“A good book, when we return to it, will always have something new to say. It's not the same book, and we're not the same reader”
―
Anne Bogel,
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“People read for a multiplicity of reasons. Nearly forty years in, I can tell you why I inhale books like oxygen: I'm grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand --and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“When we share our favorite titles, we can't help but share ourselves as well. Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but we readers know one's bookshelves reveal just as much.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“I feel certain of this: I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I weren’t a reader.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“We can’t know what a book will mean to us until we read it. And so we take a leap and choose.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Sometimes I fantasize about getting my hands on my library records. . . my recurring bookworm dream is to peruse my personal library history like it's a historical document. My bookshelves show me the books I've bought or been given. . . But my library books come into my house and go out again, leaving behind only memories and a jotted line in a journal (if I'm lucky). I long for a list that captures these ephemeral reads - all the books I've borrowed in a lifetime of reading, from last week's armful spanning back to when I was a seven-year-old kid with my first library card. I don't need many details - just the titles and dates would be fine - but oh, how I'd love to see them.Those records preserve what my memory has not. I remember the highlights of my grade-school checkouts, but much is lost to time. How I'd love to see the complete list of what I chose to read in second grade, or sixth, or tenth.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“You accept that it’s time to cull your personal library. You lovingly handle each book, determining if it brings you joy. It does. They all do. You are full of bookish joy, but still woefully short on shelf space.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Every reader goes through this rite of passage: the transition from having books chosen for us to choosing books for ourselves. When given the choice, some choose not to read. But you, dear reader, moved from being told what to read to choosing for yourself. From reading on assignment, perhaps to please someone else, to reading at your own leisure to please only yourself. When faced with the task of establishing your own reading life, you did it, or maybe you’re still in the middle of doing it.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Reading is often viewed as a solitary act; that’s one of the reasons I love it, and it’s certainly my favorite escape and introvert coping strategy of choice.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Understanding our personalities makes it significantly easier to change the things within our grasp. This is whole point of studying various frameworks! Some people resist personality frameworks because they say such frameworks put them in a box. I’ve found that understanding my personality helps me step out of the box I’m trapped in. When I understand myself, I can get out of my own way.” ― Anne Bogel, Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
“I can tell you why I inhale books like oyxgen: I am grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand—and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“With apologies to Kathleen Kelly, what I’ve come to learn is this: if my real life reminds me of something I read in a book, I’m reading well—and I’m probably living well, too.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Being a responsible adult is the most underrated form of self-care. Yes I mean: live within your means, make dentist appointments, save money, plan meals, wash your face before bed, go for walks, cook for people, keep your house clean, go to bed at a decent hour, all that boring stuff. Routines make everything in your life better and this is absolutely the most overlooked and underestimated form of self-care.” - Sarah Bessey” ― Anne Bogel, Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life
“A book twin is a joy, and I highly recommend finding one, if you can.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“With an experiment, there’s no “do it right or do it again”. Instead, it’s “do it and see what happens”.” ― Anne Bogel, Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life
“You’re sad because whatever you read next can’t possibly be as good as the book you just finished. You despair because nothing you read can possibly be as good, ever again.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“I’m a sociable introvert. I enjoy coffee dates and Christmas parties and weddings and neighborhood picnics. I love noisy family dinners and hosting playdates and chatting with other parents on the baseball sidelines. I get a little restless when I don’t get regular doses of social interaction. But when I get out of balance—when I spend too much time extraverting, according to my personal definition of “too much”—I am useless. When I ignore the warning signs and keep extraverting until I enter the Overtalked Introvert Danger Zone, I get totally overwhelmed and borderline rude and can barely string sentences together. I wish I were exaggerating.” ― Anne Bogel, Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
