Books Are Magic

By Kaylee Reinbold

Books are magic. 

Books bring people together. 

The stories that we read, the characters we fall in love with, the thoughts we desire to share.

They turn a stranger into someone you understand.

When you spot someone reading on the bus, and you recognize the corner of the cover they have folded, and the spark in your chest causes you to lean over without thinking and start a conversation.  

When I ask my eye doctor what books she likes to read, and suddenly I know what words she’s going to be consuming on her lunch break. I know she might pick up the one I recommended by the same author.

At work, the hundreds of conversations I’ve had while people bring me their piles of books to purchase.

The excitement they exude when I commend their choices, or when I ask them if they’re enjoying the series they’re reading.

Books turn the shyest teenager into a confident, unwavering public speaker.

They lead to an older couple, regulars who I have seen multiple times, giving me a stack of books from their home because I mentioned I wanted to look into that author.

They lead to Instagram sharing and Goodreads swapping.

They lead to a twenty-minute conversation while I’m balancing a stack of books that I should probably be shelving, but instead I chose to talk with a stranger.

Not only are books filled with stories that engage and inspire us, but they connect us in a way that disregards the conventional behavior we are usually forced into. 

Books create a community where people feel comfortable sharing a coffee with someone they met only ten minutes ago.

A community that leads to a customer giving me a book that she has decorated herself, or someone leaving me a bookmark they made.

Books bring people together.

Books are magic.