Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else's shoes for a while.
Interpretation
Reading helps us understand and share the feelings of others.
This quote emphasizes that reading is not just a way to acquire knowledge, but also a profound exercise in empathy. By immersing ourselves in the experiences and emotions of characters from different backgrounds and situations, we develop a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and human feelings, which enriches our own ability to connect with others.
In practice
During a book club discussion, this quote can be used to highlight the importance of diverse stories.
What I wanted to do was use literature and different kinds of stories and poems as a springboard, tapping into the creativity of our teens - I wanted teenagers to come up with their own creative responses to literature - using books themselves as a starting point.
I remember going into a bookshop, and the only book I saw with a black child on the cover was 'A Thief in the Village' by James Berry, and I thought, 'Is this still the state of publishing?' Then I thought, 'Either I can whine about it or try to do something about it.'
I hope to instill, in every child I meet, my love and enthusiasm for reading and stories.
Children will go with any story as long as it's good, but white adults sometimes think that if a black child's on the cover, it is perhaps not for them.
History should belong to all of us, and it needs to include people from different cultural backgrounds. Otherwise, it risks becoming irrelevant to children, who could then become disenchanted with education.
I read a lot of highly unsuitable books for an 11-year-old. I was desperate to read as widely as possible. I thought, 'There are so many places I am never going to get the chance to visit, but I can if I read them.' And I did. I could go anywhere in the world - and off it - by reading.
The one thing you have to do if you write a book is put yourself in someone else's shoes. The reader's shoes. You've got to entertain them.
Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind
Anything you read can influence your work, so I try to read good stuff.
In our time, the curse is monetary illiteracy, just as inability to read plain print was the curse of earlier centuries.
He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.
If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the natural sciences, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all the arts and sciences as well as sons.
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