Returns (The Library Trilogy, #1.6)

by Mark Lawrence

Every book is full of death. Or full of endings at least. There’s no turning back. No returning. You cannot read the same book twice. When you return to the first page it will be a different “you”, changed by the very experiences you are seeking to recapture.

Every book is full of endings. Each sentence runs on, growing, building in complexity until its terminal punctuation brings it to a final, inarguable halt. Each chapter is a little death, tension raised, peaked, and released. And before the back cover can be reached, the last page must be crossed. And whether in triumph or sorrow, the story is done.

Secrets are no sin. They’re the vital glue that binds the narrative of our lives. Written in invisible ink, hidden in cipher, the current of mystery that makes each of us unknowable, that turns us into a question others might wish to ask.

“This sounds a bit one-sided. What do I get out of it if I … win?” “You always get something out of reading a book. It’s a reward in and of itself.”