Sometimes, the books we remember most are the ones that represent a rite of passage for us. The time when you slip from childhood to adulthood (or teen-hood), from a reader of “kid’s books” to a reader of “not kid’s books”. We take such pride and pleasure in those auspicious discoveries and remember greatly that moment where we suddenly and quietly realize, in the time it takes to flip a page, that there’s so much more to be discovered, and that nothing will ever be the same.
For musician Zaac Pick that rite of passage came with Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. “At first, it’s a book about a wildlife park populated with dinosaurs re-created out of fossilized DNA. What young boy wouldn’t love to visit such a place? Unfortunately, things go tragically awry. Much later, you realize it’s also a story about many other things, namely the limits of our ability as human beings to be in control of everything.”
At the time he read this book, Zaac was an eleven or twelve year old boy nursing a healthy appetite for reading in Medicine Hat, Alberta. With a curiosity and imagination wide as the land was flat, books helped Zaac travel, discover and see the world without ever leaving home (“But you should also leave home to explore sometimes”, he cautions.)
Beyond filling in for his wanderlust, this book evolved Zaac’s thinking completely. He enlightens us on the Tao of Jurassic Park: “This was the first non-children’s book I remember reading, and I was fully immersed in its fictional world, never wanting to put it down. It opened my mind to the idea that humans are capable of anything, and it was important to ask questions, and use this ability towards our better nature.”
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A Good Book Drive is an annual book drive to bring stories to a new generation of readers, and support kids in need of new books. Running through the month of November, A Good Book Drive will be inspiring Vancouverites to purchase a new copy of their favorite kids’ book and deliver it to set locations throughout the city. At these drop off locations you can personalize your donation with a special bookplate, sharing the story of why that book is special to you. All books will be donated to this year’s book drive recipient, One to One: A Children’s Literacy Program. Share your favourite stories with A Good Book Drive onTwitter, Facebook and Instagram. |
