On the Staying Power of Books + An Announcement
Why books stay with us in our 24/7 news cycle, the power of third places & a new... newsletter
I recently took on a seasonal part-time job at a local bookstore, and it’s kept me busy enough that I have to find time to eke out this Substack in precious moments before work. Working retail during the holidays is no joke.
Still, working in a bookstore reminds me of the power of “third places” — places that are neither work nor home but an alternate “third” place where you can gather with friends and loved ones for little to no cost. They are, in effect, community hubs. Bookstores, if they are big enough, can serve as those third places since there’s no requirement for you to buy a book to enter, and they often host free community events.
I was chatting with a customer yesterday, and she commented on how nice it was to see the bustling bookstore where people were excitedly chatting with their loved ones over books. The festive mood of the holiday season was in the air.
Do you have a third place you like to frequent? Maybe it’s a bookstore or a library. Maybe it’s a park or a yoga class or a movie theater. Whatever it is, I’d love it if you could take a moment to pause and mentally thank whoever made that third place possible, from the barista at the coffee shop to the person who cleans the mats at your gym.
Did you do it? Okay, good, thank you. I’ll be sharing more about third places in future posts, so if you like them, keep an eye out.
Now, back to books. I’ve been a bookworm ever since I can remember, whether that was curling up in a corner at Barnes & Noble or the public library. But working at a bookstore made me reflect on why books carry a certain staying power that other media don’t (always) have.
I’ve spent much of the past several years learning and working in the trade of journalism. I deeply admire the value the “Fourth Estate” serves in bolstering democracy and fostering a well-read populace.
Yet, as much as I can wax on about this or that news article that blew my mind, I rarely hear people (outside of the insider editorial crowd in NYC) talk about specific news articles months or years after they’ve been published.
Books are different, though. I was assisting another customer the same day at the bookstore. She and her friend were looking for the superb memoir Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I listened to the audiobook on a long, lonely drive from Los Angeles to the Bay Area, and I swear this book kept me awake amidst farting cows and dreary traffic on the I-5. It’s that good.
But it’s also not a new book either. It came out in 2021. And while I read reports in 2023 that Zauner is working on a screenplay adaptation, there haven’t been many updates since. There isn’t (yet) a film or TV adaptation to draw in viewers for Crying in H Mart the same way people are flocking to Gregory Maguire’s Wicked after the blockbuster movie release.
So, it amazes me that this memoir organically gains steam through word of mouth a couple of years from its release date. Similarly, I talked to a man eagerly looking for a copy of Station Eleven — a book that came out in 2014 and whose TV adaptation was released in 2021. (Another brilliant book by talented writer Emily St. John Mandel).
Books have a certain staying power that feels rare in our go-go-go society, where people are bouncing from YouTube videos to Instagram stories to TikTok reels. Perhaps it’s the physical nature of the book that you can hold. Maybe it’s because our society is so fast-paced that I appreciate the slowness of the medium. Books invite, no, urge us to take our time. Savor them.
Such slowness has become rare in our modern world, I fear.
What books have a staying power for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
The Announcement!
P.S. - Some of you may know I’m a bit obsessed with all things nature and environment as an on/off climate reporter. I also love film, TV, and books, and I write scripts and other creative works on the side.
So, I’ve decided to combine my two pet interests into a newsletter called Naturally Entertaining, where I’ll share a once or twice-monthly roundup of the best news stories in nature/climate & entertainment/culture broadly, along with any relevant books/media/TV/games I’m consuming.
If you want a curated newsletter to break through the constant noise of news alerts and dig up the cool environment and media-related stuff you wouldn’t otherwise find on your own, I’m here for you. Subscribe here.
Thanks as always for reading. Until next time…
"amidst farting cows and dreary traffic on the I-5" - I loved this descriptor, it gave me a nice chuckle! (I also haven't read Crying in H Mart but it's on my list of books I want to read.)
I work at a library and see the power of third spaces every day at work. It's also a great place to provide resources for those struggling with housing or finances. And while I'm not a reference librarian there, I'm amazed at how much those librarians help people with all sorts of questions, sometimes involving history of the city here.
While it's only been a couple weeks since I last read it, I have a feeling that Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is going to have quite the staying power for me. Jenn read it before handing it off to me, and I went through it SO FAST.
P.S. Excited for Naturally Entertaining!
I actually just bought a copy of Station Eleven upon recommendation of my friend/local bookstore owner. I didn't realize it's a decade old already! It is pretty remarkable how some books can stick around in the collective consciousness for a while.
Another thought I had when I was reading your newsletter: I've found that media that takes longer to consume tends to stick with me longer. If I spend a week reading a book or a month watching a TV series or playing a video game, I'll probably think about it longer than, say, a 20-second Tik Tok or a two-hour movie.
There were books I read as a kid that I still think about today (Shiloh, the Molly Moon series, the Warriors series, etc). I still have nightmares related to Squid Game season 1, which I watched in 2020. And there's a video game called The Dream Machine that I played over a year ago that I still find myself referencing and reminiscing on from time to time.
So it seems that, at least for me, more investment in a piece of media = longer staying power. More commitment means a larger reward.
Also, looking forward to Naturally Entertaining!!