OnlineBookClub.org

People can feel lonely in a crowded area. Have you ever felt that way?

It is because we are not our bodies, but rather we are our minds.

You get close to a person not by being in physical proximity to that person's body. Rather, you get close to a person through mental connection.

That is the beauty of reading books. Ask yourself, what connects you more to a person than reading their carefully crafted book?

That is why I am so passionate about helping artists market their art, especially in terms of helping great up-and-coming authors promote their great books.

When an author writes a great book, I believe they bleed their soul into it. To read these amazing books is hypnotizing. It's as if you enter the author's mind and see their imagination first-hand as if you are them.

It's such a beautiful art.


What do you think? Why are you passionate about books and reading?

I think it is that way with all the arts. I personally have a music degree (not that I'm using it.) However, I think musicians, artists, writers all put a little bit of themselves into their works. It's how we express ourselves. I've often felt that artists of all types feel things more deeply than others. They have to, or how else would they be able to express the feelings to others. Hope that makes sense.

@kandscreeley That makes total sense! I love music by the way. In fact, I use to do a Song of the Day feature at OnlineBookClub.org.

kandscreeley wrote:I think it is that way with all the arts. I personally have a music degree (not that I'm using it.) However, I think musicians, artists, writers all put a little bit of themselves into their works. It's how we express ourselves. I've often felt that artists of all types feel things more deeply than others. They have to, or how else would they be able to express the feelings to others. Hope that makes sense.

Well-said - art as horcux.

The word feels so inadequate but art moves me. It can be a beautiful turn of phrase in a poem, allegorical painting that makes me think, or melancholy music that makes me nostalgic.

I was passionate about reading enough to get a degree in English literature. I have started being some sort of a reading activist recently; people are reading less and less, social media doesn't count.

I strongly agree with you. Books take you places far beyond your imagination. The nostalgic feeling I get from listening to some good music or the loss of words I get from staring at a piece of artwork is irreplaceable.

Well said and I agree. Good authors indeed bare their soul. I enjoy reading and I love discovering new authors, so I am passionate about books.

I also think that this is why you see so many artists (of one kind or another) that struggle with depression or commit suicide (not that other's can't.) Artists feel emotions SO deeply that sometimes it's hard to not let them overwhelm you. Look at Robin Williams among others.

The passion in something is the expression of everyone's personality. It's the hidden power that nobody outside ourselves can understand except ourselves. It is the direction of our destiny as the living creature from the Almighty

The world of books is an entirely different dimension from the world we live in. We're privileged to meet and connect with characters who are concepts from various diverse minds. (authors) We learn and understand new forms of reasoning and are swept up in the waves of varying emotions cascading like waterfalls.We zone in and out of the past and the future, conjuring up endless possibilities. I'm passionate about books and helping authors because ours is the ultimate form of mental stimulation.

I also agree with you. The authors put in their heart and soul in writing books. It's not meant to be kept hidden, it needs to be shared to all. Spreading the good ideas and helping others in achieving their goals. You're also gving them an opportunity to be great in what they have. Such a wonderful gift in bringing smiles to all even in trying times.

I love books.Whenever I am reading a book, it is as if I have been drawn into an alternate reality and transformed into the protagonist; I cry over their pain, I fall in love with the one they love and despised those they hate. It is for this reason why I will not re-read a book (a person can never re-live an experience).Once I have read a book it becomes a memory, a journey taken using the words of the author as guidance. I believe that story telling is the mother of all art form, and writing, painting/drawing, and music the way in which we convey our stories.

Totally agree. People bond over shared experiences. Art of all kinds provides a wonderful medium for this to happen since we are able to appreciate art together, even with all the differences between all of us.

I love books and reading because I was part of a generation that had no computers or smart phones when I was growing up. The only mode of entertainment was TV, Radio, and Books. I preferred books because I could have a personal experience using my imagination that I couldn't have with TV or radio, which basically fed you the content you were exposed to. I think it's a tremendous service you offer because in this digital age, books seem to have become a relic of the past. Fortunately, there are eBooks that appeal to the modern readers, but it is still important that books from unknown and self-published authors get promoted well because most of us are just creative artists, and not marketing experts. Moreover, we usually don't have the capital to buy our way onto the NY Times Best-Sellers list like many celebrities can. Oh yes, there are firms that specialize in getting politicians and other notable celebrities on the NY Times Best-Seller list because they have the money, even though their material may be far less than Best-Seller reading. I just finished reading a book by a very respectable politician who I actually admire, but there was nothing in the book that was worth Best-Seller quality. Since self-published authors usually invest heavily in the production of their work, they need good marketing that's affordable like you provide.

Grateful for this thread and to see that I’m not the only one still intensely influenced by the art of others, whatever the medium.

As an author whose debut comes out later this summer, I can tell you it’s SCARY to be so vulnerable, to be “in the arena” as Brene Brown reminds us.

And, it is an honor to be witnessed, to be seen by people who connect to our work.

Thank you to all the readers and writers for keeping the practice alive.

Maybe because one day I'd like to be one, and seeing what those who have come before me have created inspires me and motivates me.