Power in these Pages€¦ · Books Lead to Love (Or the possibility of it) Alternate title: A Reader’s Fantasy (That Actually Happened!!!) GASLIGHT COFFEE SHOP – DAY MEREDITH

Meredith Novak Jennifer Buehler ENGL 4920 29 March 2016

Power in these Pages

Half Price Books:

● My natural habitat ● The best place to prepare for a lazy Sunday ● An excellent refuge from the rain ● Where I spend all my money

Welcome to my Mind: (Food for thought)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a picture of a bookstore worth?

Books bind us together. Pun intended.

Bedtime Stories and Nursery Rhymes Or, how I learned to procrastinate

I’ll love you forever I’ll love you forever,

Are you sleeping yet? I didn’t see the pictures! I’ll like you for always, I’ll like you for always, Read fast, pause for pictures Mommy you’re going too fast! As long as I’m living, As long as I’m living, Thank god, your eyes are closed I’m not sleepy! my baby you’ll be. my baby you’ll be. Go to bed already! Again! Again!

Some words on books from someone famous for writing them: “Read anything you want. Just read. Books are possibilities. They are escape routes. They give you options when you have none. Each one can be a home for an uprooted mind.”

– Matt Haig

The powers held within the pages of a book are absolutely astounding. Books have the power to transport us to entirely different places, different times, different mindsets, all while our noses are buried between the pages. Books can move us, shake us. They can tap into areas of our minds we didn’t know existed, can cause us to feel emotions we didn’t know we were capable of feeling.

Some words on books from someone famous for writing them:

“I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.” – J.K. Rowling

Books Lead to Love (Or the possibility of it)

Alternate title: A Reader’s Fantasy (That Actually Happened!!!)

GASLIGHT COFFEE SHOP – DAY MEREDITH sits at a table, reading In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. She looks up, reaching for her latte on the table in front of her. BELL JINGLES. THE DOOR OPENS. MEREDITH spots a MAN walking into the coffee shop.

MEREDITH (V.O.) Hello there, handsome.

MAN looks around after ordering, only to realize there are no open tables. He grabs a folding chair that was leaning against the wall next to the counter.

MEREDITH (V.O.) Holy crap, he’s gonna sit next to me. Be cool, Mere. Be cool. Quick!

Read your book! Act like you weren’t staring!! MAN places seat at the side of the table, on MEREDITH’s left. He places his iced black coffee on the table and pauses. He takes his Macbook out of his backpack. MEREDITH looks up from reading and reaches for her latte.

MAN That’s a really good book.

MEREDITH (V.O.)

Holy. Shit. Is he talking to me? He’s talking to me! Say something, dude!

MEREDITH Really? This is like the third time I’m trying to read it. I just can’t get

into it.

MAN Yeah, I could see that. It’s kind of slow at the beginning. I read Isaac’s

Storm before and I really like Larson, so I powered through it.

MEREDITH I haven’t read that one, actually. I read Devil in the White City like

four years ago and loved it so I bought this right after I finished that one. It’s been collecting dust on my shelf ever since.

MAN

I haven’t read Devil in the White City. Being from Chicago, I probably should. He chuckles.

MEREDITH

You have to! It’s honestly one of the best books I’ve ever read.

MAN I’ll have to check it out.

MEREDITH

It’s definitely worth the read.

MAN Well, enjoy.

MAN gets up, walks to the counter, and asks baristas for the internet password.

MEREDITH (V.O.) (excitedly)

That spark! Magic! Did he feel it too? Did I just fall in love? I think I just fell in love. Oh my god. Should I talk to him? I don’t want to

bother him. What do I do?

MAN returns to his seat, closes his laptop and pulls an unknown book out of his backpack.

MEREDITH (V.O.) He’s reading now, too. Is this fate? I wonder what he’s reading. He

keeps smiling at his phone. Is he texting a girl? Does he have a girlfriend? I want to talk about books more. Talk to me, dude!

MEREDITH sips latte, turns page. Looks around the coffee shop. MAN turns page, looks up at her. She checks her phone. The screen reads “10: 51.”

MEREDITH (V.O)

Last chance, Mere. The meter is out. Write your damn number down and slip it to him; you can do it! Be bold for once, dang it! Remember how you slipped bartenders your number in London? Do that now!!

She picks up her latte and chugs what is left in the mug. She gathers her things, places the mug on the counter, and hurriedly exits the coffee shop.

MEREDITH The one time I don’t have a freaking pen...

FADE OUT

Welcome to my Mind: (Food for thought)

If I were a book, what would my cover art be?

Frustrated? Fix It. (Or, how to fit in)

(Or, “I’m so happy you became a reader “ – my mom)

“Groups of three are hard.” “One person always feels left out.” “Just be careful, don’t

forget that there’s someone else to include.” Wait, but isn’t three a magic number? Aren’t good things supposed to come in threes? The three Kings, three little pigs, three blind mice, three musketeers (the candy and the novel). But not friends. Friends don’t come in threes; they can’t come in threes. Someone always gets left out. Two people are always closer and the third person is just, well, there, left to fight their way into the friendship. I’m not typically a fighter, but in this case, during my freshman year of high school, I fought. I fought my way into a friendship group that was already four years strong, a friendship between Johanna (who also happens to be my cousin) and Dakota. Before going to the same high school, Johanna and I hated each other –the full nine yards. Brief hellos at family parties, no closing remarks when we left. We occupied different rooms and ate at different ends of the kids’ table. Somehow, we became extremely fast friends and I was challenged with being number three. Friday nights were spent at Dakota’s house – Chinese food and sleepovers every weekend, listening to conversations that sounded like gibberish to me. Who the heck is A? Why are they fighting about Toby? Who’s Maya??? After countless efforts to change the topic, to combat the feeling of being left out, I had to make a choice: give up on being the third member of this best-friendship, or read the damn Pretty Little Liars series. In my eyes, these books were the enemy. If I was going to fight my way into this friendship, these eight books were going to be my first opponent. These two have been giving me book recommendations ever since.

