“I like to be aware of a book as a piece of writing, and aware of its structure as a product of mind, and yet I want to be able to see the represented world through it. I admire artists who succeed in dividing my attention more or less evenly between the world of their books and the art of their books . . . so that a reader may study the work with pleasure as well as the world that it describes.” WorldWantWritingMindWellsMayArtBookAbleArtistPleasureAttentionStudyPiecesProductsReaderSucceedStructureAdmireDividing Author:Annie Dillard
“A ghost story of which the scene is laid in the twelfth or thirteenth century may succeed in being romantic or poetical: it will never put the reader into the position of saying to himself: "If I'm not careful, something of this kind may happen to me!” IfsKindMayStoriesHappensCenturyPositionReaderSceneSucceedCarefulGhostGhost Stories Book:Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories Source: Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories
“Among the English authors, Shakespeare has incomparably excelled all others. That noble extravagance of fancy, which he had in so great perfection, thoroughly qualified him to touch the weak, superstitious part of his readers' imagination, and made him capable of succeeding where he had nothing to support him besides the strength of his own genius.” MadeImaginationSupportReaderGeniusSucceedCapablePerfectionWeakNobleFancyQualifiedSuperstitiousExtravagance Book:Essays in Criticism and Literary Theory Source: Essays in Criticism and Literary Theory
“Give me a thrill, says the reader, Give me a kick; I don't care how you succeed, or What subject you pick.” GivingCareReadingSubjectsReaderSucceedPicksGive MeDon't CareI Don't CareKicksThrill Book:Collected Poems Source: Collected Poems
“I would also hope that readers receive a larger understanding, or a different understanding, of what it means to be human, than they might have had before. We suffer from being quick to judge, quick to make excuses for ourselves and others, and I would like the reader to feel that we are all, more or less, in a similar state as we love and disappoint one another, and that we try, most of us, as best we can, and that to fail and succeed is what we do.” FeelsTryingHumansMeanDifferentStatesMightSufferingUnderstandingFailingJudgingReaderSucceedExcuseDisappointWhat It Means To Be HumanQuick To Judge Author:Elizabeth Strout