The relationship between writers and readers

“We're all strangers connected by what we reveal, what we share, what we take away -- our stories. I guess that's what I love about books -- they are thin strands of humanity that tether us to one another for a small bit of time, that make us feel less alone or even more comfortable with our aloneness, if need be.”  ― Libba Bray

“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.”  - Angela Carter

"I can't write without a reader. It's precisely like a kiss - you can't do it alone."  - John Cheever

Art above:  "A Lady Reading" and a detail from "The Brown Tea Pot" by Gwen John. (My previous post about the artist is here.) For further reflections on the power of writing and reading, I recommend Elaine Scarry's article "Poetry Changed the World" in The Boston Review.