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    “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

      “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” ~ Mortimer J. Adler

        “A man is known by the books he reads.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

          “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

            “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” ~ Maya Angelou

              “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” ~ James Baldwin

                “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” ~ Stephen King

                  “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

                    “My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.” ~ Malcolm X

                      “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~ Oscar Wilde

                        “Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

                          “You should never read just for “enjoyment.” Read to make yourself smarter! Less judgmental. More apt to understand your friends’ insane behavior, or better yet, your own. Pick “hard books.” Ones you have to concentrate on while reading. And for god’s sake, don’t let me ever hear you say, “I can’t read fiction. I only have time for the truth.” Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever hear of “literature”? That means fiction, too, stupid.” ~ John Waters

                            “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” ~ Joyce Carol Oates