A Real Book

 The other day my son stopped by for a visit and I told him I was working on writing another book. He asked me if it was a “real book.”

The question struck me as odd. He said he meant was I was writing a book with a story in it this time? Miffed, I told him of course I was writing a book with a story in it. All my books have had a story in them.

I’ve been thinking about what he said ever since and it finally occurred to me that a “real book” means something different to different people. 

If someone sits down and reads a book of poems, are they reading a real book or just a book of poems? To a person not interested in poetry, the answer is probably no. But to the poetry lover, the book of poems will have meaning and will have a story to tell to its reader. 

My other books may not be adventuresome or contain a readily identifiable hero and villain, but they do contain a theme. And the theme is contributed to by individual stories.

Whether it be a novel, a short story, or a poem, it’s a story in a format decided upon by the writer. And that’s good enough for me.