Monday, June 13, 2016

Awesome Words About Reading



I have some quotes and a poem about the joys of books and reading. I always enjoy running across these because I can relate so much to them. So here we go. 


I was raised among books, making invisible friends in pages that seemed cast from dust and whose smell i carry on my hands to this day.
- Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
- W. Somerset Maugham

Novels aren't just happy escapes; they are slivers of people's souls, nailed to the pages, dripping ink from veins of wood pulp. Reading the right one at the right time can make all the difference.
- Brandon Sanderson

Some books are so familiar that reading this is like being home again.
- Louisa May Alcott

Books are the quietest and most constant friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teacher.
- Charles William Eliot

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on Earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world; worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you.
- Ann Lamott

A person entranced by a book simply forgets to breathe. The house can catch alight and a reader deep in a book will not look up until the wallpaper is in flames.
- Lloyd Jones, Mister Pip

Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up, heart and soul.
- Joanna Harris


Books are many things: lullabies for the weary, armor for the fearful, and nests for those in need of a home.
- Glenda Millard, The Tender Moments of Saffron Silk

I am part of everything I have read.
- Theodore Roosevelt



Books fall open, you fall in,
delighted where you've never been;
hear voices not once heard before,
reach world on world through door on door;
fin unexpected keys to things locked up beyond imaginings

What might you be, perhaps become,
because one book is somewhere?

Some wise delver into wisdom, wit,
and wherewithal has written it.
True books will venture, dare you out,
whisper secrets, maybe shout
across the gloom to you in need,
who hanker for a book to read.
- Books Fall open by David McCord







Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Young Adult Books

Bibliophile
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I've noticed something about myself recently. I've read YA books for a very long time and have rated them on Goodreads. Looking back at these ratings, I find that my feelings towards them have changed as my interests turn more towards the Adult genre. YA books are no longer as entertaining as they used to be and the content seems like it never changes. It's just that there are so many cliches that most authors can't seem to get away from.

The Immortals - Wild Magic
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There are some books that will always be amazing. I still love the Tortall Realm created by Tamora Pierce. I still love The Hunger Games along with several other YA books. Some of them I love because of the memories they hold. Others I love because of the writing. But as I was looking through my previously read books on Goodreads, I've realized that the ratings I gave no longer reflect my opinions. The trouble is, do I give them a different rating now that my feelings have changed? I used to like Twilight. That's gone and done with. It's almost embarrassing that I enjoyed those books at one point in my life. There are several others that I can't believe I enjoyed. There is a part of me that really wants to change the rating. Then there's the other part that says to keep it where it's at. That was a different point in my life and my preferences have changed. I remember a time when I would force myself to read books even if I didn't like them. Now I have no problem with doing a DNF (did not finish).
Howl_Sophie
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I don't pass any judgement on anyone who reads YA books. If they enjoy it, more power to them. Anyone who reads any kind of book makes me happy. Hell, even reading comic books or mangas count. Reading is the best thing you can do. It keeps your mind sharp. It expands your vocabulary. It can take you away from reality for a time. It can produce emotions within you. Books are powerful and it saddens me when someone says they don't read.

So this is my dilemma. To change or not to change, that is the question. It's amazing the changes a person goes through as they age. Looking back, I sometimes can't understand my actions but I was much younger and much less mature than I am now. I'm almost thankful for the required readings in school. Almost. Some of those books will be forever dull and something I never want to pick up again.

I'm so thankful that books exist. I can't imagine a life without them. I'm thankful for my mom for reading to me and getting me interested in books. I don't know where I'd be without them.
Darling
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