Five Awesome Quotes About Books and Reading

I continually hear people talking about the demise of the book. Librarians note fewer visitors. Bookstores are struggling. Many, sadly, have shut down. All signs point to the fact that fewer people are reading books these days. In some respects, it's understandable given all of the options we have today in regards to entertainment. We must now choose between all kinds of things -- things that just ten years ago didn't exist -- a slew of popular social media sites, hundreds of television channels, thousands of video games. Who, these days, has time to read a book, or the desire, when there are all of these other appealing options available to us?Amidst this technological rush to capture more of our mind space, it is my hope that teachers and parents do not loose sight of the power of a great book. The older generation must nurture, with great vigor, a love of reading in young people. After all, reading increases an individual's intellectual capacity in special ways. Reading strengthens our ability to focus, a critical discipline that is more challenging to master in a fragmented world buzzing with distractions. Reading opens our mind to the world around us, makes us aware of nuances that otherwise go unnoticed, develops in us a deeper understanding of our own emotions and desires. Let's face it, reading makes us smarter.Below are five of the most inspiring quotes I've come across about books and reading. There are dozens more, but these five are particularly insightful. Forward them on to others. Memorize your favorite. Repeat them to your friends, your children. You might just encourage someone to pick up a book, a simple act that can have an immeasurably valuable impact on their life. Happy reading!FIVE AWESOME QUOTES ABOUT BOOKS AND READINGIf we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.–Ralph Waldo EmersonAny book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.–Maya AngelouThere are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.–Marcel ProustAll good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.–Ernest HemingwayRead the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.–Henry David Thoreau