A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
Growing up, I took so many cues from books. They taught me most of what I knew about what people did, about how to behave. They were my teachers and my advisers.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books play a vital role in shaping our understanding of behavior and culture.
In this quote, Neil Gaiman reflects on the significant influence that books have had on his development as a person. He conveys that literature served as a crucial source of guidance, providing insights into how people act and interact, effectively acting as teachers and mentors in his life. This highlights the importance of reading and the profound impact that stories and information can have on shaping one’s worldview and behavior.
Themes
BooksLearningInfluenceBehaviorDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of education, one might say, 'As Neil Gaiman noted, growing up with books shaped my understanding of the world.'
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Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
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I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
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Similar quotes
I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education. In order to appreciate cultures of another nation, one needs to go there, know the people and mingle with the culture of that country. One way to do that, if one is lucky enough, is to buy things from those cultures.
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I've learned quite a lot, over the years, by avoiding what I was supposed to be learning.
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We await the successsive births in the soul of the child. We give all possible material, that nothing may lack to the groping soul, and then we watch for the perfect faculty to come, safeguarding the child from interruption so that it may carry its efforts through.
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To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens than any other improvements in our system of education.
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As regards parents, I should like to see them as highly educated as possible, and I do not restrict this remark to fathers alone.
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It is the way to educate your eye and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop.
Walker EvansRead