21 March 2012

On books

Unlike some people I have met, I do not despise book-learning.

On the contrary, I treasure it as a way to converse with friends who are no longer alive, or who are thousands of miles away from me here in my hermitage.

Most of all, I treasure the fact that the people who write books (the ones I read, anyway) are willing to have a long, sustained conversation and explore the subject matter in detail. They do not, like so many people I meet in "real life", become impatient and irritated when things get serious -- or when I stop to ponder a single point for days on end.

I like it when someone refers me to a book I haven't read. I think of it as being set up on a blind date by a matchmaking friend: "You'll like her. She's into many of the same things as you."

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