And enough for me that when my hand touched your shoulder, you leaned on me; and when you felt me slip away, you called my name.
Orson Scott CardRead
I always think of books as being like people. Even the dull ones are worthy of decent respect, but you don't have to seek them out and spend time with them.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books, like people, have value, but not all deserve attention.
Orson Scott Card compares books to people, suggesting that while every book has its own worth and deserves respect, not all books warrant the time and effort to engage with them. This encapsulates the idea that, similar to human relationships, our engagement should be selective, focusing on those that inspire or enrich us.
Themes
BooksPeopleRespectEngagementReading
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club, I shared the quote by Orson Scott Card to spark a discussion on our reading choices.
More from Orson Scott Card
All quotes →The world is always a democracy in times of flux, and the man with the best voice will win.
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Never mind that the story had turned out to be lies and foolishness—there was always folks stupid enough to say, Where there's smoke there's fire, when the saying should have been, Where there's scandalous lies there's always malicious believers and spreaders-around, regardless of evidence.
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The lives of all people flow through time, and, regardless of how brutal one moment may be, how filled with grief or pain or fear, time flows through all lives equally.
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You take a step, then another. That's the journey. But to take a step with your eyes open is not a journey at all, it's a remaking of your own mind.
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I've had your tears with mine, and you've had mine with yours. I think that's more intimate even than a kiss.
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Similar quotes
I never have time to read now. I did all my reading before I was twenty.
O. HenryRead
Sometimes, looking at the many books I have at home, I feel I shall die before I come to the end of them, yet I cannot resist the temptation of buying new books. Whenever I walk into a bookstore and find a book on one of my hobbies — for example, Old English or Old Norse poetry — I say to myself, “What a pity I can’t buy that book, for I already have a copy at home.
Jorge Luis BorgesRead
Live in the serene peace of laboratories and libraries
Louis PasteurRead
But the issue of sexual harassment is not the end of it. There are other issues - political issues, gender issues - that people need to be educated about.
Anita HillRead
We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read.
Jules VerneRead
Some read to think, these are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these form the great majority.
Charles Caleb ColtonRead