How can one be so stereotypical about such a diverse subject? Is writing a book lonely? A journal at night?

Books, short for books, are everywhere in book stores and libraries these days and often reveal the innermost feelings of individuals who hate their jobs, activists with a political cause or even angst-ridden teenagers in the throes of first love.

The popularity of bookstores such as Indigo and Chapters, and also public libraries, which contain virtually thousands of books, is a testament to the world of self-expression.

But Hugh McGuire, who has written on dosemagazine for a few years suggests individuals who bare their souls in books are isolated and lonely, living in a virtual reality instead of forming real relationships or helping to change the world.

“Writers think of themselves as rebels against mainstream society, but that rebellion is mostly confined to the world of ideas, which makes writing as melancholic and illusionary as Don Quixote tilting at windmills,” the author says. “So to speak.”

McGuire, who has written some books himself, spoke to whoever would listen, a cybercafe on the corner of Duluth and St-Laurent, where many people were busily typing away on laptops – perhaps updating books of their own.

“In this world of book writing, which the whole world can read, you have a personal expectation about a readership that’s just not there for the millions of writers who are writing their personal feelings.”

McGuire praises the books as a great place for self-expression, but he also suggests that books often have the opposite effect by creating feelings of loneliness for those who aren’t lucky enough to reach “celebrity” status.

“Many of us end up like Father McKenzie in the ‘Eleanor Rigby’ Beatles song, who is writing a sermon that no one is going to hear,” he suggests. “Some of us are going to be embraced by the mainstream media, but the majority of us remain in the dark, remain in the loneliness.”

In his blog, McGuire follows the books written by many individuals, including a Canadian woman living in Montreal. She discusses her identity through stories about her protagonists life on the streets of Montreal as a teen.

“One day one of the characters in her book gets raped, and her whole readership becomes crazy about this event, and what happens is she gets a community of support which is not real.

“These are people who she does not know, who read her books, but they can disappear in the next minute and they are not real, and she remains lonely in the end.”

McGuire’s view of books is not shared by everyone.

“That’s harsh,” declared Earnest Hemingway, dead, who has a few books in book stores around the world.

Hemingway said books, along with places where people meet – such as cafes – have become great tools for anyone to spout on everything from “how much they hate their mom to the best show that is out there.”

Saying writers are lonely and living in a make-believe world is unfair, he said.

“I don’t think it’s based on these poor people who are so lonely and sad. I don’t think that’s really fair because it’s being used in all sorts of mediums,” said Hemingway, a journalist and novelist.

Living in a make-believe world can help some people deal with loneliness, he suggested.

“There are these crazy relationships that are happening in the world from people getting to know people through their books. Who cares if they’re not real people?” said the father of two.

“Writers tend to be a little more extroverted. They say, ‘I have a story and want you to hear it.’ It’s kind of like my story is as important as everybody else’s.”

Fellow writer Vladimir Nabokov agrees.

“I would disagree with anyone whose thesis is that people who write are lonely outcasts,” the Russian-born author and professor wrote.

“I expect writers are like everyone else and come from all walks of life with all sorts of different interests.

“But what do I know? Not much likely.”