Best Reader Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings Page 37

“I knew I had found my life's passion after writing my first column for The Washington Post. The response was like nothing we had seen in the business section. Everyday people were writing that finally someone was speaking to them in a way that was understandable. I think we were all shocked at how many readers wrote in to say that they too had a Big Mama who taught them about money.”

People Thinking Way Writing Firsts Bigs Passion Found Taught Reader Response Everyday Posts Sections Shocked Mama Columns Big Mama

Author:Michelle Singletary

“There are some dark days when I do receive some racist mail or emails. But overall the response to me has been very positive. Readers relate to me not just as an African-American, but as an American trying to make sense of her personal finance, just like them.”

Trying Has Beens Dark Reader Response Finance African American Relate Make Sense Racist Mail Email Very Positive Personal Finance Dark Days

Author:Michelle Singletary

“My experience may be different than theirs, readers can identify with trying to save for retirement or their own kid's college fund. In truth, the name of the column, "The Color of Money," has less to do with my race than the fact that the color of money is green and it's green we all need to live a good life.”

Needs Trying May Different Facts Kids Names Race College Color Reader Green Fund Retirement Good Life Columns

Author:Michelle Singletary

“There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.”

“It's an important moment as a reader, I think, when you can forget the question of whether you need to know what happened. Some people really want hard explanations. I'm the other way. I like mysteries. I don't want to frustrate people. I don't want people to feel like they got no answers, but I want to approach the mystery and sit with it.”

People Thinking Knows Way Want Needs Feels Important Hard Moments Answers Forget Happened Mystery Reader Approach Explanation Important Moments

Author:John Darnielle

“I hope the reader's sense that I am deeply empathetic with the pain of being in a desperate marriage, but I also believe that the person who is married to the abuser or the alcoholic or whomever has the greatest potential for helping them.”

Believe Persons Helping Pain Reader Married Desperate Alcoholics Empathetic Abusers

Author:Gary Chapman

“There's a contract that I make between myself, the author, and the reader. I have to figure out how to give the reader certain powers of recognition, or his own knowledge, his own feelings, but I provide them, so we're working together.”

Giving Feelings Together Certain Figures Reader Recognition Working Together Contracts

Author:Toni Morrison

“I have a lot of respect for readers because I'm a reader. That's how I got into writing.”

Writing Reader

Author:Toni Morrison

“Bringing Mid-World to a new readership felt like a big responsibility, but I'm so glad that readers have enjoyed the story. That is a reward in itself.”

World Stories Bigs Felt Responsibility Reader Rewards Glad Enjoyed Readership Big Responsibility

Author:Robin Furth

“In order to capture Mid-World for new readers, I had to streamline the original tale [ The Gunslinger Born], but I also had to incorporate scenes from earlier Dark Tower novels.”

World Order Born Dark Novel Reader Scene Originals Tales Capture Towers Dark Tower Gunslinger

Author:Robin Furth

“I wanted [the book 'There are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé?'] to be colorful. I wanted it to be evocative. I wanted a figure of a black woman that the reader has to confront.”

Book Wanted Beautiful Black Figures Reader Beautiful Things Black Women Colorful

Author:Morgan Parker

“The beginning [of Lincoln in the Bardo] is strange, and I did a lot of work calibrating that so that a reader with a certain level of patience would get through it and in the nick of time start to figure out what was going on. In a short book, you can do that.”

Book Certain Can Do Levels Figures Strange Reader

Author:George Saunders

“There are some things fundamentally off about the stance of the book. And maybe that's okay; maybe every book is flawed, and great books, as flawed as they might be, articulate a moral argument that the reader then carries forward. The critique to this model is, of course, to ask: Should a book be ever so perfect that you come out of it with complete moral agreement that can be sustained?”

Should Book Might Courses Asks Perfect Moral Reader Models Argument Okay Agreement Carrie Flawed Critique Stance Great Book

Author:George Saunders

“In the moment of reading, the writer comes up to the surface and the reader comes up to the surface and they kiss, like two fish. That actually does happen.”

