Why Stories Still Save Us

When I first met Emma Straub, I was starstruck. You’d guess the actors and musicians who grace the halls of 30 Rock would be the ones I was in awe of, but authors are the ones who always get me. (Although meeting Harry Styles—in a striped jumpsuit and all—did delight Hoda and me!)

But sitting next to Emma in hair and makeup was so exciting for me. I told her how my sister Barbara and I devoured her book The Vacationers.

Emma is delight personified—I call her the Sunny Delight of authors.

There’s something special about sitting across from a woman who has built her life around stories — not just telling them, but creating spaces where they can live and breathe.

She’s not only a brilliant novelist, she’s also the powerhouse behind Books Are Magic, one of my favorite bookstores on the planet. (And yes, the name says it all.)

I’ve admired Emma for years — her warmth, her curiosity, her belief that reading can still connect us, even in a world full of distraction. So I asked her to share what gives her hope about the next generation of readers. Her answer feels like a love letter to the future.

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“Hope Lives Between the Pages”

Words by Emma Straub

There’s actually a lot that brings me hope for readers — mostly the readers themselves.

At Books Are Magic, there are always kids in the store. During the day, there are babies in strollers, their chubby little hands grasping board books or squishy books that make noise. After school, kids with backpacks come in to find the next book in the series they’re reading. Teenagers come in with their friends and tell each other about the books they love.

Yesterday, I was having breakfast at the diner down the block, and a dad at the next table was reading his child a book about astronauts — the kind of book I used to read to my kids at every meal.

As a bookseller, I am surrounded by evidence that readers are going to be just fine.

As a writer, I suppose what brings me hope is my own impulse to write, because I know that it’s not unique to me. There are so many of us in this world who understand things by writing them down.

Ann Patchett (Left), Emma Straub (Right)

Read Emma’s newsletter: My Crazy Week, feat. Ann Patchett

I learn everything I know by writing — that might sound backward, but it’s the truth. I started writing poems when I was in middle school, and it was like the sky opened above me.

There will always be kids who have that same experience — who discover the world by writing down what they feel and how they see it.

We’re going to be just fine, I promise.

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Emma reminds us that reading is an act of hope — every time a child reaches for a story or a writer picks up a pen, something beautiful begins again.

Maybe that’s what keeps us going — the quiet proof that we still crave connection, and that stories always find a way to bring us back together.

What about you? What’s the first book that made you fall in love with reading — or made you feel seen?

Let’s fill the comments with your stories.

And please join Emma and I tomorrow at 12:30EST/9:30PST for a live on Substack!

Xx,

Jenna