If you had to give a rough estimate, how many pages would you say you’ve read in your lifetime thus far? I was just thinking about the hundreds of books we read, the hundreds of books we forget, and the handful we remember. Do you think we can ever really forget something we’ve read, or do you think that even if we’ve forgotten the specifics, something of every book is embedded in memory – much like the way ink seeps into paper and even after it fades with time, or is scraped away, there are still those bits that remain and color the composite of our life?
What are a few books you’ve read that met you in just the right moment, and won’t let you ever forget them?
Jeanette Winterson’s “Art and Lies” single-handedly made me turn my frown upside-down about fiction in general. I think I was 20? and I have never read ANY fiction beyond the first couple of chapters that wasn’t assigned. I had never before or since read anyone that approaches Jeanette Winterson for the profound effect on my imagination.
Also, I read the book “Ishmael” by Daniel…? in high school and it still sticks with me…fading images, snatches of text. I couldn’t tell you what that book is about anymore, but there you go.