Doe Two Moments Happens Reading Reader Kissing Fishes Come Up Surface

Author:George Saunders

“[In the moment of reading writer and reader] are both briefly their best selves, or at least better selves. A flawed human being writes something and 60 years later a reader picks up the book and something in them rises to meet it.”

Writing Years Humans Book Self Moments Reading Human Beings Reader Picks Flawed Best Self

Author:George Saunders

“I believe that, when [meeting of writer and reader] happens and the reader goes out into the world the next day, there's some alteration that might possibly inflect the person positively.”

World Believe Persons Might Happens Next I Believe Reader Meetings Next Day Positively Alterations

Author:George Saunders

“People will say you should quit running if you're a slow runner. Or you should quit basketball if you can't dribble with your left hand. I don't agree with that. If you're not a very good reader at 14, nobody thinks you should stop reading.”

People Ifs Thinking Should Hands Running Reading Left Reader Basketball Agree Very Good Quitting Runners Left Hand Dribble

Author:Timothy Shriver

“These days, most of my interactions with young people are centered on the poetry or theater classes I teach, so the students I know are reading contemporary poets (they love Willie Perdomo) and scripts (No Child, by Nilaja Sun and Twilight by Anna Deavere Smith). I don't know their reading habits outside of our class, but I believe that they enjoy stories that they can relate to, learn from, be challenged by - you know, the usual good writing that every reader craves.”

“That's one of the reasons I take a lot of consolation in fiction. You have years to work on it. I think that allows you to reach for the best part of your reader instead of a lot of the internet stuff, in which you're kind of reaching for the worst or the most shallow part of your reader.”

Thinking Years Kind Reason Stuff Fiction Worst Reader Internet Reaching Shallow Consolation

Author:George Saunders

“When you write an essay, of course you're going to get pushback, but you're going to be allowed to make your case at leisure. You're going to be allowed to take into account possible objections and to fully humanize your reader. That feels to me like a much more sane thing to do.”

Feels Writing Courses Cases Reader Accounts Things To Do Leisure Sane Essays Objections

Author:George Saunders

“If you understand writing as primarily engaging an imaginary reader, well, you've kind of been doing that your whole life. You walk into a room and you're engaging with imaginary strangers because you don't actually know who they are. For me, it was really empowering to say: this is a branch of entertainment and communication and engagement, as opposed to jumping over some perceived literary high bar. That was the buzzkill.”

Ifs Knows Writing Wells Kind Whole Walks Rooms Communication Reader Entertainment Stranger Whole Life Bars Branches Empowering Engagement Imaginary Engaging Jumping

Author:George Saunders

“When you talk about a reader being emotionally moved, a feeling of empathy, I think that comes out of that line-by-line respect for reader. That's actually where it all comes from.”

Thinking Feelings Lines Reader Empathy Moved

Author:George Saunders

“There are an awful lot of readers who won't pick up a book if they think it's got anything horrific in it, or paranormal or whatever.”

Ifs Thinking Book Reader Picks Awful Paranormal Horrific

Author:Peter James

“With a novel, you have the reader with you a lot longer, and you owe him a lot more. Obviously you have to have a plot - I say "obviously," although I think a lot of fiction doesn't, and nothing seems to happen. But to me, there should be something that happens, and it should be at least vaguely plausible. And because the readers are going to be with these characters for a long time, you have to get to know them and like them and want to know what happens to them.”

Thinking Knows Want Should Long Character Seems Happens Fiction Novel Reader Long Time Plot Plausible

Author:Dave Barry

“It is hard for me to speak of themes. I like the reader to do that. Otherwise it feels like writing a 3rd grade essay on someone else's work.”

Feels Writing Hard Speak Reader Theme Grades Essays

Author:Tim Winton

“My readers are as diverse as any group you will ever see. Something that booksellers always tell me. That they are always surprised at the kind of people that come to my readings. That they are such a mix of ages and colors. It looks like people spilling out of an elevator.”

