Opening a Book Opens the World

If you’re a reader, then you know there’s nothing like the delicious feeling of falling into a great book, staying up way past your bedtime to spend more time in a different world with characters and experiences far removed from your own. That’s the magic of books, their ability to transport us, expand our consciousness, help us empathize with others and grow as individuals, all without ever having to leave the comfort of our lounge chairs.
 
Interestingly, what takes us down the reading rabbit hole is subjective. It’s a mysterious thing the way some people get lost in a plot-driven mystery, while others slip into a trance with romance and still others get immersed in historical fiction and on and on.

Any reader can name a book that made them lose all sense of time. It’s always fun to hear what others like, and we went straight to the experts. We asked the Outer Banks booksellers to tell us about a book that had transportive power for them.

Leslie Lanier, Books to Be Red
Fantasy is not a genre I often read, so I was delighted when I picked up a copy of The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. It’s a perfectly magical escapist story that just makes you happy. You’ll leave 2021 behind while you discover the world of Linus, Arthur and the magical children.

Gee Gee Rosell, Buxton Village Books
Even though I live at one of the best beaches in the world (believe me, I’ve looked around!), I still like to read about other beaches and other islands. A book I return to over and over is Carl Safina’s A Year at Lazy Point. A Natural Year in an Unnatural World. Safina, one of my eco-heros, starts out on Lazy Point, Long Island and travels the coasts of the world seeing the state of the world in things as mundane as a jingle shell. I notice things I would have passed over before and know they tell a story I want to read.  

Susan Sawin, Island Bookstore
I am most often transported to another place and time through richly drawn characters. During the quiet of the last year at home, I read There, There by Tommy Orange and revisited Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Both are far removed in experience and time; There, There in the not too distant past in the Native American culture and Station Eleven in a not too distant post-pandemic future. Yet both allow the reader to live the story through the experiences of the narrators.

Jamie Anderson, Duck’s Cottage Books and Downtown Books
Two books that I’ve read recently that made me feel like I had been completely transported in time were Deacon King Kong by James McBride and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. In both books the author so completely replicated and captivated the time, place, situation and setting. In both of these fine examples of historical fiction, I discovered not just a few days of diversion, but also history I didn’t know much about and facts and details completely new to me. I love a novel that drops me down into an entirely different world, and these two did just that.

If you’re looking for a book to sweep you off your feet, these are the people who can help you. These independent booksellers stock their stores with inventory for every reader. Tell them something you love, and they’ll know just the thing for you to read next. If you prefer people over algorithms recommending your books and you like the feeling of a book in your hands, visit these small, local independent bookstores. They’ll help you take your next adventure in a book.

Visit these local bookstores: