“Through books you can start today where the great thinkers of yesterday left off, because books have immortalized man’s knowledge. Thinkers, dead a thousand years, are as alive in their books today as when they walked the earth.” ~ Wilfred Peterson, The Art of Living
“You open doors when you open books… doors that swing wide to unlimited horizons of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration that will enlarge the dimensions of your life.” ~ Wilfred Peterson, The Art of Living
“The power of reading a great book is that you start thinking like the author. For those magical moments while you are immersed in the forests of Arden, you are William Shakespeare; while you are shipwrecked on Treasure Island, you are Robert Louis Stevenson; while you are communing with nature at Walden, you are Henry David Thoreau. You start to think like they think, feel like they feel, and use imagination as they would. Their references become your own, and you carry these with you long after you’ve turned the last page. That is the power of literature, of a good play, of music; this is why we constantly want to expand our references.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within
“The experience of reading a book shouldn’t be about what we’re taught in school. The point is not to know what happened– it’s to respond emotionally and philosophically to the plot, characters and dialogue. A good novel transforms your worldview and informs the decisions you make in your daily life, both conscious and unconscious. Savor each page rather than trying to blaze through the book as if it’s some sort of competition. Some books are meant to be skimmed (often textbooks, interestingly enough), but if you’re reading a classic try to really enjoy it rather than focusing on the goal of being done with it. Focus on the value of each word, fragment, and sentence rather than ‘getting it’ or trying to digest a work in its entirety.” ~ Unknown, The Daily Zen
