10 wildly different life perspectives to read or watch in Savannah – Savannah Morning News

August 4, 2021 News Editor

People often hear the phrase “beach read” and immediately picture a quick novel that is easy to read without requiring too much thought. I challenge you this summer to elevate the beach read and inject some introspection into your relaxation.

Maybe this is the year that you mull over the fascinating implications of the genderless society portrayed in Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness.” Maybe it’s the summer that you finally find out what all the fuss was about with Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses.” Or maybe you strike outside the anglosphere entirely by picking up one of China’s famous Four Great Masterworks like “The Dream of the Red Chamber” by Cao Xueqin.

Fantasy and science fiction Ursula K. Le Guin, who died in 2018, is the subject of the documentary “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin."

I’m normally a very narrow reader. I know what I like, and what I like is science fiction, satire and surrealism — not mid-century Japanese domestic dramas. At least, I didn’t think that was something I would like until I discovered “Confessions of a Mask,” an autobiographical novel by Yukio Mishima. Published in 1949, it captures Mishima’s struggle to come to terms with himself as a gay man, and it documents the very real alienation and self-hatred that he felt — never truly able to fit in and never truly free to embrace himself.

Mishima’s discontent served as the jumping-off point for one of the most phenomenal literary careers of Japan’s postwar era, spanning 34 novels, 50 plays, and dozens of short stories. To read his work is to view a glimpse into a period of Japanese history than Western readers aren’t often privy to, and one that I initially found alien to my own life experiences when I — a thoroughly modern, American white dude with zero working knowledge of Japanese society or philosophy — dove into his work.

This story resonated with me on a deep level, mirroring perfectly many of the exact same struggles and feelings that I dealt with I was the same age as he was at the time of the novel’s writing. I was in awe. How was it that the words written down by a man with whom I shared almost nothing in common should speak so clearly to the emotions that I would feel over a half-century after he wrote them?

Now, this is a personal example on my part, but it’s one that I think is universal to our potential as readers. There is so much value that you get by reading outside of your own life experiences, whether it means reading across the detailed lines of gender and race or across the vast chasms of generations, geography, and belief systems.

This exploration doesn’t have to stop at books. There has never been a better time than now to think beyond the summer blockbuster and embrace the perspectives offered by the cinematic collections available through your local library.

Want to travel back in time? Have you ever wondered what life was like for the drag artists of the Harlem ball scene of the 1980s? A documentary like “Paris is Burning” has the answer. Want to dip into Medieval French history? Try out a classic historical drama film like “The Return of Martin Guerre.” We’ve got oodles of options at the library. You can check out DVDs or get videos online and on-demand with hoopla. Streaming services have subscription fees — the library is free!

While there is nothing wrong with choosing an easygoing summer read, I invite you venture beyond your comfort zone. It is a great feeling to tap into a world completely outside of your own. You might even gain a new perspective— on your life or the lives of others. And if there’s one thing we desperately need in this day and age, it’s perspective. Start your journey at your local library.

Taylor Tyson is a reference library associate at Southwest Chatham Library for Live Oak Public Libraries. Visit your local library or connect with us online at liveoakpl.org, @liveoakpl, and communications@liveoakpl.org.