Making a difference in your life can be as easy as reading a book.
The Nakusp Public Library hosted an evening of sharing stories behind such books.
The main area was packed as about 20 people came out to share their stories or just hear those of others on Feb. 19.
Kicking things off was Cedra Ei, who read a book that stuck with her, The Dot. The story explains how everyone can be an artist,even if they don’t think they are.
The event, thought up by Barb MacPherson, was created in 2010.
“What gave me the idea in the first place was O Magazine has a celebrity that talks about three different books that impactedtheir life,” she said. “I thought ‘Why couldn’t we do that here?’”
Book topics ranged from art and abilities, to dying in different forms, science fiction, vampires, even feminism.
MacPherson says she tries to pick different people to present, but it can be difficult.
“It’s getting harder, because we’ve had it four times,” she said. “The population is only so big, sometimes we have repeats.”
The evening wasn’t just about bound books. Audio books were discussed as well.
John Perkins talked about how he loved being read to as a child, something that has carried on to this day. He said audio bookstake up about half the space on his tablet.
Presenters ranged in age from the elderly to the teens. The youngest person presenting, Naeem England, is 16.
His mother, Romona England, told him about the event.
“Barb is one of her close friends, and she told me it would be good for me if I were to present something.” he said.
Naeem chose Under a crimson sun, an astronomy book about the potential for life in systems with a red dwarf star, a smaller,cooler star than our own sun. Red dwarf stars are also the most common type of star in the Milky Way.
Naeem said he enjoyed presenting.
“It made me feel more unique. I felt good. It’s definitely something I’d do in the future.”
As for MacPherson, though she didn’t present this time, she has had books that have impacted her life.
“We had books that impacted us as children, and I talked about a book called The Blue Castle, by L.M. Montgomery,” she said. “Iread it when I was a young teenager, when you’re sort of feeling bad about yourself, you’re not pretty enough, you’re not this,you’re not that. She talked about a woman who has been held down by her family. On her thirtieth birthday, she finds out she’sgoing to die in a year of a heart disease. She decides to change her life. It was inspiring to me, because I felt I could reinventmyself if I wanted to.”