Why I Read

Having recently seen The Lady in the Van (three times!) I was reminded of how much I have enjoyed the work of Alan Bennett over the years—which led me to his Untold Stories, published in 2005.  In a section on “Art, Architecture and Authors” he writes:

“Sometimes when one’s reading a book, a novel say, you come across a thought or a feeling, which you’ve had yourself, and, thinking it peculiar to yourself, you haven’t expressed or communicated it…and now here it is set down by someone else.  And it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”

Original Caption: The Librarian Carefully Enters the Consignment Into Her Books, 12/1952. Records of the U.S. Information Agency. National Archives Identifier 23932351

Doesn’t happen to me often, but often enough for Bennett’s words to strike home.  I will sometimes be struck by a thought or use of language that makes me pause, reread, sometimes record, and always savor the moment.  Why I read.