Standards are always out of date. That's what makes them standards.
Alan BennettRead
Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books allow us to experience diverse lives and worlds, highlighting the richness of literature beyond mere entertainment.
In this quote, Alan Bennett emphasizes that reading is not simply a means to occupy our time; rather, it immerses us in the experiences and perspectives of others. He suggests that books transport us to different realities and that true readers often wish for more time to explore these narratives, contrasting this with mundane pastimes that simply make time go by, like visiting New Zealand.
Themes
BooksReadingLivesWorldsExperience
In practice
Example use cases
In a book club discussion about the significance of reading.
More from Alan Bennett
All quotes →To begin with, it's true, she read with trepidation and some unease. The sheer endlessness of books outfaced her and she had no idea how to go on; there was no system to her reading, with one book leading to another, and often she had two or three on the go at the same time.
Alan BennettRead
A book is a device to ignite the imagination.
Alan BennettRead
Those who have known the famous are publicly debriefed of their memories, knowing as their own dusk falls that they will only be remembered for remembering someone else.
Alan BennettRead
To read is to withdraw.To make oneself unavailable. One would feel easier about it if the pursuit inself were less...selfish.
Alan BennettRead
The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours
Alan BennettRead
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