When presented with this inquiry project—the choice to explore any area of interest—I began brainstorming immediately. What was something that I have wanted to investigate, practice, or learn?
To help in narrowing the infinite, I began thinking of things I loved. Perhaps an inquiry could grow from deepening an aspect of an existing interest. As the first image in this post suggests, I landed on books.
I grew up loving books. From my Mom reading me the entire Harry Potter series out loud to the Scholastic Book Fairs in school to my ever-growing childhood bookshelf, I was surrounded by their pages and wrapped in their stories. Around high school, this love left temporarily. It wasn’t that I stopped liking reading, but instead it was as if that the habit of “reading for fun” paused. Cut to moving away from Vancouver to Hamilton for undergrad: a book list recommendation from a friend and a conveniently (and financially dangerously) placed indie bookstore near my new student home rekindled that—temporarily dimmed—love.
From then on, the fire has only grown. My bookshelves are always at (or, to be honest, over) capacity; my library card is on my house keys. Reading offers a moment of “me time” in the ever-busying space of which adulthood sometimes feels. However, let’s transition back to books—the topic of this inquiry.
To avoid some form of cross-blog-self-plagarism, I’ll instead share my previously written thoughts on books as a medium from a shared personal blog:
I love my books as books. I love them as memories. I love them as gifts from loved ones. I love them as little snapshots of what I wanted, what I had, what I could have had in different times of my life. I love them and the people they often represent.
I Shipped My Books to BC by the big comfy couch
A TOTALLY ORIGINAL IDEA… just don’t look at Amarah’s recent post…
Read on Substack
Surrounding myself with books, I surround myself with stories, possibilities, memories, history, and so much more. Looking at this inquiry, I want to explore the medium of books—how do these stories physically manifest themselves in bookstores, libraries, and, maybe eventually, our own shelves?
At this point, this inquiry could take shape in multiple avenues. Right now, I am interested in learning about the publishing process. How do books move from the individual (writer) sphere to the collective? Some future sub-inquiries in this larger question may include:
- Types of publishing (self, publisher) and writing agents.
- What is needed when submitting for publishing?
- Beyond physical publishing: websites, online literary journals, etc.
- Libraries and curation.
- Book awards and accolades.
- What types of children’s literature is available?
- More to come!
I look forward to this inquiry not only deepening a personal interest, but also exploring an educational one. I look forward to building my own classroom library—one day perhaps even being a teacher librarian! Knowing the processes of how books are published, what or who is prioritized in those systems, and familiarizing myself with publishers will only aid in growing a meaningfully curated classroom library.
I’m ready to hit the books (two puns in one post) and inquire further about the paper that fills the shelves!
