Finding You In A Book

You. A small three letter word that can contain a whole world within itself. It can be a quest, an identity, a definition, or even a physical manifestation. Trying to find a meaning for it, people go about it in different ways.

This simple pronoun in the English language has a deep philosophical girding. It is an ontological question an individual ponders at least once in their lifetime. Though existential is nature, the meaning of you changes with context and relation. These varied strands combine together to form a complex entity that is shaped by experience, preference, emotion, position, ideas, capability, health, wisdom, and other factors. They coalesce together to form an interactive physiological representation.

The physiological representation – a spatial model of ‘you’, places an individual as a visible, tangible object. Nature, nurture, and environment add information creating a differentiation for every individual. Stored in our conscious, it requires a person to recognize and associate with this information to discover themselves. Recognizing and associating with the information creates an awareness about us within ourselves.

To truly discover the various different facets that exist within us, people require a channel to connect with this information. There are multiple mediums – books, cinema, travel, food, sports and other avenues to discover ourselves. Individuals establish a connect with characters, stories, athletes, dishes for it calls out to them. They find a representation of themselves. And that is the starting point for this post.

On a personal note, though my theme for 2025 is about finding myself, it is not the inspiration for the post. A dialogue from a non fiction book got me thinking and planted the seed in my head to follow this stream of thought.

In its own ironic manner, the idea bloomed as I was reading a non fiction book describing how fiction helped them discover a part of themselves. The escapism offered by various worlds that exist within the wondrous pages of books was the vehicle for this individual for a part of themself.

The latest James Patterson book, co-authored with Matt Eversmann – The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians – is the inspiration for this post. Aptly in sync with the themes of the book, I picked this book from a reputed, independent bookstore Blossom in Benagluru. Scouring through the wide, eclectic range on offer, this particular book caught my attention.

At first glance, two things stood out. It was a James Patterson book and it was not another among the milieu of popular Patterson crime thrillers. And the book does not disappoint. It beautifully captures the tale of book stores and libraries and the important role they play in a community.

Each tale of these unsung book sellers and librarians is keeping the tradition of reading books alive and passing it to the next generation. It was the tale of Lorrie Roussin, a librarian at Luna Middle School in San Antonio, Texas and her experience that found resonance. It was not about her taste in books or her journey of keeping pace with growing mediums to read books. It was about her philosophy about books and kids.

Her philosophy boils down to the following sentences. Students need to be able to see themselves in books, but also be exposed to and experience somebody else’s life through books. Books are supposed to trigger conversations. She helps her students trigger these conversations at home, at school or with friends. The testament to it is the book review of a student for a book she suggested. The student rushing in to the library exclaimed, “Ms. Roussin, this is the first book that had me in it.” For Lorrie Roussin, it is the feeling of helping kids to make the connection. For the kid, it is the discovery of a part of the ontological you.

While I did not have a librarian or a book seller to guide me, the Landmark bookstore in Hyderabad shaped and cultivated my reading habits. Its warm and calming ambiance transformed it into a cozy, inviting space. The bookstore played a crucial role in my graduation to novels from comic books. It validated my areas of interest and satiated my appetite for knowledge and information.

In this process, I had an experience similar to Ms. Roussin’s student. I found myself in a book. In the early 2010s, the Shiva Trilogy by Amish was quite a literary hit. The book trilogy caught my fascination as well. Well written, the trilogy takes you on a tour of mythology, history, philosophy as you engage in a racy mystery thriller.

Of the three books in the Shiva Trilogy, it is second book – The Secret of the Nagas is close to my heart. As I turned the pages of the book, I was finding myself. I vividly remember going back to the idea of having a career that is an intersection of history, current affairs and English. These books by Amish fit the mold.

The book gave a sense of direction. Having grown up hearing and reading the tales of Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the tales had a sense of exaggeration. The fleeting doubts of scepticism raised a few questions. This interpretation of the Shiva Purana and tales of the avatars of Vishnu and Shiva provided a refined, rationale framework palatable to the current day reader. It spurred my interest in diving deeper into the topics and understand the original theories, meanings, and frameworks.

However, for a lost kid looking for meaning and direction, it found great resonance. In hindsight, beginning my journey into novels with the Shiva Trilogy coupled with some knowledge and inspiration from my friend Phalguni helped decided the road I wanted to walk on. I found a part of me in the Secret of the Nagas.

And the best part of the book in my opinion, is the framework to define and describe societies. The duality of masculine and feminine societies presented in the book has the potential to offer a realistic insight into current day international relations. It can be the foundation for a thesis, not unlike Samuel Huntington’s – Clash of Civilizations. I would recommend people to pick up the book and whet their appetite for a racy mythological thriller.