People Looks Kind Age Reading Groups Color Reader Diverse Elevators Spilling Booksellers

Author:Sandra Cisneros

“If you tell the reader it's funny, then the audience is like an audience at a stand-up comedy club and they expect you to be funny, and if you're not, they notice. Whereas if you read a regular op-ed about Israel or the family or medicine, you're not starting with the assumption that you're supposed to laugh.”

Ifs Audience Laughing Comedy Reader Medicine Starting Clubs Israel Assumption Stand Up Comedy Comedy Clubs

Author:Dave Barry

“No matter what you write, it's a matter of putting words in a certain order so that the reader will be interested in what you're writing.”

Writing Matter Certain Order Reader No Matter What

Author:Stan Lee

“I think any comic book - or really, any book that you can read - in a sense is an educational tool in that it helps literacy. The more you read, the better you get at it. It almost doesn't matter what you read, the important thing is for young people to become readers.”

People Thinking Important Book Matter Helping Young Reader Tools Important Things Educational Comic Comic Book Literacy

Author:Stan Lee

“One of the keys is, and it may sound funny, talking about characters with super powers, but one of the keys is to make your characters as realistic and believable as possible. Even if they have super powers, you say to yourself, "Well, if somebody had a super power like this, what would his life be like? Wouldn't he still maybe have to go to the dentist or wouldn't he have to worry about making a living? What about his love life?" You've got to make characters that your reader can believe exists or might exist.”

Ifs Believe Wells May Stills Character Might Life Is Sound Talking Worry Keys Reader Love Life Realistic His Love Life Is Like Dentist Believable Making A Living Super Power

Author:Stan Lee

“So people that read the New York Times are not gonna have the slightest idea what really happened here. So not only are the Drive-Bys themselves a little dense and not curious and uninformed, so are all of their viewers and readers.”

People Littles Ideas Happened New York Reader Curious Viewers New York Times Dense Uninformed

Author:Rush Limbaugh

“We need heroes of color in all different genres. It's also valuable for white readers to be able to meet people in books that are different than themselves. That can be a way of expanding their minds and experiences.”

People Way Needs Mind Book Different Able White Color Reader Hero Valuable Genre Expanding Different Genres

Author:Kekla Magoon

“I'm a very wide reader. I read serious books and I read airplane, forgettable books. I never have fewer than four or five books beside my bed at night. I particularly enjoy reading about people who have gone through a personal growth.”

People Book Night Reading Enjoy Growth Gone Five Four Serious Reader Bed Personal Growth Wide Fewer Airplane Forgettable

Author:Mary Robinson

“All storytelling is kind of that - there's a bit of text that you put pressure on that spits out some desire that a character has and then you follow that. The other part is that every scene raises an expectation in the reader's mind - that's part of its job is to make you look in and be curious.”

Mind Looks Kind Character Jobs Desire Bits Reader Scene Expectations Pressure Raises Storytelling Curious Spit

Author:George Saunders

“My "mission", if you can call it that, is to connect with my readers on an emotional level and have them come away with a stronger impression of the basic message in the story I am illustrating.”

Ifs Stories Levels Emotional Reader Messages Stronger Missions Impression Illustrating

Author:Floyd Cooper

“The last thing I want is that sense of artifice - rather I want the reader drawn into the story and lost in it and vested in it. So the emotional connection is everything, albeit a connection on my terms.”

Want Stories Lasts Lost Term Emotional Reader Connections Artifice Emotional Connection

Author:Steve Erickson

“I like art that trusts its audience, that's written for readers who like to work hard. I like art that knows its readers are up to the challenge of interacting with difficult material.”

Knows Art Hard Difficult Challenges Audience Written Materials Hard Work Reader Interacting

Author:Joshua Mohr

“It's a beautiful aspect of narrative construction, hunting for the right images and metaphors to render our character's hearts/minds/souls as though they're ecosystems, full-fledged settings for a reader to inhabit like a place.”

