‘Real’ books can roam

I love my ‘real’, paper and print, hard copy books. But for Christmas, I received a brand new Sony tablet—and now I have of course discovered the many pluses of e-books. I can download them easily. They are cheaper. My Tablet is quite easy to carry anywhere in my handbag. And, for those of us trying to cut down the number of books on our shelves, those e-books are a boon.

There are several reasons I still enjoy my ‘real’ books, however. For me, there is something pleasurable and comforting about holding them—no doubt a result of those many hours spent curled up reading as a child. Also, unlike my tablet, they don’t need recharging! Besides, I often lend out my books—and, while I understand Amazon has a couple of different e-book lending options now, not everyone has an e-reading device/app. Also, one option has a lending period of only fourteen days, which would not be long enough for some of my friends. Anyway, it is much easier for me just to reach over to my bookshelf and grab that ‘real’ book for them.

I love to hear how my own books have roamed in this way. Recently, a friend from times past sent me such an encouraging message about my latest book, Becoming Me. I have not seen her for many years, although I was aware that another mutual friend always sends her a copy of any new book of mine, usually as a birthday or Christmas gift. Then, out of the blue, she contacted me via Facebook.

‘Hi Jo-Anne,’ she began. ‘Thank you for your new book. I couldn't put it down—loved it. I read portions of it to my fourteen-year-old granddaughter who needed your testimony at that time.’

Wow! It blew my mind to think of my friend reading some part of Becoming Me out to her granddaughter. But then she went on to explain that she has now lent the book to her daughter-in-law, the mother of this particular granddaughter, to read. After that, she told me, she plans to pass it onto a good friend. What a journey that little book of mine has had and will have in the future! How many more hands will it pass through in the next little while? Probably quite a few, knowing my old friend! Where will it roam next? Where will it end up?

I remember too a time when someone found my first novel Heléna in a second hand bookstore and bought it. This led her to read other novels of mine and also my first memoir Soul Friend. She then lent her copy of Soul Friend to a colleague going through a difficult time—and God used it in a special way to encourage this person to move forward in her life. Now I have no idea if the person who originally donated my novel Heléna to that Vinnies store even read it before doing so, but I’m so glad that book of mine kept roaming—until it found the right reader who, as it turned out, would then enable other books of mine to roam even further.

How about you? Do you too have an encouraging ‘book roaming’ story to share with us—or perhaps an opinion on ‘real books’ versus e-books? Please go ahead!

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and two non-fiction works, ‘Soul Friend’ and ‘Becoming Me’. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.

To know or not to know?

I remember writing in a different blog a few years ago how much I would like to attach a tracking device to my published books. It fascinated me how they would manage to skip across the world somewhere or find their way into a library in some distant part of Australia or get into someone’s hands in a really roundabout way. Yet here we are in 2015—and my tracking device has still not materialised!

I was reminded of this desire again recently when I heard another interesting story about one of my books. At the risk of boring any who read about this last week on my own blog, I will give the ‘potted version’ here.

Recently, a lady came to my home to buy twenty-five copies of my first novel Heléna, published back in 2007. She had found her own copy in a Vinnies store and now wanted to review it at her church’s women’s retreat and have some available on their bookstall!  Also, I discovered she had read several of my other books, including my memoir Soul Friend, which she subsequently lent to a friend who was in a stuck place in her life. As a result, God gave this friend the strength to make some wise decisions and move forward.

How amazing that all this happened because someone found my book in a Vinnies store! Here is an instance where I would have loved that mythical tracker device to show me where that copy of Heléna had got to and how its new owner had gone on to buy more of my books. Then again ... would I really want to know when a book is put aside or thrown out, perhaps without ever having been read?

We may never discover where our books get to or who will be impacted by the words we write. Once we put them out there for all to see, we are no longer in control of the end result. Our task, it seems to me, is to write the things God has put on our hearts and gifted us to write—then let them go. I love author Joyce Kornblatt’s comments on this:

May you all find the true heart of your work and send it out into the world, which might mean to one other person or a wider audience. Doesn't matter. Once you have released it, it is like a bird that will find its own way, branch to branch, tree to tree, land to land. You won't necessarily know how it has travelled, who has been reached and touched, but you have done your part: creating the work and releasing it.  Bearing witness to the life you have lived, and sharing something of what you have understood. Such a good gift to offer.

Yet, just sometimes at least, it is wonderful to hear where those books have ended up, don’t you think? It’s not just a matter of receiving those ‘warm fuzzies’ either. To me, it is God giving us a little glimpse of the difference our words can make in someone’s life and a gentle little ‘well done’ that fills our hearts with a deep and satisfying joy and makes all our efforts worthwhile.

Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three grown-up children and four grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com.