#read

A couple years ago, the novelist Russell Banks told me he was reading the ancient Greek historian Herodotus. I asked why. He said, 'Because I've always wanted to and am tired of having my reading assigned.' I thought it was a marvelous declaration of independence. ↗

— Richard Russo

#always #am #ancient #asked #assigned

About 15 years ago I went though a period of a year or so when I just couldn't find anything good. My wife noticed I was having trouble reading menus. I bought some cheap reading glasses in a drug store. I got home and suddenly all these books that weren't good were good. ↗

— Richard Russo

#ago #anything #books #bought #cheap

I was pretty dead set against ever writing an academic novel. It's always been my view that there are already more than enough academic novels and that most of them aren't any good. Most of them are self-conscious and bitter, the work of people who want to settle grudges. ↗

— Richard Russo

#against #already #always #any #been

Sometimes I know the meaning of a word but am tired of it and feel the need for an unfamiliar, especially precise or poetic term, perhaps one with a nuance that flatters my readership's exquisite sensitivity. ↗

— William Safire

#especially #exquisite #feel #flatters #i

Kids just don't read any more. They spend much more time with video games. It's just hard to get kids to read anything. Book sales have dropped dramatically, too. I think 90% of the books are bought only by 5% of the US population. ↗

— Stan Sakai

#anything #book #books #bought #dramatically

Oh, I think every author is inspired by all of the books that she reads. ↗

— Cornelia Funke

#books #every #i #i think #inspired

And I believe that public broadcasting has an important trust with the American people, it's an intimate medium of television, and that we can do reading and language development for young children without getting into human sexuality. ↗

— Margaret Spellings

#american people #believe #broadcasting #children #development

When you read and understand a poem, comprehending its rich and formal meanings, then you master chaos a little. ↗

— Stephen Spender

#comprehending #formal #little #master #meanings

Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it's a letdown, they won't buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book. ↗

— Mickey Spillane

#book #buy #end #first #get

Having spent so much time in a fictional world, I prefer to read about the real world. ↗

— Brent Spiner

#fictional #having #i #much #prefer