“Finnegans Wake is not a book to read, but a book to decipher:”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) Canadian literary critic and literary theorist
"Quotes", The Educated Imagination (1963), Talk 4: The Keys To Dreamland
Context: Finnegans Wake is not a book to read, but a book to decipher: as Joyce says, it's about a dreamer, but it's addressed to an ideal reader suffering from ideal insomnia.
Mariko Tamaki (1975) Canadian writer and artist
On reading books that might be deemed inappropriate in “We Read To Challenge Ourselves: An Interview With Mariko Tamaki” https://comicsalliance.com/mariko-tamaki-pride-week-interview/ in Comics Alliance (2016 Jun 24)
Alberto Manguel (1948) writer
Source: A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader's Reflections on a Year of Books
Cosimo de' Medici (1389–1464) First ruler of the Medici political dynasty
Attributed to Cosimo de' Medici, Duke of Florence, in Apothegms by Francis Bacon, (1624) No. 206
“We should read much, we should not read many books.”
Multum legendum esse, non multa.
Pliny the Younger (61–113) Roman writer
Letter 9, 15.
Letters, Book VII
“our lives change in two ways :through the people we meet and the books we read”
Harvey Mackay (1932) American businessman and journalist
“Why read the crystal when he can read the book?”
Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960) Welsh politician
Hansard, House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 468, col. 319.
Speech in the House of Commons, 29 September 1949.
1940s
Context: It has been suggested, I think by the hon. Member for East Aberdeenshire (Mr. Boothby) that the most constructive suggestion he could make was to urge an early General Election and a return of a Tory Government in Britain. Why on earth should he want to prophesy what might result from a Tory Government when history has the record for him? Why read the crystal when he can read the book?
José Baroja (1983) Chilean author and editor
Original source: Mucho se dice que los niños no leen. Bueno, yo diría que si los adultos no comienzan a hacerlo, no es justo acusar a los más pequeños de no leer. Ellos deben vernos con un libro entre las manos. <br class="br">Source: Trujillo, E. (2018). "Promover la lectura es una responsabilidad moral de los escritores: José Baroja". En Perú Informa. http://www.peruinforma.com/entrevista-cultural-al-escritor-chileno-jose-baroja/#:~:text=Hablar%20del%20escritor%20chileno%20Jos%C3%A9,en%20Letras%2C%20menci%C3%B3n%20en%20Literatura.. Consultado el 17 de junio de 2022.
