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“The first duty of the novelist is to entertain. It is a moral duty. People who read your books are sick, sad, traveling, in the hospital waiting room while someone is dying. Books are written by the alone for the alone.”
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“I read," I say. "I study and read. I bet I've read everything you read. Don't think I haven't. I consume libraries. I wear out spines and ROM-drives. I do things like get in a taxi and say, "The library, and step on it." My instincts concerning syntax and mechanics are better than your own, I can tell, with all due respect. But it transcends the mechanics. I'm not a machine. I feel and believe. I have opinions. Some of them are interesting. I could, if you'd let me, talk and talk.”
―
―
“A story is not like a road to follow … it's more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows. And you, the visitor, the reader, are altered as well by being in this enclosed space, whether it is ample and easy or full of crooked turns, or sparsely or opulently furnished. You can go back again and again, and the house, the story, always contains more than you saw the last time. It also has a sturdy sense of itself of being built out of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you.”
― Selected Stories
― Selected Stories
“Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.”
― The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx
― The Essential Groucho: Writings For By And About Groucho Marx
Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
— 21924 members
— last activity 9 hours, 38 min ago
For those attempting the crazy feat of reading all 1001 books! For discerning bibliophiles and readers who enjoy unforgettable classic literature, 10 ...more
The Virginia Woolf Reading Group
— 341 members
— last activity Aug 04, 2023 01:15AM
This group is for anyone who knows (or wants to know) about Virginia Woolf. If you have read all her works or none, loved her books or hated them, t ...more
Constant Reader
— 5991 members
— last activity 3 hours, 11 min ago
A forum for friendly discussion of classics, literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short stories. We also love movies and art. Don't ask to join th ...more
Russian Readers Club
— 1224 members
— last activity Aug 10, 2023 03:07AM
The place where both russian readers and lovers of russian literature can share their thoughts about russian literature as well as about foreign one, ...more
Fans of Southern Literature
— 545 members
— last activity Aug 30, 2025 04:35AM
This is a group that discusses Southern authors and literature. We as a group have people who come together and talk about the great southern books we ...more
Alex’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alex’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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