The Saturday Writing Quote — on reading

With the weather changing, many of us have more time for reading, curling up in a favorite chair with a cup of coffee, tea, or chai and a good book. I’ve got a terrific stack waiting for me! So for October, a few excellent quotes on reading, especially its importance to writers and other creators.

“If I had to choose between writing and reading, I would choose to read, because there is so much I’ve yet to learn, so many worlds I’ve yet to visit, all secreted away between the pages of a book. Writing is what I do and how I communicate. Reading gives me permission for what I do by widening the lanes of my creativity and narrative ambition. Writing is work, but reading is pleasure. …

“Reading was a means to enter a different reality from the physical one I was forced to embody. I don’t want to contemplate how I would have endured these weeks without plunging into books, for pleasure and for research. I’m glad I didn’t have to.”

Sarah Weinman in “The Year I Went Bald,” about writing her first book, The Real Lolita, while undergoing treatment for breast cancer, in The Walrus 

2 thoughts on “The Saturday Writing Quote — on reading

  1. Ah, dear Leslie B., we have not been formally introduced, and I (sadly) have not read one of your books but hope to remedy that soon. I did click on the link to the compellingly titled Weinman article, but I thought you’d like to know the link comes up as Error 404. I’ll look for the piece elsewhere, though. Now I have a question about you. I have a stepdaughter who is out of reach, working in Alaska at the moment, but she used to work part time at a spice shop on the pier in Seattle. Is this the shop you write about, and if so, how is it you have been able to use it (and “the crew”? I’m happy for you, sure thing. (I realize not all website comments come through quickly, so I won’t expect a reply for awhile.)

    • Hi, Noreen. Sorry the link broke; I’ve fixed it now.

      I’m not familiar with a spice shop on a pier in Seattle. There are two wonderful spice shops in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Market Spice in the Main Arcade in the Market itself and World Spice Merchants on Western Ave, just below the Market. Mine is fictional, in a different building, with a different history, inspired by many spice shops I’ve visited over the years, including those two as well as others — company-owned, franchises, and independent small town shops. Of course, a writer’s imagination always comes into play, and I’ve done my best to imagine a spice shop I would want to run or shop in. I’m thrilled that so many readers seem to love it as much as I do.

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