Bookworm, I'm a bookworm

[agt_spooky]

John and I are still doing our spring cleaning and yesterday I came across my favorite bookmark, which I thought I'd lost, but it had simply slipped between some pieces of paper on my desk.

Anyway...why is this my favorite bookmark, you ask? It's nothing fancy. Just light blue with a simple yellow flower on it that I got for free at a bargain bookstore many, many years ago. What made it my favorite was the quote that was written on it...

"To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life." - W. Somerset Maugham

I was really struck by those words, because for me, that's completely true. I've used books since I was a child to escape from real life for a little while. To forget my troubles and go on an adventure with the characters in the pages.

What about you? Does that quote ring true for you, too? Or has reading never been about escaping, but just pure enjoyment? Do you have a favorite quote that pertains to reading?

Comments

[greenwoman.livejournal.com]

Books were an escape for me, but that was just a part of it. They were also a way for me to learn about the world, when I returned to it, and how to cope with it. Most of the moral code I have had through my teenage and adult years came from The Lord of the Rings, and Stranger In A Strange Land. I have also mostly preferred non-fiction to fiction, and so read hundreds of biographies and history books while growing up.

So: escape, education, moral compass. That's what books have always been for me.

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Books were an escape for me, but that was just a part of it. They were also a way for me to learn about the world, when I returned to it, and how to cope with it.

Wow…I'm always amazed at hearing about the power books have for people. :-)

Most of the moral code I have had through my teenage and adult years came from The Lord of the Rings, and Stranger In A Strange Land.

I, too, believe reading starting at a young age helped shaped me into the person that I am. There's an awful lot of good role models in books!

I have also mostly preferred non-fiction to fiction, and so read hundreds of biographies and history books while growing up.

Even though I rarely read non-fiction books, I do feel like I've learned a lot about history, etc through fiction books set in the 1800's, etc.

So: escape, education, moral compass. That's what books have always been for me.

You can't ask for more than that! :-)

[samazon13.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a big Me Too on this one! Those two books formed a lot of my morality, and then when I saw the first Star Wars movie, I had the missing piece to drop into my world view.

Growing up, I too would fall into a book so hard, I wouldn't hear anyone calling my name. I used to climb up into trees and read there, so my Mom had a devil of a time bringing me in to dinner!

[agt-spooky.livejournal.com]

Star Wars! I was six years old in May of 1977 and I begged my dad to take me. Surprisingly, he did. I don’t think he knew what a major impact that movie was going to have on me. :-)

It’s a darn good thing we didn’t have a tree worth climbing in my backyard or my parents never would’ve found me. :-)