In idling, the motor's running, but you're letting your mind take in anything. Things pop into it. Those are the gifts of subterranean conscious.
Mortimer AdlerRead
In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but how many can get through to you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The value of reading good books lies in their ability to profoundly influence and resonate with us, rather than merely the quantity read.
Mortimer Adler emphasizes that the true importance of reading lies not in the number of books one reads, but in the depth of understanding and connection those books create with the reader. It suggests that impactful literature has the potential to change our perspectives, enrich our minds, and touch our hearts, highlighting the quality of engagement over mere quantity.
Themes
BooksReadingUnderstandingImpactQuality
In practice
Example use cases
Use this quote during a book club meeting to emphasize the importance of selection over volume.
More from Mortimer Adler
All quotes βThe only standard we have for judging all of our social, economic, and political institutions and arrangements as just or unjust, as good or bad, as better or worse, derives from our conception of the good life for man on earth, and from our conviction that, given certain external conditions, it is possible for men to make good lives for themselves by their own efforts.
Mortimer AdlerRead
A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser.
Mortimer AdlerRead
If you are reading in order to become a better reader, you cannot read just any book or article. You will not improve as a reader if all you read are books that are well within your capacity. You must tackle books that are beyond you, or, as we have said, books that are over your head. Only books of that sort will make you stretch your mind. And unless you stretch, you will not learn.
Mortimer AdlerRead
If your friend wishes to read your 'Plutarch's Lives,' 'Shakespeare,' or 'The Federalist Papers,' tell him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat - but your books are as much a part of you as your head or your heart.
Mortimer AdlerRead
When we ask for love, we don't ask others to be fair to us-but rather to care for us, to be considerate of us. There is a world of difference here between demanding justice... and begging or pleading for love.
Mortimer AdlerRead
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