! Obviously I feel a need to write some sort of analysis of every book I read, therefore, this blog. But that doesn’t mean that every book I read needs to be a classic.

Do you have a favorite non-classic that everyone should read? Or do you identify as a bit more of a literary snob? No judgement here either way!

And how do you feel about the Literary Canon? Are there certain books everyone should read?