When I Read A Really Good Book — From Michelle Abraka
Dear nwa Chukwu,
Something happens to me whenever I read a good book. I call it Book Magic.
When I read a really good book, I find that I start to hear the writer's words in my head over and again. It's like I can hear them speaking to me. I get immersed in their words. I absorb the writer and start to talk or write like them, using their fave expressions and all.
When I read a really good book, I look forward to it no matter the short time I spend away from it. And I spend this short time ruminating on what I've read. I turn it over and over in my head. I practise what I've read.
When I read a really good book, I forget that I have a phone. It happened with "Americanah." I hardly used my phone till I was done reading it. If I’m reading the book on my phone, I forget all the other apps, except for Dictionary and Notepad.
When I read a really good book, I start to have an influx of writing ideas. But then I usually am not able to use them all, because the mind forgets, and because writing is hard work.
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When I read a really good book, it permeates my being. Every word and sentence and paragraph I read does one of these two things: it makes my heart yearn for something way beyond my reach, or it makes me feel at peace with myself.
When I read a really good book, I let the writer give me a life, and I choose to live it. I've been a fourteen-year-old girl with an abusive father. I've been a thirty-year-old seeking The One. I've been an eccentric boy who loves art and loves to visit the museum.
I've been a JJC in New York trying to find her feet. I've been in a secondary school hostel finding out what it means to live with people who are not family.
I've lived lives that are not my own, that would never belong to me. I've seen and had conversations with people I would never see or have conversations with in real life.
It’s what happens whenever I read a really good book.
Praise From Isaac Ajụ
Abraka’s writing is like music. I sang it. I danced it. Over and over again. This is super beautiful!
