The chief knowledge that's man on from reading books is the knowledge that very few of them are worth reading. — H. L. Mencken Copy Share Image
I'm writing a science book - a sort of compendium of all the ways I've found of explaining things to my artsy… — Ben Miller Copy Share Image
“What was it like to be the person who chose books readers would fall in love with, buy for their mothers, and… — Elisabeth Egan Copy Share Image
Students read for tests and because their parents ask them to, but I think it's very important to tell children that you… — Adora Svitak Copy Share Image
Personally, I like the social novel. I like writing that gets in and under the hood and looks about - at what's… — Colum McCann Copy Share Image
“I like Sade. I’m re-reading Juliette. I skip the philosophy and read the salacious bits. His descriptive imagination is incredible.” — Michael Gira Copy Share Image
If I'm in a state about a book, I'll get up at 6 A.M. and write before breakfast, but usually I'll start… — Claire Tomalin Copy Share Image
“A library will continue to function nicely without every other position, but without the pages it would grind to a stop within… — Don Borchert Copy Share Image
“Who wants to become a writer? And why? ... It's the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build… — Enid Bagnold Copy Share Image
I had a library of maybe 1,000 books in my room in Buenos Aires. I did have the sense that everything there… — Alberto Manguel Copy Share Image
My elementary school teachers were big on pushing kids to read. If you read a certain amount of books, they would provide… — Rey Mysterio Copy Share Image
Nothing frustrates me more than someone who reads something of mine or anyone else's and says, angrily, 'I don't buy it.' Why… — Malcolm Gladwell Copy Share Image
I have many stories which don't make it to the computer. When I put it into the computer I make some changes… — Arthur Bradford Copy Share Image
I argued strongly to the American publisher that 'Reality Hunger' should come out first. They thought that 'The Thing About Life' would… — David Shields Copy Share Image
“When I am writing a novel, the setting, the characters, the action is clear in mind when I start -- so I… — P.D. James Copy Share Image
“I read and read and read with an intensity I’d never really known before. I mean, I’d always considered myself to be… — Matt Haig Copy Share Image
Pepys was such a meticulous person that he had little wooden blocks to make all the books on his shelves the same… — David Linley Copy Share Image
There was a point when I thought I would primarily be a writer, but the acting seems to have got in the… — Lennie James Copy Share Image
I see myself as a first-draft writer, so when I sit down to write something, the first draft is usually pretty close… — Noah Hawley Copy Share Image
A good short story is a work of art which daunts us in proportion to its brevity… No inspiration is too noble… — Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward Copy Share Image
“Writing is too silly for me. There are no rules. One person tears apart everything you write while another person praises it… — Rahul Kanakia Copy Share Image
All the things that live within you find their place, in character and story, once you tap into that other space that… — Francesca Gregorini Copy Share Image
“I'm the one flunking out of this goddam place, and you're asking me to write you a goddam composition.” — J.D. Salinger Copy Share Image
Because publishing is becoming more business-oriented each day with more examination of the bottom line, it's harder to break out than ever. — Nicholas Sparks Copy Share Image
A book has to be easy to open and you don't have to be a bodybuilder to lift it. I like books… — Karl Lagerfeld Copy Share Image
“I began to write fiction on the assumption that the true enemies of the novel were plot, character, setting and theme.” — John Hawkes Copy Share Image
Anyone who has problems, or worries, anyone who laughs and cries, anyone who feels can write. It's only talking on paper... talking… — Patricia Reilly Giff Copy Share Image
The common intuition is that e-books should be cheap because they aren't physical - no printing, no shipping. — Virginia Postrel Copy Share Image
Writing, more than any other art, is indexed to the worthiness of the self because it is identified in peoples minds with… — Rachel Cusk Copy Share Image
“Just when I figured out how to quiet the characters in my head, the multiple stories my creative muse wants me to… — L.M. Fields Copy Share Image
I was a library rat and a bookworm. I read all the time. I walked to school reading books. I read under… — Chelsea Cain Copy Share Image
I was brought up on Dickens. I remember reading 'Bleak House' but, coming back to it, I didn't remember much about it… — Burn Gorman Copy Share Image
Well, I'm a slow writer. For me, a good day is a page, maybe a page and a half. I'd love to… — Charles Frazier Copy Share Image
Once, in an interview with 'V' magazine, I said that I preferred Fitzgerald to Hemingway. I think that Hemingway is an amazing… — Dree Hemingway Copy Share Image
“Being a professional writer is a lot like being a hooker. You'd better find out if you're any good at it before… — Sharyn McCrumb Copy Share Image
Writer's block has probably existed since the invention of writing, but the term itself was first introduced into the academic literature in… — Maria Konnikova Copy Share Image
“My reason for being an author? Because I love to write - it fulfills me. But the fact that I entertain others… — Chasta Schneider Copy Share Image
“Publishing, I learn later, is a little like the garment industry: You have to be geographically well placed, in New York, for… — Daniel Menaker Copy Share Image
When the characters are really alive before their author, the latter does nothing but follow them in their action, in their words,… — Luigi Pirandello Copy Share Image
The final lesson a writer learns is that everything can nourish the writer. The dictionary, a new word, a voyage, an encounter,… — Anais Nin Copy Share Image
