But with the library, it's like catnip, I suppose: you begin to run in circles because there's so much to look at and read.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the overwhelming abundance of knowledge available in libraries, comparing it to the excitement and distraction of catnip for cats.
In this quote, Ray Bradbury expresses the idea that libraries, filled with countless books and resources, can captivate and distract readers in a way that makes them feel both excited and overwhelmed. Just like a cat drawn to catnip, a person can find themselves running in circles, fascinated by the infinite opportunities to explore and learn, highlighting the allure and richness of literature and knowledge.
In practice
This quote would be great to share during a library fundraiser event to highlight the importance of access to knowledge.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we canβt imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You donβt stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
Girls are going to school again in Swat Valley. And that is great.
Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.
It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written.
The child begins to perceive the world not only through his [or her] eyes but also through his [or her] speech
Read the Bible, read the Bible! Let no religious book take its place. Through all my perplexities and distresses, I seldom read any other book, and I as rarely felt the want of any other.
I could not think without writing.
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