Mind Heart Soul Character Beautiful Reader Aspect Metaphor Setting Settings Narrative Construction Hunting Ecosystems

Author:Joshua Mohr

“The point of reading is to inhabit a consciousness that doesn't belong to the reader, immersing yourself in a life that's wholly realized. And a huge facet of our psychic and existential make-ups is the things we're not proud of, things we didn't ask to experience, the scenarios we flubbed.”

Reading Asks Consciousness Huge Reader Proud Existential Psychics Scenarios Facets Immersing Yourself

Author:Joshua Mohr

“If a character is honest with a reader, then (hopefully) that will engage the reader's empathy centers; she'll meet that openness with acceptance, and they'll forge a nourishing and meaningful bond as the book continues.”

Ifs Book Character Honest Acceptance Reader Empathy Meaningful Hopefully Openness

Author:Joshua Mohr

“My job as the novelist is to present the whole case, then the reader gets to render her verdict.”

Whole Jobs Cases Reader Novelists Verdict

Author:Joshua Mohr

“It's important to write like your readers are brilliant.”

Writing Important Like You Reader Brilliant

Author:Joshua Mohr

“I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results in a deeper understanding as opposed to the novel proclaiming this is what it is right and this is what is wrong.”

Thinking Understanding Results Fiction Novel Reader Deeper Domain Proclaiming Deeper Understanding

Author:Mohsin Hamid

“Whatever I'm doing, I try to write well. I try to give the reader a nice, clean well-written surface, where the writing is transparent. It probably takes me longer to write things, but it's very important to me that the writing itself be good.”

Giving Writing Trying Wells Important Nice Written Reader Clean Surface Be Good Take Me Transparent Well Written

Author:Shelby Steele

“The readers get younger all the time, and we're getting older.”

Reader Getting Old Getting Older

Author:Irvine Welsh

“A book is not a tweet. A book is not a half-hour television show. A book requires for both reader and writer sustained discipline attention. It asks you to immerse yourself in something and really deeply feel it.”

Feels Book Shows Asks Hours Attention Half Television Reader Discipline Tweet Television Shows Half Hours Really Deep

Author:Ben H. Winters

“At the very core of what a comic is, time and space are kind of the same thing. When your reader moves her eyes across the page, she should be moving through time in your story.”

Should Kind Stories Eye Moving Space Reader Pages Core Comic Her Eyes Time And Space Rough Times

Author:Gene Luen Yang

“I was always a slow reader, from the very beginning. I remember in first grade our teacher divided us into groups, and I was definitely in the slow group. She didn't call it that, but everybody in the class knew. But I still loved reading. Being a slow reader affected my grades in school, but it didn't affect my love for reading. I still loved going to the library, and I still loved reading books.”

Firsts Stills Book School Remember Reading Class Teacher Groups Reader Library Grades Affected Divided Reading Books Grades In School

Author:Gene Luen Yang

“It might be helping to explore a story visually by going to see a museum exhibit that's relevant to something that somebody's reading, or going to see a show or listening to a piece of music or cooking a meal that's in one of the stories, something practical, something kinesthetic that draws the reader in and helps them to experience the story for themselves. Those are all ways I think we can kind of come in the back door and help kids find the joy, as opposed to the chore or responsibility, of reading.”

Thinking Way Kind Helping Stories Shows Might Kids Joy Reading Responsibility Pieces Doors Listening Reader Draws Cooking Practicals Meals Museums Relevant Exhibits Chores Back Doors

Author:Emma Walton Hamilton

“When I read to children, I try to become the characters. It's great if you can make a separate voice for each character. Sometimes you can lower your voice with excitement or get more intimate about it: you can lean forward and engage the children as a narrator or as a reader. It's particularly important that you find the voice that you want to use for each character, because then children can imagine that person as you're reading aloud. And of course, the illustrations help enormously.”

Ifs Want Trying Children Persons Important Sometimes Character Helping Use Courses Reading Voice Imagine Reader Excitement Intimate Imagine That Illustration Narrators Reading Aloud

Author:Julie Andrews

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