
Vol. I, bk. 2, ch. 8.
Recollections (1917)
"Reading", p. 11
The Dyer's Hand, and Other Essays (1962)
Vol. I, bk. 2, ch. 8.
Recollections (1917)
Abiding Interests (1997), Foreword
“A critic can only review the book he has read, not the one which the writer wrote.”
The Complete Neurotic's Notebook (1981), Unclassified
Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India (1999)
“I cannot live without books.”
Letter to John Adams (10 June 1815)
1810s
[2005, Stations of Wisdom, World Wisdom, 102, 978-0-94153218-1]
God, Reverential fear and love
“You cannot open a book without learning something.”
(24 July 2005)
Unfit for Mass Consumption (blog entries), 2005
Context: There are many words and phrases that should be forever kept out of the hands of book reviewers. It's sad, but true. And one of these is "self-indulgent." And this is one of those things that strikes me very odd, like reviewers accusing an author of writing in a way that seems "artificial" or "self-conscious." It is, of course, a necessary prerequisite of fiction that one employ the artifice of language and that one exist in an intensely self-conscious state. Same with "self-indulgent." What could possibly be more self-indulgent than the act of writing fantastic fiction? The author is indulging her- or himself in the expression of the fantasy, and, likewise, the readers are indulging themselves in the luxury of someone else's fantasy. I've never written a story that wasn't self-indulgent. Neither has any other fantasy or sf author. We indulge our interests, our obsessions, and assume that someone out there will feel as passionately about X as we do.