I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? We would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.-Franz Kafka
photo from here
and here
Does Harry Potter count as one of these books? And why are your posts always so deep-makes me feels incredibly shallow in comparison.
ReplyDeletei knew you would know how to spell taqueria...i am sure jw would be so disappointed in me! no kissing was involved...which i am okay with for now. you really looked so great at mindy's reception! we need to get together soon!
ReplyDeletei disagree mr. kafka. i think if a book can open a door into any emotion you weren't feeling before, then it has done something valuable. (except opening to evil things, which i'm not talking about here.) sometimes the sad people don't remember what its like to be happy until they step out of their lives and into another, via books/movies. those people need to feel happiness just like everyone else. so like i said, i disagree.
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across you blog from a comment in the satorialist!
ReplyDeleteI read Metaporphosis the other day. I could hardly sleep for the next two nights, the story had such a profound reverberation through my thoughts.
That is an excellent quote.