Success

One of my favorite books growing up was called Taxi Cat and Huey. It is a magical story of friendship and talking animals and a cat who sincerely believes he is a ninja. It was a fun tale to cut my reading teeth on. The reason it stands out so strongly is because it was the first book I read where I really remember picturing the characters and setting distinctly in my head. It was the first of many, and one of the first books I ever really loved and replayed in my mind. Taxi Cat and Huey has been out of print for decades. It was out of print when I discovered and was enchanted by it.
When I turned 13, my brother got me a book entitled Tales From Evermore, a book that had a mere 100 copies printed. It was a breathtaking allegory featuring medieval knights and fantastic adventure, and was eventually expanded into the even more epic Knights of Evermore which had a much wider print- a few thousand copies. The books are all but unknown. And yet they carried my imagination away, and they moved me to tears through powerful allegory and tight, unobtrusive writing.
Several years later, my high school history teacher loaned me a wonderful adventure fantasy book called One for the Morning Glory. To this day, he and I are the only people I think have ever read this book, and yet I relieve key scenes from the story, adventures with a half-invisible boy and an underground battle with goblins, and the storming of a castle...

But what of these books? I constantly lament that no one has read or heard of them. I long to see them rise from obscurity, to suddenly gain the readers and the respect they deserve. Idly while reading them I would utter “it’s such a shame...”
Is it really a shame though, when a book accomplishes what it sets out to do? It tells a story, it is meant to send a message. And while these have not reached popularity or fame, they have told interesting, lasting stories, and their messages have stuck with me, at the very least. If these books were never written, that would be the shame. Because no matter how they have or have not succeeded commercially, to me they are the most successful of books.