“A novel is a conversation starter, and if the author isn't there for the after-party, both the writer and the reader are missing a lot.” IfsPartyNovelMissingReaderConversationStartersAfter Party Author:Maggie Stiefvater
“We re-make nature by the act of discovery, in the poem or in the theorem. And the great poem and the deep theorem are new to every reader, and yet are his own experiences, because he himself re-creates them. They are the marks of unity in variety; and in the instant when the mind seizes this for itself, in art or in science, the heart misses a beat.” MindHeartArtMissingReaderBeatsDiscoveryMarkUnityVarietyInstantTheorems Book:Science and Human Values Source: Science and Human Values
“The Transformation of the World is lavishly reinforced with critical apparatus (that, too, must have been a labor of Hercules to translate--I honestly never expected to see this book in English), but by far its greatest attraction is the intelligence and more important the wisdom of its author. It's a towering achievement no serious reader should miss.” WorldShouldHas BeensImportantBookMissingSeriousReaderAchievementLaborTransformationCriticalAttractionExpectedHonestlyTranslate Author:Steve Donoghue
“I think Miss Moore was right to cut "The Steeple-Jack" - the poem seems plainer and clearer in its shortened state but she has cut too much... The reader may feel like saying, "Let her do as she pleases with the poem; it's hers, isn't it?" No; it's much too good a poem for that, it long ago became everybody's, and we can protest just as we could if Donatello cut off David's left leg.” IfsThinkingFeelsMayLongStatesSeemsLeftToo MuchCuttingMissingReaderPleaseLegsProtestLong AgoSteeplesDonatello Author:Randall Jarrell
“I wanted to write a voice that for me, as a reader, had been missing from the chorus: the voice of an angry woman.” WritingWantedVoiceMissingReaderAngryChorusAngry Women Author:Claire Messud
“In a novella, a whole lot of crap can happen, and you can build momentum and suspense and leave room for a surprise or three. Stories are cut down to the most essential elements, and novels (this might be an unfair generalization on my part) are big fat clumsy efforts where the reader can snooze for a couple chapters and miss nothing of consequence. Hence my love for the middle way.” WayWholeStoriesBigsMightHappensThreeRoomsEffortNovelCuttingMiddleMissingReaderCoupleEssentialsElementsConsequenceSurpriseFatsSuspenseChaptersUnfairCrapMomentumClumsyGeneralizationMiddle Way Author:Robert Reed
“Most of what I read is for reviewing purposes or related to something I want to write about. It's slightly utilitarian. I definitely miss that sense of being a disinterested reader who's reading purely for the pleasure of imagining his way into emotional situations and vividly realized scenes in nineteenth-century France or late nineteenth-century Russia.” WayWantWritingPurposeReadingPleasureSituationCenturyMissingEmotionalReaderSceneLateRussiaFranceRelatedNineteenth CenturyDisinterestedUtilitarian Author:Pankaj Mishra
“I don't think readers of Mann have overlooked the fact that he was a great ironist, but they have tended to see the irony in particular parts of the novella, and to miss it in others.” ThinkingFactsMissingParticularReaderIronyOverlooked Author:Philip Kitcher
“Miss Havisham is a glitch in the smooth functioning of the Patriarchy, enforcing awareness of a moment of social disaster and personal shame, something it seems she would want us to forget (but no one would forget). (Maybe an interesting "discussion question" for readers of Complicated Grief might be, "What do Terry Barton and Miss Havisham have in common?"?)” WantMomentsSeemsMightSocialForgetInterestingCommonGriefAwarenessMissingReaderShameComplicatedDisasterDiscussionSmoothPatriarchyWant UGlitchesHavishamMiss HavishamComplicated Grief Author:Laura Mullen