“Readers are bullied in schoolyards and in locker-rooms as much as in government offices and prisons.”
Work
At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book<b>—</b>that string of confused, alien ciphers<b>—</b>shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, whole universes opened. You became, irrevocably, a reader. Noted essayist Alberto Manguel moves from this essential moment to explore the 6000-year-old conversation between words and that magician without whom the book would be a lifeless object: the reader. Manguel lingers over reading as seduction, as rebellion, as obsession, and goes on to trace the never-before-told story of the reader's progress from clay tablet to scroll, codex to CD-ROM.
Quotes
Showing 1-9 of 9
Alberto Manguel
Canonical work source
“Readers are bullied in schoolyards and in locker-rooms as much as in government offices and prisons.”
“I don't remember ever feeling lonely; in fact, on the rare occasions when I met other children I found their games and their talk far less interesting than the adventures and dialogues I rea...”
“And sometimes, when the stars are kind, we read with an intake of breath, with a shudder, as if someone or something had 'walked over our grave,' as if a memory had suddenly been rescued fro...”
“We read in slow, long motions, as if drifting in space, weightless. We read full of prejudice, malignantly. We read generously, making excuses for the text, filling gaps, mending faults. And...”
“Each book was a world unto itself, and in it I took refuge.”
“I wanted to live among books.”
“Life happened because I turned the pages.”
“The books on my shelves do not know me until I open them, yet I am certain that they address me — me and every other reader — by name; they await our comments and opinions. I am presumed in...”
“At one magical instant in your early childhood, the page of a book—that string of confused, alien ciphers—shivered into meaning. Words spoke to you, gave up their secrets; at that moment, wh...”