BookMooch & Uncle Tom's Cabin

I am surprised that I haven't written a blog on BookMooch before now. I am not one to swoon over websites. Sure there are cool sites that do cool things but it's not really a big deal for me. But when I was introduced to BookMooch, I swooned, and I am still swooning.

BookMooch is a book trading site. I know that all my Quaker friends are going to say, well, I know another book trading site, it's called the LIBRARY! But for book fanatics like me, well, some books I just have to own, especially books about language, linguistics, etc. Besides, being that I'm a mom of two young boys, I rarely can get through a book fast enough to get it back to the library on time. So BookMooch is perfect for me. You enter the site, sign up, create a list of books that you have that you want to trade, then make a list of books that you want to "mooch" and you're off. After you have sent a book, your can mooch a book, or request it. They will also send you an email when one of your books is available, or if you're like me, you can obsessively check your wishlist every hour or so to see when a book you want comes available. Usually people will mail the book to you within a week. There was a spell there where I was receiving one or two books every day. (P.S. I'm also helping to keep the USPS alive, doing my good deed for the country.)

So now I have nearly an entire shelf of books that I have mooched. It's such a wonderful treat for me. Some people have drugs, others sex, others shopping, I have books (and tea, and travel). So I'd like to tell you about one of these books.

Recently, on NPR (where else?) I heard a story on a book about the 100 most influential books of American literature, not the best, the most influential. I was not surprised to hear that Huckleberry Finn was one, but I was a bit surprised to hear that Uncle Tom's Cabin was on the list. So I mooched it and I have begun reading it. Although I am not yet done, I would like to write a review of it.

When I began reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, I was expecting to see some dialect in the dialog. Reading dialect is always slow going, at least for me, so I got somewhat discouraged. But I forged ahead. I was feeling a bit like I just wanted to read the book and get it over with so I could say that I had read it and I would understand all those obscure references to the book that at that time were flying right over my head. I was feeling that it was a bit of a self-imposed chore.

After the first night, I was mildly intrigued with Eliza and her predicament (which I shall not reveal, if you wanna know, you gotta read it yerself) and so knew that I would read more the next day, although I was still not sure that I would finish the book. As I met more characters, especially the Quakers, I found that I wanted to know more. Those Quakers sure were good people (lol) and the way they were represented in the book made me glad to count myself among them.

Well, now I am about a third of the way through the book which tops out at over 400 pages, but I know that I will read to the very last word. The characters are very vividly drawn and the way she depicts daily life is fascinating. I feel like I am really there, sitting in the drawing rooms or in the slave shacks. I can hear it, feel it, breathe it, and live it through Stowe's description. Although the writing is dated (it's over 150 years old after all) I am finding it much easier to read than I expected. It isn't all presented in dialect.

I already understand most of those obscure references that I used to miss and I am astonished to find out how much this book has contributed to our cultural heritage, in linguistic references, character references (Uncle Tom, Simon Legree etc) and historically. The writer of the 100 most influential works stated that Uncle Tom's Cabin did a tremendous amount to push forward the cause of abolition, that it spread the word around the country and the world of the pathetic condition and treatment of slaves in the states and had this book not been written, it could have taken much longer for abolition to occur.

If for no other reason, the book is worth reading to better understand our country at this dire time in its history.