SPOKEN WORD, WRITTEN WORD

I recently finished reading Agatha Moudio's Son by Francis Bebey- a Camerounian. The story follows the life of La Loi a boy whose Father asked that he marries the daughter of his best friend Tanga-at his death bed. To them at that time the spoken word, especially that of a dead man was to be respected and though he loved Agatha-he would have to marry Fanny-the girl who is younger than her and whom he's never seen. The book can be found on Amazon .
So, something caught my attention do books keep secrets?
Are books the kind of companions that would simply keep quiet if we asked them to at midnight-or do they simply lie there waiting for someone to open them and they start spilling secrets?
For spoken word- once uttered cannot be retrieved but written words can be erased or deleted if they are typed -and no one would know of their existence except the author. So, it also got me wondering how many secrets have authors told us through books? How many of these secrets have we told others and what impact has it had on their lives?
A book is a companion- a good one at that, for all it does is take in what it is fed. So, then writers love writing-for it may be tedious but then they do have something on their mind and soul if I may- that cannot let them be until they jot it down. They do so and no matter how hard it is they go for it and in the end-some publish the books-they tell the world of what they were working on. Others have become famous by not only telling but also showing people a new world or their world simply through words-and as such a book once picked is at the mercy of the reader. All the reader has to do is flip pages and soak up as much information as he/she can. But, upon much though it hit me that it's the other way around- for the reader is at the mercy of the book. Yes-that's why most people love thrillers and fiction tales and detective stories. They keep you reading- it's action after action and discoveries galore- but try reading a memoir or an autobiography-there are dull moments where all you can do is put the book aside, listen to music or hang out with friends who are more entertaining.
But what still shocks me is what people learn from books!
A book speaks with the same voice- it is written by one author and at times two- but readers learn different things from books-all because of their unique personalities and also upbringing.
Call it spoken word, written word- or whichever form of a word there is...in the end, they get to someone, and all that matters is will that person be the same after hearing, reading, writing, or saying it?


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How can one change the world if one identifies oneself with everybody?