These were the thoughts that passed my mind when I started reading The Giver Of Stars by Jojo Moyes.

A small village with luscious greenery all around, a river gently curving through it, ponds filled with fish and tadpoles, temples, a small library, and the devout people who live there. A homegrown lyricist, who won various awards, beautifully described the river, the temple, and the simple lifestyle of people living there through his various compositions. The library, in addition to having a great collection of books, was also a platform for intellectual debates, discussions on art, sports, and that of community activities.

During the diamond jubilee (75 years of existence) celebration of the library in 2018, people from different walks of life who thought the library played a role in their success, gathered together in the village. The books and the library has played a big role in giving wings to the dreams of the youngsters who grew there. The library was the window that gave them a peek into the big world beyond the river, the ponds, and the temples. What I mentioned above is the story of the village that my dad grew up in. Though things have changed tremendously in the past 2-3 decades, the books in the library, still eagerly wait for every aspiring youth to pick them up and read them.

Books and libraries did not come easily to a lot of people. There are many stories about how books made their way into the lives of people living in different and difficult terrains of the world. The lucky ones got access to them and benefited from them.

The Giver Of Stars by Jojo Moyes

I picked up this book after Educated by Tara Westover. The story is set during the Great Depression in the United States. The Giver of Stars is a story about five women, who become the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky.
These women were going through tough phases in their own lives when they start their journey as librarians. These Horseback Librarians operated as part of the then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s mission to bring reading to the masses. They travel on horseback to deliver books. Supposed to be based on actual events, it’s a book about love, adventure, friendship, and of course, books. Lots and lots of books.

In spite of their seemingly inoffensive and noble mission, Alice and the other women face a lot of ordeals. They begin to disturb the sensibilities of their town. People soon start to see their group as a threat. Interestingly, not only to the morals of the town, but also to the laws of nature. The compelling characters include the 5 librarians, the mountain men mostly miners, and the families who live in those terrains. The book has a heartwarming tone and make for a captivating read.

The book is set to become a motion picture. I did come across a plagiarism charge by Kim Michele Richardson who alleged Moyes’s book has a lot of similarity with her own book. The name of her book is -The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I have not read the latter and Richardson’s publishers have not taken any further course of action on her accusations.

A little background of the Pack Horse Librarians:

The Pack Horse Library initiative was was one of the New Deal’s most unique plans. The New Deal, which included a series of programs, financial reforms, public work projects, and regulations, was introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. It sent librarians deep into the Appalachia.

The project, as implemented by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was involved in distributing reading material to the people who lived in the eastern Kentucky. The state was already trailing its neighbors in electricity and highways. And during the Depression, food, economic opportunity, and education were even scarcer for Appalachians. They also lacked books: In 1930, up to 31 percent of people in eastern Kentucky couldn’t read.
Their horses splashed through iced-over creeks, rode in hot summer months, and during heavy downpours.

Librarians rode up into the Kentucky mountains, their saddlebags stuffed with books, doling out reading material to isolated rural people. To people who could not read, they read out books aloud. They spread a sense of community and belongingness in the mountain regions. Women employed were given a remuneration of $28 per month.
For more information about The Pack Horse Library, click HERE

Even though I had access to libraries and books, I did not take into reading books until a later phase. I taught myself into fall in love with books. I am so glad I did it. Click HERE for some tips.

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