Najihah’s Reviews > Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books > Status Update

"Sometimes a quote feels as though it’s looking at us in the eye. Those who’ve experienced that will know what I mean. It’s as if there’s a beam of light shining upon us, guiding us just as we’re feeling lost. Sometimes a single sentence is more powerful than a whole book."

Italo Calvino, in his book Why Read the Classics?, says this: The classics are those books about which you usually hear people saying: ‘I’m rereading …’, never ‘I’m reading …’
Why, though? Calvino says it’s ‘an act of hypocrisy on the part of people ashamed to admit they have not read a famous book’.

"Whenever someone approaches me for a book recommendation, I’ll start by asking them several questions: What’s your favourite book? What was the last book you read? Did you like it? How many books do you read a month? Do you prefer novels or essays? Who is your favourite author?
Without any idea of the individual’s tastes, it’s hard to offer them a good recommendation."