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In anything fit to be called by the name of reading, the process itself should be absorbing and voluptuous; we should gloat over a book, be rapt clean out of ourselves.
Robert Louis Stevenson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Reading should be a pleasurable and immersive experience that transports us beyond ourselves.

In this quote, Robert Louis Stevenson emphasizes that true reading goes beyond mere understanding; it should be an experience that captivates us and evokes strong emotions. He suggests that the joy of reading can lead to a transformative state, where we lose ourselves in the narrative and gain a deeper appreciation for the written word.

Themes

ReadingExperienceBooksImaginationJoy

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the importance of literature at a book club.

More from Robert Louis Stevenson

Our business in life is not to succeed, but to continue to fail in good spirits.
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Like a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memories survive in time of sorrow.
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That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.
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His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing, yet avoided.
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The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.
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It is the history of our kindnesses that alone make this world tolerable. If it were not for that, for the effect of kind words, kind looks, kind letters . . . I should be inclined to think our life a practical jest in the worst possible spirit.
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