Quotes About Literature

I wish thee as much pleasure in the reading, as I had in the writing.

The thematic, psychological, and cultural concerns of a writer are more relevant than whatever literary mode he or she chooses to deal with in any given novel.

Fools are my theme, let satire be my song.

If a theme or idea is too near the surface, the novel becomes simply a tract illustrating an idea.

I've never sat down and thought about the difference between plot and theme. To me, that's never been important.

Consciousness - that, to me, is the theme of the modern novel.

Sometimes with good writers you don't spot the theme, but when you come away you realise there has been one.

I think that one of the reasons Shakespeare withstands the test of time is that his themes are so universal.

I can talk to him about anything. We have the same kind of education and—" "What kind of education?" Clay asked. "We enjoy the arts. Music, literature, theater, art. My degree is in classical studies.

The genre has moved into this commercial aspect of itself, and ignored this extraordinarily rich literature that's filed everywhere else except under travel.

You know how they categorize Shakespeare's plays, right? If it ends with a wedding, it's a comedy. And if it ends with a funeral, it's a tragedy.

Bibliotherapy"—using books to treat psychological disorders—may be a new trend, but for me, it came naturally.

In his writing about communism's insidiousness, Mi?osz referenced a 1932 novel, Insatiability. In it, Polish writer Stanis?aw Witkiewicz wrote of a near-future dystopia in which the people were culturally exhausted and had fallen into decadence. A Mongol army from the East threatened to overrun them.

We have to tell our stories—in literature, film, theater, and other media—but we must also manifest cultural memory in communal deeds—in mourning and in celebration, in solemn remembrance and festal joy.

Head in the book. Nose sliding down the valley between the pages.

I knew all the books in the house. I knew their shapes and smells. I knew what pages would open if I held them with the spine on the ground and let the sides drop. I knew all the books but I couldn't remember the name of the one on my head.

The sun shines. Readers read.

creía o decía creer que detrás de los libros, los objetos que llamamos libros, había un espíritu de clase.

There are wars between different kinds or genres of books, he said. And, as in real wars, the best don't always win; but for us, in the end, there are no losers, although they all fade away.

a room without boooks like a body without soul

El ejemplo de la lectura y la escritura es revelador de que allí hay un proceso de liberación: el mecanismo híbrido permite actos creativos que no están inscritos en una inexorable cadena de causas y efectos. La literatura, como otras expresiones artísticas, es una actividad liberadora.

He who owns Books and loves them is wise.

Nicholas Sparks recently went on record as saying he is a greater novelist than Cormac McCarthy. This is true in the same sense that I am a better novelist than William Shakespeare.

At the end of the day, some authors will endure and most, including some very good ones, will not. Why do I think reading is important? It is such an effective medium between mind and mind. We think largely in words. A medium made only of words doesn't impose the barrier of any other medium. It is naked and unprotected communication. That's how you get pregnant. May you always be so.