“When I find myself in a dreaded reading slump, nothing boosts me out of it faster than revisiting an old favorite. Old books, like old friends, are good for the soul. But they're not just comfort reads. No, a good book is exciting to return to, because even though I've been there before, the landscape is always changing. I notice something new each time I read a great book. As Italo Calvino wrote, "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." Great books keep surprising me with new things.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“As a devoted reader, I lovingly give countless hours to finding the right books for me. I don’t think those hours are wasted; part of the fun of reading is planning the reading. But I’ve learned that sometimes, despite my best efforts, a book unexpectedly finds me and not the other way around. And when it does, it’s okay to reshuffle my To Be Read list and go with it.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“People read for a multiplicity of reasons. Nearly forty years in, I can tell you why I inhale books like oxygen: I'm grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand --and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“When we share our favorite titles, we can't help but share ourselves as well. Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but we readers know one's bookshelves reveal just as much.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“I feel certain of this: I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I weren’t a reader.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“We can’t know what a book will mean to us until we read it. And so we take a leap and choose.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Sometimes I fantasize about getting my hands on my library records. . . my recurring bookworm dream is to peruse my personal library history like it's a historical document. My bookshelves show me the books I've bought or been given. . . But my library books come into my house and go out again, leaving behind only memories and a jotted line in a journal (if I'm lucky). I long for a list that captures these ephemeral reads - all the books I've borrowed in a lifetime of reading, from last week's armful spanning back to when I was a seven-year-old kid with my first library card. I don't need many details - just the titles and dates would be fine - but oh, how I'd love to see them.Those records preserve what my memory has not. I remember the highlights of my grade-school checkouts, but much is lost to time. How I'd love to see the complete list of what I chose to read in second grade, or sixth, or tenth.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“You accept that it’s time to cull your personal library. You lovingly handle each book, determining if it brings you joy. It does. They all do. You are full of bookish joy, but still woefully short on shelf space.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Every reader goes through this rite of passage: the transition from having books chosen for us to choosing books for ourselves. When given the choice, some choose not to read. But you, dear reader, moved from being told what to read to choosing for yourself. From reading on assignment, perhaps to please someone else, to reading at your own leisure to please only yourself. When faced with the task of establishing your own reading life, you did it, or maybe you’re still in the middle of doing it.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Reading is often viewed as a solitary act; that’s one of the reasons I love it, and it’s certainly my favorite escape and introvert coping strategy of choice.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Understanding our personalities makes it significantly easier to change the things within our grasp. This is whole point of studying various frameworks! Some people resist personality frameworks because they say such frameworks put them in a box. I’ve found that understanding my personality helps me step out of the box I’m trapped in. When I understand myself, I can get out of my own way.” ― Anne Bogel, Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
“I can tell you why I inhale books like oyxgen: I am grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand—and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“With apologies to Kathleen Kelly, what I’ve come to learn is this: if my real life reminds me of something I read in a book, I’m reading well—and I’m probably living well, too.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“Being a responsible adult is the most underrated form of self-care. Yes I mean: live within your means, make dentist appointments, save money, plan meals, wash your face before bed, go for walks, cook for people, keep your house clean, go to bed at a decent hour, all that boring stuff. Routines make everything in your life better and this is absolutely the most overlooked and underestimated form of self-care.” - Sarah Bessey” ― Anne Bogel, Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life
“A book twin is a joy, and I highly recommend finding one, if you can.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“With an experiment, there’s no “do it right or do it again”. Instead, it’s “do it and see what happens”.” ― Anne Bogel, Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life
“You’re sad because whatever you read next can’t possibly be as good as the book you just finished. You despair because nothing you read can possibly be as good, ever again.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“I’m a sociable introvert. I enjoy coffee dates and Christmas parties and weddings and neighborhood picnics. I love noisy family dinners and hosting playdates and chatting with other parents on the baseball sidelines. I get a little restless when I don’t get regular doses of social interaction. But when I get out of balance—when I spend too much time extraverting, according to my personal definition of “too much”—I am useless. When I ignore the warning signs and keep extraverting until I enter the Overtalked Introvert Danger Zone, I get totally overwhelmed and borderline rude and can barely string sentences together. I wish I were exaggerating.” ― Anne Bogel, Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
“When I find myself in a dreaded reading slump, nothing boosts me out of it faster than revisiting an old favorite. Old books, like old friends, are good for the soul. But they're not just comfort reads. No, a good book is exciting to return to, because even though I've been there before, the landscape is always changing. I notice something new each time I read a great book. As Italo Calvino wrote, "A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." Great books keep surprising me with new things.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
“As a devoted reader, I lovingly give countless hours to finding the right books for me. I don’t think those hours are wasted; part of the fun of reading is planning the reading. But I’ve learned that sometimes, despite my best efforts, a book unexpectedly finds me and not the other way around. And when it does, it’s okay to reshuffle my To Be Read list and go with it.” ― Anne Bogel, I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
