The video discusses the enduring power and transformative nature of books, emphasizing that they are more than just stories on paper. Books, as a form of time travel, allow ideas to transcend time and connect deeply with readers, offering a unique mode of cultural preservation. The speaker highlights the common hesitance among writers who worry that dedicating time to writing might seem self-indulgent in today's digital world. However, books hold a vital role in making readers step back and reflect, contributing significantly to cultural discourse across generations.

Through an anecdote from her childhood, the speaker illustrates how the narratives within books can influence the way individuals perceive and respond to societal norms. Reflecting on romance novels from the late 80s, which often portrayed outdated gender roles, she notes how such stories impact women's perception of relationships and self-worth. As publishing evolved, the diversity of character representation expanded to include more inclusive narratives, such as black historical and queer romance genres, acknowledging the importance of consent and mutual respect within stories.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. time capsule [taɪm ˈkæpsl] - (n.) - A container storing a selection of objects chosen as being typical of the present time, buried for discovery in the future. - Synonyms: (memory box, historical record, archive)

So when I pick up a book, I see a time capsule and I imagine that the story has traveled through years, maybe even centuries, to reach me.

2. bodice rippers [ˈbɒdɪs ˈrɪpərz] - (n.) - A genre of romance novels noted for scenes of passionate love, often with a forceful male lover. - Synonyms: (romance novels, love stories, historical romance)

These were bodice rippers, after all, which often featured actual bodice ripping.

3. proliferation [prəˌlɪfəˈreɪʃən] - (n.) - Rapid increase or spread. - Synonyms: (expansion, multiplication, spread)

Along with this proliferation in queer romance, we started to see something really important, which is we started to see consent articulated in scene on the page.

4. articulated [ɑːrˈtɪkjʊleɪtɪd] - (adj. / v.) - Having sections united by joints or capable of being clearly expressed or pronounced. - Synonyms: (clearly expressed, enunciated, pronounced)

Along with this proliferation in queer romance, we started to see something really important, which is we started to see consent articulated in scene on the page.

5. empowerment [ɪmˈpaʊərmənt] - (n.) - The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights. - Synonyms: (enablement, authorization, strengthening)

After the fact, we're much more likely to see anger. And with anger comes empowerment and the ability to talk to each other.

6. mainstream [ˈmeɪnstriːm] - (adj. / n.) - Relating to the ideas, attitudes, or activities that are regarded as normal or conventional; the dominant trend. - Synonyms: (conventional, typical, popular)

So we see authors who started as independents, like K.J. charles or Alexis hall, who wrote stories that expanded the narrative, and their readers embraced them. And eventually, since they were having such good sales, so did mainstream publishing.

7. boundary crossing [ˈbaʊndəri ˈkrɔːsɪŋ] - (n.) - The act of stepping over a limit or boundary improperly, often in behaviors or relationships. - Synonyms: (transgression, overstepping, infringement)

And so with all of this coming together with this shift in values, we get something that looks a whole lot like the MeToo movement, where that kind of boundary crossing doesn't stand anymore.

8. self-indulgent [ˌself ɪnˈdʌldʒənt] - (adj.) - Characterized by doing what one wants, especially when this involves pleasure or idleness. - Synonyms: (hedonistic, luxurious, indulgent)

Isn't it really self indulgent to take time for me to write a book?

9. illustrate [ˈɪləˌstreɪt] - (v.) - To explain or make something clear by using examples, charts, or drawings. - Synonyms: (demonstrate, depict, show)

So I want to tell you a story that illustrates the way that changes inside the covers of books can transform what we see outside of books in the world.

