“I think too much is known about me already. I think biographical information can get in the way of the reading experience. The interchange between the reader and the work. For example, I know far too much about Norman Mailer and Kurt Vonnegut. Because I know as much as I do about their personal lives, I can't read their work without this interjecting itself. So if I had it to do over, I'd probably go the way of J.D. Salinger or Thomas Pynchon. And just stay out of it altogether and let all the focus be on the work itself and not on me.” IfsThinkingKnowsWayI CanReadingKnownToo MuchFocusInformationExampleReaderPersonal LifeInterchangeSalingerReading Experience Author:Tom Robbins
“Mention the gothic, and many readers will probably picture gloomy castles and an assortment of sinister Victoriana. However, the truth is that the gothic genre has continued to flourish and evolve since the days of Bram Stoker, producing some of its most interesting and accomplished examples in the 20th century - in literature, film and beyond.” FilmLiteratureInterestingCenturyExampleReaderTruth IsEvolveGenreAccomplished20th CenturyCastlesGothicMost InterestingGloomySinisterStoker Author:Carlos Ruiz Zafon
“We chose to do this work mathematically, which has the advantage of precision but is not always appreciated by readers. It is perhaps for this reason that anthropologists have not shown much interest in these models, unlike economists, for example, for whom the use of mathematics poses no problem. However, one could reach the same conclusions by using just a bit of common sense.” ReasonUseProblemBitsInterestCommonExampleReaderModelsAdvantageMathematicsCommon SenseConclusionEconomistNo ProblemAppreciatedPrecisionAnthropologists Author:Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza
“[Comics is] one of the last havens for honesty when it comes to a reader's genuine response to art. Most of us, if we don't find any sympathy or pleasure, for example, in a modern painting, are likely to blame our own ignorance of the history and theory of painting. But nobody pretends to like a bad comic strip. Such harshness is necessary for any real truth to surface, I think, and for art to really contribute anything to life. Though I don't know. I could be wrong.” IfsThinkingKnowsArtRealLastsPleasureModernHavensHonestyExampleIgnorancePaintingTheoryReaderBlameResponseSurfaceGenuineComicComic StripsHarshnessReal Truth Author:Chris Ware
“Come on, readers, give me one example of a question that religion has answered to everyone's satisfaction - one example of a "truth" found in religion's quest for truth.” GivingFoundExampleReaderGive MeSatisfactionQuests Author:Jerry A. Coyne
“I do think of my reader, or listener, really, more often, if I give a lecture, for example, and I know that I'm talking to these people; I enjoy sort of preening them a bit. But it's a matter of decorum, basically.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsGivingMatterBitsEnjoyTalkingExampleReaderListenersLecturesDecorum Author:William H. Gass
“I am not against standardized tests. There are tests and tests and tests, and, to simplify, the ones I favor are criterion-referenced tests of skills, aligned with the curriculum. Social and emotional skills are important but skills are too. I find it heartbreaking that this is so often seen as an either-or choice. To get to the richness of studying literature, for example, you must first be an adept and confident reader. Whether you are is something a good test can measure.” FirstsImportantChoicesLiteratureSocialStudyExampleEmotionalReaderSkillsTestsFavorsCriteriaRichnessSimplifyHeartbreakingCurriculumAdeptEither OrStudying Literature Author:Nicholas Lemann
“I don't think writers should be convenient examples. I don't think we should make people feel settled. I don't try to be a gadfly, but I do think that real ideas are troublesome. There should be something about my work that leaves the reader unsettled. I intend that.” PeopleThinkingFeelsShouldTryingIdeasRealExampleReaderConvenientTroublesomeGadflies Author:Richard Rodriguez