“It was Sci-Fi and fantasy that got me reading, and Sci-Fi writers in particular have pack rat minds. They introduce all sorts of interesting themes and ideas into their books, and so for me it was a short leap to go from the fantasy and Sci-Fi genres to folklore, mythology, ancient history and philosophy. I did not read philosophy because I set out to become a philosopher; I read it because it looked interesting.” MindBookIdeasPhilosophyReadingInterestingFantasyParticularAncientPhilosopherMythologyGenreThemeLeapSci FiIntroducingPacksRatsFolkloreAncient History Author:Terry Pratchett
“Gardening is really an extended form of reading, of history and philosophy. The garden itself has become like writing a book. I walk around and walk around. Apparently people often see me standing there and they wave to me and I don't see them because I am reading the landscape.” PeopleWritingBookPhilosophyFormReadingWalksGardenStandingWaveLandscapeGardeningWriting A BookStanding There Author:Jamaica Kincaid
“And if I'm guilty of having gratuitous sex, then I'm also guilty of having gratuitous violence, and gratuitous feasting, and gratuitous description of clothes, and gratuitous heraldry, because very little of this is necessary to advance the plot. But my philosophy is that plot advancement is not what the experience of reading fiction is about. If all we care about is advancing the plot, why read novels? We can just read Cliffs Notes.” IfsWritingLittlesPhilosophyCareReadingSexFictionNovelViolenceClothesNotesGuiltyDescriptionPlotAdvancementCliffsAdvancingFeastingReading Fiction Author:George R. R. Martin
“There is no rigorous and effective deconstruction without the faithful memory of philosophies and literatures, without the respectful and competent reading of texts of the past, as well as singular works of our own time. Deconstruction is also a certain thinking about tradition and context. Mark Taylor evokes this with great clarity in the course of a remarkable introduction. He reconstitutes a set of premises without which no deconstruction could have seen the light of day.” ThinkingWellsPhilosophyLightPastCertainCoursesReadingLiteratureMemoriesTraditionMarkClarityFaithfulRemarkableIntroductionPremisesRespectfulCompetentEvokeDeconstruction Author:Jacques Derrida
“I do a lot of reading on Buddhist philosophy, and a Buddhist nun named Pema Chödrön talks a lot about acceptance. It's one of the main tenets of Buddhism - accepting that what is, is. The root of our suffering is when we just don't want to accept a truth. We want something to be different than it is.” WantDifferentPhilosophySufferingReadingAcceptingAcceptanceBuddhismRootsBuddhistDrsWant SomethingNunBuddhist Philosophy Author:Sara Bareilles
“In the case of Anathem, most of the research had to do with philosophy and metaphysics. Reading this sort of thing has never been my strong suit, so I actually had to be somewhat more "organized and results-driven" than is my habit. I just made up my mind that I was going to have to read some of these philosophy tomes, and I forced myself to read something like 10 pages a day until I had bashed my way through them.” WayMindMadePhilosophyReadingStrongResultsCasesHabitPagesResearchDrivenSuitsMy WayOrganizedMetaphysics Author:Neal Stephenson
“First, there was Confucius. Then, the sayings of Chairman Mao. And now the pithy, ironic, and humorous insights of Ai Weiwei. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection, which reflects a well-developed philosophy as well as a keen understanding of the Chinese Communist system. This is China made easy and interesting.” FirstsWellsMadePhilosophyReadingEasyUnderstandingInterestingHumorousChinaInsightEnjoyedChineseCollectionsCommunistIronicChairmanMaoChairman MaoPithy Author:Jerome A. Cohen
“Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.” KnowsMenWayLifePhilosophyReadingLiteratureInterestingHealingExistenceEducationKnow HowEducationalEvery ManSignificant Book:Complete Essays: 1926-1929 Source: Complete Essays: 1926-1929
“When I'm not writing music, I'm playing guitar, or reading philosophy. So all I have left is just an hour or two for Claudia Schiffer.” WritingTwoPhilosophyReadingLeftHoursGuitarWriting MusicPlaying GuitarClaudia Author:Richard Pinhas
“I was reading Omar Khayyam, Kahlil Gibran, Rumi, L. Ron Hubbard, all sorts of philosophy. Bebop cats are like that. Curious. I wanted to know about everything.” KnowsPhilosophyWantedReadingCatCuriousOmarBebopRon HubbardL Ron Hubbard Author:Quincy Jones
“When I got to college, I planned to be a math major, and, in addition to signing up for some math courses, I decided to take some philosophy. Quite by chance, I took a philosophy of science course in which the entire semester was devoted to reading Locke's Essay. I was hooked. For the next few semesters, I took nothing but philosophy and math courses, and it wasn't long before I realised that it was the philosophy that really moved me.” LongPhilosophyCoursesReadingNextChanceCollegeMajorsDecidedMovedMathDevotedEssaysRealisedHookedSigningPhilosophy Of ScienceSemesterSigning Up Author:Hilary Kornblith
“I had been reading this book about Zen Koan philosophy, and it was talking about the right here and the right now, and how important it is, and I was really trying to get there in my life.” TryingImportantBookPhilosophyReadingTalkingRight Now Author:Sammy Hagar
“Until I was a junior in high school, I was a "boy scientist" type and expected to go into chemistry. Then I discovered the humanities. I read the plays of Shakespeare voraciously, some novels, such as Pasternack's Dr. Zhivago and Sinclair Lewis' Main Street, and I got into philosophy by reading Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.” PhilosophyPlaySchoolHumanityReadingBoysNovelStreetsTypeHigh SchoolScientistExpectedChemistryDrsJuniorsMain Street Author:Allen W. Wood