The urge to tell

   

    Following on from yesterday's post, my last bookshop 'find' was the eagerly awaited Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland by Sarah Moss, and I spotted it, just unpacked and not yet shelved, in this excellent shop.

    I'm reading it now and I keep on interrupting Mr. C. (who is engrossed in Antony Beevor) to tell him more fascinating and surprising facts and observations about Icelandic culture. He's far too polite to tell me to be quiet, but I suspect he wishes I would refrain from saying "I didn't know that ...." every few minutes.
   
    But then, maybe that impulse to share is one mark of a good book. What you're reading is so interesting, so electrifying, so satisfying, that you feel the need to tell someone about it, much as you might do with food: "try some of this, it's delicious!"

    The reverse is true too, of course, as a particularly bad book might engender harrumphs of displeasure or even violent acts - to the book, that is, not nearby readers - while something mediocre may well go unremarked.

    Is this why so many of us blog about books or comment assiduously? Is 'the urge to tell' the driving force?

Comments

[Simon T]

Oh, it's definitely one of the impulses, isn't it? And the blogosphere provides a much more receptive audience than my friends...

I'm certainly going to be in urge-to-tell mode tonight, when writing about Guard Your Daughters. Watch out for it!

[Cornflower]

Have just read your post and have added the book to my wish list!

[LizF]

Names for the Sea is good isn't it - although I am only a few pages in so far!
You and Simon are both right about the impulse to pass on information about books we have enjoyed being a major part of blogging and commenting.
Until I discovered the world of book blogs, I thought my reading and book purchasing habits made me deeply eccentric since none of the people surrounding me seemed to understand. Now I know that I may still be considered eccentric but at least I'm not alone!

I am deeply envious that you have such a gorgeous book shop within close proximity - our book retailers are limited to WHSmith and a very cramped branch of Waterstones where it is almost impossible to browse the shelves without feeling that you are in the way or bumping into someone!

[Cornflower]

It's a good thing (in terms of waistline and pocket) that I am no nearer to Mainstreet Trading - if I were close by I'd be in all the time eating their wonderful cake and buying their books!