‘At the risk of sounding like a piece of steak,’ she said, ‘they tenderise one. ![]() ‘Books are wonderful, aren’t they?’ she said to the vice-chancellor, who concurred. …reading was, among other things, a muscle and one that she had seemingly developed. ‘Can there be any greater pleasure,’ she confided in her neighbour, the Canadian minister for overseas trade, ‘than to come across an author one enjoys and then to find they have written not just one book or two, but at least a dozen?’ And all, though she did not say this, in paperback and so handbag size. ‘Am I alone,’ she wrote, ‘in wanting to give Henry James a good talking-to?’īut later says – “…becoming reconciled even to Henry James, whose divagations she now took in her stride: ‘After all,’ as she wrote in her notebook, ‘novels are not necessarily written as the crow flies.’ She was not a gentle reader and often wished authors were around so that she could take them to task. There was sadness to her reading, too, and for the first time in her life she felt there was a good deal she had missed. All readers were equal, herself included… Books did not defer. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something lofty about literature. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.’ Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it. Your words can serve as the bread that helps readers digest each quote easily. Here in these pages and between these covers she could go unrecognized.’ For example, papers analyzing literature may rely heavily on direct. ‘And she who had led a life apart now found that she craved it. …was anonymous it was shared it was common,’ she thinks. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up.’ Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. ‘Of course,’ said the Queen, ‘but briefing is not reading. What she was finding also was how one book led to another, doors kept opening wherever she turned and the days weren’t long enough for the reading she wanted to do. The Queen, on reading (according to Bennett) – …it came to her that for some reason Norman was sulking, behaviour she had seldom come across except in children and the occasional cabinet minister. ![]() One is saving that for a rainy day,’ and passed swiftly on.Īpart from the dozens of delightful quotes about reading (see some of my favourites below), Bennett’s wit is razor-sharp and it’s hard not to love Betty the Reader to bits. There were many who hoped for a similar meeting of minds by saying they were reading Harry Potter, but to this the Queen (who had no time for fantasy) invariably said briskly, ‘Yes. We must be his interpreter this must be our first act of charity to the human being. ![]() …she had begun to perform her duties with a perceived reluctance: she laid foundation stones with less élan and what few ships there were to launch she sent down the slipway with no more ceremony than a toy boat on a pond, her book always waiting.įurthermore, instead of small-talk about the weather, the Queen starts asking people what they are reading – which can put one on the spot… If we correct a child we must do so very gently. This new hobby is somewhat annoying for her staff because she’d rather be reading than cutting ribbons/ giving speeches/ opening buildings. The story is simple – late in Her Majesty’s life, she discovers a love for reading. Stands to reason then, that Alan Bennett’s The Uncommon Reader was a smashing success for me. If the case be otherwise, i beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother.No secret that I love the Royal Family. I speak now, of course, in the supposition that the gentle reader has not been abroad, and therefore is not already a consummate ass. The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. If the case be otherwise, i beg his pardon and extend to him the cordial hand of fellowship and call him brother.Mark Twain Copy and paste the code showing below anywhere on your website where you want to show this quote. Embed this quote text, quote image or both quote and text on your website, blog or BB Forums using the codes below.
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