10. inclusive [ɪnˈkluːsɪv] - (adj.) - Including all the services or items normally expected or required; not excluding any section of society or any party involved in something. - Synonyms: (comprehensive, all-encompassing, embracing)

And we need to vote for a more inclusive world in publishing with the books that we buy

The power of literature - Caroline Donahue - TEDxGreekStWomen

So when I pick up a book, I see a time capsule and I imagine that the story has traveled through years, maybe even centuries, to reach me. And when I'm writing, I imagine the words I'm setting down, traveling forward through time to reach their reader. It's extraordinary the power that books give us. It's a kind of magic, really. And for this reason, I find it so heartbreaking when people, even students and clients of mine, ask me the following question. Isn't it really self indulgent to take time for me to write a book? It kills me. It really kills me because they worry that in today's world that working on a book is maybe too old fashioned, or that it doesn't feel current enough, or that it will really make an impact. But I think it's just this quality that books have that cause you to step back and think as you read them and as you write them that makes such a big difference. In fact, there is the possibility with a book of remaining connected to the culture even after we're gone.

So I want to tell you a story that illustrates the way that changes inside the covers of books can transform what we see outside of books in the world. So we're going to travel in time again, but this time we're going to go back a few decades to where I am 12 years old, so I have, weirdly, a very similar haircut, but far dorkier glasses that I avoid wearing at all costs. And I've gone on a trip to the beach with a friend and we've been let out to explore on our own. And because it's me, we've found a bookstore. And in that bookstore we have snuck back into the corner and we have found a couple of romance novels. Now, we're aware that this might be considered controversial by our family and it might even not be okay. So we've done something we think is incredibly clever and subtle, which is we've taken a couple of brown paper shopping bags, cut them up and wrapped the books up. Like if you're my age, you might remember wrapping textbooks that you've borrowed from school to protect them, thinking no one is going to think this is weird at all, that we have small paperback books wrapped up this way, which has never happened before, at least in our lives.

So we don't get very far. We get busted immediately. Our mothers pluck the books out of our hands and unwrap them to reveal the main thing we were hiding, which is covers featuring bare chested men, likely modeled by Fabio maneuvering swooning women around in front of. I'm sure one of them had a ship in the background and the other one likely had a castle of some sort. And they said, we need to take a look at these books before we see if it's okay for you to read them. So they kept them overnight and our mothers read them to each other. Apparently they had a really good laugh, but they didn't see anything inside that they found surprising or all that shocking. So we got them back and we read them.

And so what do we find the stories inside? As many of the stories were in the late 80s featuring men in positions of power, a lot of them were maybe minor royalty or in the military. And when they encountered these women, they ravished them. These were bodice rippers, after all, which often featured actual bodice ripping. But the thing about this storyline is that there was no assumption that these women had any idea what they liked or what they wanted before these men brought their agenda and their interests, let alone the possibility that perhaps these women had no interest in men at all.

So here's the question. When a woman has grown up in a culture where this narrative is not shocking, surprising or controversial, how do you think she responds when a man steps over the line? This might happen on a date, it might happen at work, or it could happen when she's out in the world minding her own business, just getting through the day. I mean, I can speak from my own experience and from the experience of many women I've spoken to. And the reaction she has is that she freezes and the emotion that comes up is shame. And if she talks about this experience at all, she makes herself wrong pretty quickly and she thinks I must have been mistaken. That couldn't have been what he meant. Or maybe what did I do? What did I do to communicate? After all, the storyline is women don't know what they want until men show them.

So let's get back in our time machine and move forward again because we see a lot of changes in publishing and in books over these intervening decades. We're going to stick with romance because during this time it becomes the top grossing genre publishing. It is the one that holds the bestselling titles. But throughout this time, we've seen some changes in the narrative that's happening inside those covers.

Let me give you a couple of examples. So first, I interviewed an author a number of years ago for the Secret Library, whose name is Piper Huguel. She's an academic in the US and she got really tired of waiting for books that featured characters who looked like her, and that included storylines that she found compelling to come out. So she took matters into her own hands and she started writing them. So she started writing black historical romance, set in the Reformation, which is the period in the US right after slavery was abolished. As you can imagine, there was some pushback. Other authors who were established in the genre, not all of them, but some, didn't think that the characters who looked like her were really part of the romance genre. And they didn't think that this historical period was particularly romantic or a good setting for a romance.

