Someday I would like to write a post about how certain beloved books have defined the way I think about things. Two that come to mind are the "Little House" books and the "Anne" books. That would take the time that I haven't had or prioritized this summer.
I just finished reading "The Questions That Matter Most", by Jane Smiley, or rather most of it.
This Jane Smiley has written loads of novels and I have never heard of her. I mostly read non-fiction and this one was in the new non-fiction shelf in the library. It's a book of 'essays', and the ones I enjoyed where of authors or books that I knew. I didn't read the ones that I had never heard of.
There are a few pieces of the book that resonate with my feelings of books and I want to keep them...
Quotes from "The Questions That Matter Most":
Page 232..."The moments are what come to mind when I think about thee books I like best --moments that stick in my mind as pictures. When you're deep into reading a book that you're very fond of, the images pass through your mind and leave a permanent impression."
Page 233..."The reader has to have images to feel oriented in the world of the novel....Your images may not be the same as my images--different readers will perceive a novel's world differently depending on what they notice and respond to in the descriptions--..."
Page 238..."To read a book is...an act of freedom--at any point I could say, I'm done with (whatever book I'm reading), I'm moving on to (another one). As long as you're reading you're there voluntarily."
There is another piece of this book that I liked on page 74, but not because of what is written down. The paragraph is about the author's take on the difference between movies and books.
I don't make a habit of watching movies, and after the few I have seen about some favorite books that don't match up with what I have in my head, I'm not interested in seeing anymore of those.