Some words on books from someone famous for writing them: “Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months

after you’ve finished just to stay near it.” – Markus Zusak

Free To Good Home Stories (Or, trade and treasure)

Young or old Big or small Stories live

Within us all

The stories we tell And the stories we hear

Should always be treasured Experience should not be feared

Death by Book (Almost)

January 8, 2015 – 5:31 pm Need a new book to read. Need to distract myself. Anxiety, go away. Soon. London is soon.

January 8, 2015 – 5:37 pm Read article about new young adult novels. Find All the Bright Places. Check availability in Chicago Public Libraries.

January 8, 2015 – 5:41 pm Shoes on. Keys in hand. Twelve minutes to the library with no traffic. Closes at 6 pm. Holy SHIT. There’s a blizzard outside.

January 8, 2015 – 5:52 pm This car sucks. Snow sucks. I can’t drive in this. Get me out of here. Soon. Library is soon.

January 8, 2015 – 5:57 pm Park. Get inside. Run. Don’t slip. I’ve never been to this branch. Where is it? Librarian can’t find it. WHERE IS IT? Check the cart of books that haven’t been shelved yet. Grab it. Check out.

January 8, 2015 – 6:00 pm Drive home. Excited. Anxious. Cold. Still hate driving in snow. January 8, 2015 – 6:21 pm

Home. Run bath. Light espresso scented candle. Happiness. Warmth. Don’t drop the book.

You’re Boring and Your Stories Suck

MEREDITH, CARLA, and MATT are walking back to campus from Left Bank Books in the Central West End. A couple walks by.

CARLA That lady was talking about how good someone looked for 96. Shit, I

don’t care how I look at 96. I just want to get there.

MEREDITH J and I were talking about funerals the other day and she told me she thinks that I’m gonna outlive her. She laughs. Like what? The worst

thing she puts in her body is Diet Coke.

CARLA That’s the thing, though. People who are compulsive drinkers and

smokers live the longest.

MATT Yeah, I’ve heard that.

MEREDITH

They live longer because they have better stories to tell.

MATT (laughing)

Sorry, you don’t get to live as long because your life was boring and your stories suck.

Some words on books from someone famous for writing them: “I believe that reading and writing are the most nourishing forms of meditation anyone has

so far found.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Q: Why do you read?

A: I like being able to go somewhere outside of my own mind. When my world gets to be too much, I can just place myself in someone else’s. A: Well I started reading when I was a kid because when I got in trouble my parents took away TV and so I thought if I read more they'd take away books instead but that didn't work out. Now I read because I love to. A: Most of the time, I read to find that one phrase that ties life and the book together. A: Because I’m not stupid. That’s why. A: I read to give my mind a break from everything else. A: I read because I feel like I can create my own reality. Movies are great, but when you read a book, you can make anything look how you want it to look. It’s all perfectly made in your own mind and your own perception. A: Because the story in a book is better than the stuff I deal with at school. A: To escape. To feel things I’ve never felt before. To live the lives of others so that I understand people more.

When I Read (Alternate title: My Happy Place)

My body is here

Submerged in a bubble bath My mind is elsewhere

Should Have Read the Warning Label (Death by Book: The Sequel)

January 11, 2015 – 7:14 pm Pack. Keep packing. Make a list of things you can’t find. January 11, 2015 – 7:36 pm Eat dinner. Anxiety, go away. Two days. Gone in two days. January 11, 2015 – 8:01 pm

Bubble bath. Need bubble bath. Not driving anywhere. Rummage through hall closet. Shower gel. Google how to make bubble bath. Jackpot.

January 11, 2015 – 8:04 pm Shower gel. Honey. Water. Egg white. Vegetable oil. Plastic water bottle. Shake. Not you, the bottle. Fingers crossed. January 11, 2015 – 8:09 pm Run bath. Add potential bubbles to running water. So many bubbles. Find All the Bright Places. Light candle. Get in. January 11, 2015 – 8:52 pm

Cry. Uncontrollably. Heartstrings being tugged. Mind is triggered. Anxiety, go away. Memories, go away. Soon. London is soon.

January 11, 2015 – 9:24 pm Finish book. Put on floor. Close eyes. Evaluate life. Don’t cry. This is your happy place.

January 11, 2015 – 9:37 pm Grab towel. Tell mom you’re okay. Crying because of a book. She doesn’t need to know. Crying because of a book. Crying because of fear. Crying because of excitement. Crying. Stop crying. Drain tub. STOP CRYING.

Some words on books from someone famous for writing them: “Read a book without thinking about finishing it. Just read it. Enjoy every word, sentence,

and paragraph. Don’t wish for it to end, or for it to never end.” – Matt Haig

The world is a library full of different stories, of different ages,

of different lengths. Stories worth shouting;

some worth keeping secret. A world of walking novels.

Some people will pick us up, judge us by our covers, and decide we’re not for them.

Others will run their fingers across our covers, down our spines.

They’ll flip through our pages, skimming a few words here and there,

just enough to get the gist. Then there are the special readers,

the ones who refuse to put us down; the ones who ceaselessly turn our pages

consuming every word, picking out their favorite passages and

committing them to memory; the type to finish reading and yearn for more;

the type to store us forever on their shelves and in their hearts,

surrounded by their other treasured titles.