But nevertheless, as they say, she persisted. And thankfully her readers did too, because they had been waiting for a trickle of books too, and they embraced her writing. Her career took off, and she started winning awards.

So in other parts of publishing, we've seen another kind of explosion, which is the incredible amount of queer romance we are now seeing. And this started with indie authors who were similarly sick of seeing the same narrative, and they wanted to see stories that mattered to them. So we see authors who started as independents, like K.J. charles or Alexis hall, who wrote stories that expanded the narrative, and their readers embraced them. And eventually, since they were having such good sales, so did mainstream publishing.

And so now we don't have covers with Fabio anymore. Thankfully, we have covers with bright, beautiful colors that reflect the characters and the relationships that are inside, because these relationships now include every color of the LGBTQIA rainbow. But the other thing that's shifted is not just the characters included and the types of relationships that, that we're seeing, because along with this proliferation in queer romance, we started to see something really important, which is we started to see consent articulated in scene on the page. Is it possible to overstate the importance of this? I really don't know if it is, because we're now seeing mainstream best selling authors. We're seeing authors like Everina Maxwell, Freya Mars, Casey McQuiston, and we're seeing consent happening. We're seeing characters talking to each other about what they like and what they want. And no one is in charge of deciding that for anyone else, there's respect happening.

And let me tell you, this has not reduced the heat in these books. If anything, it has made it far sexier. Anyone who has read Freya Marsk's last binding trilogy knows what I'm talking about. When you see Violet and Maude navigating the early stages of their relationship, that is a very different story for women in a romance novel than what I was reading.

So let's return to another beach today and let's picture a kid reading these different kinds of stories that are now available to them. First of all, they don't have to bother with the brown paper wrapping anymore because they've probably got an E reader or a tablet, so that's a big move forward for them. But even more than that, they're reading stories now that have a different example. The scenes are not the same. And how does it feel for this kid who's grown up with an example, with a story of people asking each other what they like, what they want, and proceeding with respect, where no one else gets to push them beyond where they want to go? What happens when the woman who's grown up with these narratives encounters somebody who pushes too hard or who misuses power in the workplace or who doesn't respect what she says?

Then we're not going to look at shame so much anymore. After the fact, we're much more likely to see anger. And with anger comes empowerment and the ability to talk to each other. And people start to band together. Because the other thing that's happened since I was first reading these books is that we do have the ability to connect and share over a wider distance with the Internet. And so with all of this coming together with this shift in values, we get something that looks a whole lot like the MeToo movement, where that kind of boundary crossing doesn't stand anymore.

Did social media make a big difference with this? And lots of organizations? Absolutely. But in order to fight for something, you have to be able to picture what you're fighting for. And often it's characters and scenes and books that allow people to visualize this is better. This is where I want to go.

And so knowing this, I have to ask, does it still feel self indulgent to take time to write a book? In reality, I think it's a gift. If you have a story that you're dreaming of sharing and that matters to you and that illustrates a world that you want to fight for, write it, put it down and share it. Because that may give someone else the opportunity to fight for something better too.

And if you're not a writer, that's okay. I have a different invitation for you, and that is the next time you're in the library or the bookstore and it's okay if it's been a while, you're always welcome back. Try exploring a section that you haven't spent time in before. Maybe you've thought, oh, science fiction is not for me. I don't like poetry. Or before today, maybe romance felt really superficial. Pick up a book and see if that's true. And even better if the books you tend to see on the shelves and the characters who are included tend to look and live a whole lot like you. Look harder until you find a book about someone whose life is different, because the people who have been expanding the narrative and the stories that are available on bookshelves need support.

And we need to vote for a more inclusive world in publishing with the books that we buy. So please think about this when you choose. We have a lot of work to do, but more importantly, we have many stories to tell, and I can't wait to read them. I'll see you in the bookstore after this.

Inspiration, Education, Publishing, Romance Novels, Societal Change, Inclusive Narratives, Tedx Talks