Of course there is no denying the possible pleasure of holing up with a fat, slow-moving, mediocre novel; still, we all know that we can indulge ourselves in that fashion only so much. In the end, we read not for reading's sake, but to learn.
Interpretation
Reading is ultimately about gaining knowledge rather than just seeking entertainment.
In this quote, Joseph Brodsky suggests that while it can be enjoyable to lose oneself in a less demanding novel, the true purpose of reading transcends mere pleasure. It emphasizes that reading should be a pursuit of learning and understanding, encouraging readers to seek out works that challenge and enrich their perspective rather than settling for mediocrity.
In practice
In a book club discussion about the value of literature.
Basically, it's hard for me to assess myself, a hardship not only prompted by the immodesty of the enterprise, but because one is not capable of assessing himself, let alone his work. However, if I were to summarize, my main interest is the nature of time. That's what interests me most of all. What time can do to a man.
One always pulls the trigger out of self-interest and quotes history to avoid responsibility or pangs of conscience.
On the whole, infinity is a fairly palpable aspect of this business of publishing, if only because it extends a dead author's existence beyond the limits he envisioned, or provides a living author with a future he cannot measure. In other words, this business deals with the future which we all prefer to regard as unending.
The invention of ethical and political doctrines, which blossomed into our own social sciences, is a product of times when things appeared manageable. The same goes for the criticism of those doctrines, though as a voice from the past, this criticism proved prophetic.
Try not to pay attention to those who will try to make life miserable for you. There will be a lot of those - in the official capacity as well as the self-appointed.
To put it in plain language, Russia is that country where the name of a writer appears not on the cover of his book, but on the door of his prison cell.
For children, diversity needs to be real and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.
In nine months, a group of children left alone with a computer in any language will reach the same standard as an office secretary in the West.
Some women have a weakness for shoes... I can go barefoot if necessary. I have a weakness for books.
Books are alive, you see. They're not dead, they're alive.
All the sciences came to exist in Arabic. The systematic works on them were written in Arabic writing.
In architecture you should live for 150 years, because you have to learn in the first 75 years.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.