The Book I Wish I'd Written (Amy K. Nichols)

This month we’re talking about the book we wish we’d written.

I wish I’d written The Book Thief. 

But the thing is, books are a bit like fingerprints or eye color. Two authors may write about the same subject (vampires, boy wizards, girls living through WWII) but write two completely different books. Whatever we write is colored by our world views, our heritages, our experiences, our opinions, our hopes and dreams. Even by the stimuli we take in each day. Everything we are and live and breathe has an impact on what we write. 

So, if I had written The Book Thief, it wouldn’t be The Book Thief because I would have written it instead of Marcus Zusak. And the thought of it not being The Book Thief—a book I and so many others adore—just makes me sad. 

So I take it back. 

I don’t wish I’d written The Book Thief. I’m thankful Marcus Zusak did, because he wrote it so well, and as only he could. 

Instead, what I hope to do is learn from The Book Thief how to write a book that is equally as compelling, intriguing and beautiful. And then maybe one day someone will wish they'd written my book and come to the same realization, and so on.