“Master those books you have. Read them thoroughly. Bathe in them until they saturate you. Read and reread them…digest them. Let them go into your very self. Peruse a good book several times and make notes and analyses of it. A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books he has merely skimmed. Little learning and much pride comes from hasty reading. Some men are disabled from thinking by their putting meditation away for the sake of much reading. In reading let your motto be ‘much not many.”
― Lectures to My Students
― Lectures to My Students
“Experience is a brutal teacher, but you learn fast.”
― Shadowlands: A Play
― Shadowlands: A Play
“The Guide says there is an art to flying", said Ford, "or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
― Life, the Universe and Everything
― Life, the Universe and Everything
“We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking. This is the great paradox.”
― The Notebook
― The Notebook
Shawn’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Shawn’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Shawn
Lists liked by Shawn







