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
There is no remedy so easy as books, which if they do not give cheerfulness, at least restore quiet to the most troubled mind.
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Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.
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Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
Leonardo Da VinciRead
Consequently, the only thing I learned in school was typing. In the old days, people like me who don't have college degrees had a hard time thriving in society. But today, the ability to learn on your own or from your peers has become really easy. I think this change is leading to a fundamental disruption in education. Independent and lifelong learning are really starting to peak - there is an inflection point coming around how people learn.
Joichi ItoRead
Maybe all wondrous books appear in our lives the way Milo’s tollbooth appears, an inexplicable gift, cast up by some curious chance that comes to feel, after we have finished and fallen in love with the book, like the workings of a secret purpose. Of all the enchantments of beloved books the most mysterious-the most phantasmal-is the way they always seem to come our way precisely when we need them.
Michael ChabonRead
Gold, silver, jewels, purple garments, houses built of marble, groomed estates, pious paintings, caparisoned steeds, and other things of this kind offer a mutable and superficial pleasure; books give delight to the very marrow of one's bones. They speak to us, consult with us, and join with us in a living and intense intimacy.
PetrarchRead