the mirror

earlier I wrote about reviewing others’ works, and how difficult I find it.  I wrote about losing myself in books, finding myself in books, falling in love with what I read, becoming spellbound.  and the other day, while reading a book, I discovered the reason I’m not a book critic and why I react to books as I do.

it’s not earth shattering.  in fact, it’s something we all innately sense.  I’d just never heard–or read–it so beautifully put as I did by carlos ruiz zafon in his book, the shadow of the wind, when he wrote,

books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.

ah.  I read, I see, and I stay in that place, not able to tear myself away and pretend impartiality.

hold this thought; consider your most cherished books.

ponder.