“To read is to withdraw. To make oneself unavailable. One would feel easier about it if the pursuit inself were less… selfish.”

— Alan Bennett, book The Uncommon Reader

Source: The Uncommon Reader

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Alan Bennett56

English actor, author 1934

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Context: There is no reason to suppose that people today feel less than their grandfathers, but there is good reason to think that they are less able to read in a way which makes them feel. It is natural for them to blame books rather than themselves, and to demand fiction which is highly peppered, like a glutton whose palate is defective.