Try any goddam thing you like, no matter how boringly normal or outrageous. If it works, fine. If it doesn't, toss it. Toss it even if you love it.
Stephen KingRead
I am, when you stop to think of it, a member of a fairly select group: the final handful of American novelists who learned to read and write before they learned to eat a daily helping of video bullshit.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Stephen King highlights the importance of traditional literature over modern distractions.
In this quote, Stephen King reflects on his unique position among American novelists who were able to appreciate and engage with literature before the overwhelming influence of digital media. He critiques the pervasive 'video bullshit' that can detract from the value of reading and writing, suggesting that early exposure to books has shaped his identity and art as a writer.
Themes
LiteratureReadingWritingMediaDistraction
In practice
Example use cases
During a literary panel discussing the impact of technology on reading habits.
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Late last night and the night before, tommyknockers, tommyknockers knocking on my door. I wanna go out, don't know if I can 'cuz I'm so afraid of the tommyknocker man.
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Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met within the pages of their novels, and were as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books. Nor did they seem to think one had done them a kindness by reading their writings. Rather they had done one the kindness by writing them.
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