“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”
Mason Cooley
I have been posting my Thursday Thoughts on books for ever so long now its seems - maybe 5 years? And I must say, this notion of books transporting you, of creating escape, of allowing you to travel without leaving home has surfaced a few times, in different ways.
And each time I read a quote that suggests it, I just have to nod and agree and go yep, it still does that so let's go with it.
It is true for me that when I read I can go far away - in terms of the content of the book - the place I am reading about; where the person lives or visits; or where the novel is set. A book can give me a sense of a place I have never been, inspire me to visit somewhere else; make me think I never want to go there or help me remember fun and gorgeous times I may have had in that same place. All without leaving my chair.
Books can also transport me in terms of the process of reading - that luxurious sense of escape, as we would say in Australia of "wagging" life for a bit. I can go miles and miles away in my head when I am stuck in a good book.
I am forever grateful that I learnt to read and that I love to read - for all it allows me to do and be, and for all the places it takes me.
A shot of Edinburgh - one of the cities I read about and longed to visit... and did.
Mason Cooley
I have been posting my Thursday Thoughts on books for ever so long now its seems - maybe 5 years? And I must say, this notion of books transporting you, of creating escape, of allowing you to travel without leaving home has surfaced a few times, in different ways.
And each time I read a quote that suggests it, I just have to nod and agree and go yep, it still does that so let's go with it.
It is true for me that when I read I can go far away - in terms of the content of the book - the place I am reading about; where the person lives or visits; or where the novel is set. A book can give me a sense of a place I have never been, inspire me to visit somewhere else; make me think I never want to go there or help me remember fun and gorgeous times I may have had in that same place. All without leaving my chair.
Books can also transport me in terms of the process of reading - that luxurious sense of escape, as we would say in Australia of "wagging" life for a bit. I can go miles and miles away in my head when I am stuck in a good book.
I am forever grateful that I learnt to read and that I love to read - for all it allows me to do and be, and for all the places it takes me.
A shot of Edinburgh - one of the cities I read about and longed to visit... and did.
love the way books bring out that sense of longing...
ReplyDelete"Many love stories are like the shells of hermit crabs, though others are more like chambered nautiluses, whose architecture grows with the inhabitant and whose abandoned smaller chambers are lighter than water and let them float in the sea."
- Rebecca Solnit
A Field Guide to Getting Lost
Oh there are hours of contemplation in that Mom - thank you !
DeleteA wonderful quote. The best books are those that are impossible to put down and that have the reader yearning to crawl into it and exist in its world. Just finished "The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend" and it was such a book.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you continued your Thursday Thoughts. The quotes themselves always make me take a moment to ponder, but it's your view/explanation that is most inspiring. Enjoy!
Thanks J - sounds like a book to look out for. I enjoy being prompted to think about things and am ever so glad I began my ThTh and that folk still enjoy them. Go well.
DeleteYes! So grateful for my reading experiences. Books are still and always will be one of the best ways to lose myself and find myself at the same time. So glad you are still doing these Thursday Thoughts, F, now that I am back in the Blogspot!
ReplyDeleteAh welcome back to the world of blog G! I enjoy the wanders we all take along this blog road. Perfect description re losing yourself and finding yourself with a book - is fun to have ThTh to ponder.
DeleteAh, beautiful Edinburgh. Such a classy place. I'm currently reading about classical drawing so I'm transported to Florence... if only!
ReplyDeleteI do love a visit to Edinburgh - must go back! But then I love Florence too - but am happy to travel in books as well, sigh. Enjoy your travels L!
Delete