One of the great things about books is you can afford to do anything.
George R. R. MartinRead
He was beastly tired, but it was hard to stop. One more book, he had told himself, then I'll stop. One more folio, just one more. One more page, then I'll go up and rest and get a bite to eat. But there was always another page after that one, and another after that, and another book waiting underneath the pile. I'll just take a quick peek to see what this one is about, he'd think, and before he knew he would be halfway through it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the insatiable curiosity and passion for knowledge that drives a person to keep reading, even when they are exhausted.
In this quote, the author illustrates the experience of being so deeply engrossed in reading that fatigue becomes secondary to the joy of discovery and learning. The character struggles with the temptation of 'just one more page' which signifies the allure of books and the challenges of self-discipline when faced with boundless curiosity. This encapsulates how reading can become a consuming passion, making it difficult to take breaks or step away.
Themes
ReadingBooksCuriosityKnowledgePassionFatigue
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the importance of reading and lifelong learning during a book club.
More from George R. R. Martin
All quotes →I hate outlines. I have a broad sense of where the story is going; I know the end, I know the end of the principal characters, and I know the major turning points and events from the books, the climaxes for each book, but I don't necessarily know each twist and turn along the way. That's something I discover in the course of writing and that's what makes writing enjoyable. I think if I outlined comprehensively and stuck to the outline the actual writing would be boring.
George R. R. MartinRead
There is only one god and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: “Not today.
George R. R. MartinRead
I did not do it. Yet now I wish I had.’ He turned to face the hall, that sea of pale faces. ‘I wish I had enough poison for you all. You make me sorry that I am not the monster you would have me be, yet there it is. I am innocent, but I will get no justice here.
George R. R. MartinRead
But a voice inside her whispered, There are no heroes, and she remembered what Lord Petyr had said to her, here in this very hall. 'Life is not a song, sweetling,' he'd told her, 'You may learn that one day to your sorrow.' In life, the monsters win, she told herself.
George R. R. MartinRead
I write from this tight third-person viewpoint, where each chapter is seen through the eyes of one individual character. When I'm writing that character, I become that character and identify with that character.
George R. R. MartinRead
Similar quotes
Books that you carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are most useful after all.
Samuel JohnsonRead
Read the dictionary from A to Izzard today. Get a vocabulary. Brush up on your diction. See whether wisdom is just a lot of language.
Carl SandburgRead
I like that there are young people being given opportunities to explore and learn and grow and become themselves with a path that is associated with my mother. She would have liked that very much.
Maya Soetoro-NgRead
To instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests and duties, as men and citizens...this brings us to the point at which are to commence the higher branches of education . . . . To develop the reasoning faculties of our youth, enlarge their minds, cultivate their morals, and instill into them the precepts of virtue and order.
Thomas JeffersonRead
We know from hard research that educated populations have lower growth rates, are more peaceful, and add to the global economy.
Peter DiamandisRead
I want my kids to graduate from high school. But that's not enough. I also want them to go to college. Why? Because rich people's kids go to college. And if that's good enough for them, it's good enough for my kids. Because you know what? College graduates don't tend to go to jail as frequently as nongraduates.
Geoffrey CanadaRead