Smithy reads a few different books throughout his long and arduous journey across America. They help keep him entertained in the hours when he’s not riding his bike or meeting new people. However, there are some deeper meanings and parallels that the books illustrate. For one, the books and the concept of reading is just another part of Smithy’s past that he’s recovering on his quest. At first it’s comparable to Smithy learning how to ride his bike: it’s slow and painful. Quoting Smithy himself, “"Once you get back to it, it's easy, it's natural. But at first — like the deep, deep stab in your legs and hips and stomach and chest from the Raleigh — the sentences twist your head. I read eleven pages that afternoon before my brain said, 'Wait.'?Eleven pages. Headache" (pp. 122-123). When Smithy was first starting his book, he struggled for every word, just like he struggled on his bike.
But beyond just comparing his general reading with his bike ride, it’s also important to see connections between the materials he reads and his journey. His first book Iggy is on the story of a black cowboy. Iggy is a little out of place in the Wild West, kind of like how Smithy feels at times in his life. His second book, The Incidental Iconoclast by Lovella Loveland, is a little bit sketchier. It seems to be a romance novel of sorts, but for Smithy the cover has a voluptuous lady on it who reminded him of Norma. It’s a bit of a stretch, but it could technically show the budding of romantic interest for Norma in the previously unreciprocated relationship?
The next book is from the same author as Iggy, and also a cowboy story. This time however, it’s on a man who had lost an arm and a leg in an accident. There is again a connection that can be drawn between Smithy and the protagonist of the book he’s reading; both have war wounds, Smithy’s from Vietnam. Both books from this author give Smithy a kind of hope for his quest, that he can somehow be worthy of a story too.
Smithy’s last book, Suzanne of the Aspens, is a gift from Kenny’s mother and specially chosen for Smithy. A woman’s husband and son both die, so she is forced to survive on her own. Exactly like Smithy, she suddenly loses her family and is left trying to figure out her place in the world. The books could be interpreted as simple time fillers for Smithy, but upon deeper inspection, a deeper meaning seems to emerge. McLarty has inserted these narratives as little gems for the reader, each with their own equivalents or pieces to contribute to Smithy’s character.
