The rest, with very little exaggeration, was books. Meant-to-be-picked-up books. Permanently-left-behind books. Uncertain-what-to-do-with books. But books, books. Tall cases lined three walls of the room, filled to and beyond capacity. The overflow had been piled in stacks on the floor. There was little space left for walking, and none whatever for pacing.
Interpretation
This quote reflects the immense presence and impact of books in one's life, showcasing both their abundance and the overwhelming feelings they can incite.
In this quote, J.D. Salinger captures the profound relationship between individuals and books, portraying a space dominated by literature that invites contemplation and exploration. The descriptions of books classified as 'meant-to-be-picked-up,' 'permanently-left-behind,' and 'uncertain-what-to-do-with' suggest the varied roles that books play in our lives—from cherished companions to unresolved puzzles. This imagery not only highlights the physical multitude of books but also evokes the emotional weight they carry, creating an atmosphere that inspires both reflection and curiosity.
In practice
In a speech about the importance of literacy in schools, one might quote Salinger to emphasize the central role of books.
Against my better judgment I feel certain that somewhere very near here—the first house down the road, maybe—there's a good poet dying, but also somewhere very near here somebody's having a hilarious pint of pus taken from her lovely young body, and I can't be running back and forth forever between grief and high delight.
I'm not afraid to compete. It's just the opposite. Don't you see that? I'm afraid I will compete — that's what scares me. That's why I quit the Theatre Department. Just because I'm so horribly conditioned to accept everybody else's values, and just because I like applause and people to rave about me, doesn't make it right. I'm ashamed of it. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I'm sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some kind of a splash.
Each of his phrases was rather like a little ancient island, inundated by a miniature sea of whiskey.
My brother Allie had this left-handed fielder's mitt. he was left handed. The thing that was descriptive about it though, was that he had poems written all over the fingers and the pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so that he'd have something to read when he was in the field and nobody was up to bat
Who in the Bible besides Jesus knew--knew--that we're carrying the Kingdom of Heaven around with us, inside, where we're all too goddam stupid and sentimental and unimaginative to look?
You can hit my father over the head with a chair and he won't wake up, but my mother, all you have to do to my mother is cough somewhere in Siberia and she'll hear you.
Most books about writing are filled with bullshit. Fiction writers, present company included, don’t understand very much about what they do—not why it works when it’s good, not why it doesn’t when it’s bad.
The real safeguard of democracy is education.
We await the successsive births in the soul of the child. We give all possible material, that nothing may lack to the groping soul, and then we watch for the perfect faculty to come, safeguarding the child from interruption so that it may carry its efforts through.
I am too fond of reading books to care to write them.
Real education should consist of drawing the goodness and the best out of our own students. What better books can there be than the book of humanity?
There is nothing of any consequence in education, in the economy, in city planning, in social policy that does not concern black people.
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