It seems that fighting is a game where everybody is the loser.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
I had hundreds of books under my skin already. Not selected reading, all of it. Some of it could be called trashy. I had been through Nick Carter, Horatio Alger, Bertha M. Clay and the whole slew of dime novelists in addition to some really constructive reading. I do not regret the trash. It has harmed me in no way. It was a help, because acquiring the reading habit early is the important thing. Taste and natural development will take care of the rest later on.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the value of reading widely, regardless of the quality, as it fosters a lifelong reading habit that can lead to personal growth.
Zora Neale Hurston reflects on her reading experiences, appreciating both the 'trashy' and 'constructive' literature she encountered. She asserts that all forms of reading contributed to her development, highlighting the importance of cultivating a reading habit early on. Instead of regretting her choices in literature, she believes that the exposure to various genres will refine her taste and knowledge over time.
Themes
ReadingBooksLiteratureHabitEducation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literacy, one might quote Hurston to illustrate that all reading contributes to growth.
More from Zora Neale Hurston
All quotes →Lack of power and opportunity passes off too often for virtue.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom…It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again. What? How? Why? This singing she heard that had nothing to do with her ears. The rose of the world was breathing out smell. It followed her through all her waking moments and caressed her in her sleep.
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Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me.
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Don't you realize that the sea is the home of water? All water is off on a journey unless it's in the sea, and it's homesick, and bound to make its way home someday.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.
Zora Neale HurstonRead
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