If you have difficulty deciding on your book list, the following ideas shared by some great talents might help you out.
Read books from eras past // Albert Einstein
Keeping up with current events and latest books from the bestseller list is a big job, but Albert Einstein thought it was vital to leave some room for older works, too. Otherwise, you’d be “completely dependent on the prejudices and fashions of your times,” he wrote in a 1952 journal article.
Don’t jump too quickly from book to book // Seneca
Seneca, a first-century Roman Stoic philosopher, believed that reading too wide a variety in too short a time would keep the teachings from leaving a lasting impression on you. “You must spend much time among a limited number of master thinkers, if you would gain ideas which shall win firm hold in your mind,” he wrote.
Shop at secondhand bookstores // Virginia Woolf
In her essay Street Haunting, Virginia Woolf described the benefits of shopping in secondhand bookstores, where the works “have come together in vast flocks of various feather, and have a charm which the carefully chosen books of the library lack.”
According to Woolf, looking through used books gives you the chance to come across something that wouldn’t have risen to the attention of librarians and booksellers, who are often much more selective in building their collections than secondhand bookstore owners.
You can skip outdated science works, but not old literature // Edward Lytton
19th-century British novelist and Parliamentarian Edward Lytton was a firm believer in the value of reading old literature.
“In science, read, by preference, the newest works; in literature, the oldest,” he wrote in his 1863 essay collection Caxtoniana. “The classic literature is always modern. New books revive and redecorate old ideas; old books suggest and inspire new ideas.”
1. Who held the idea that great works should be digested?
A.Albert Einstein. | B.Seneca. |
C.Virginia Woolf. | D.Edward Lytton. |
2. What attracted Virginia Woolf to secondhand bookstores?
A.A lower price. | B.A wider range. |
C.A more careful collection. | D.A better service. |
3. How did Edward Lytton find the classic literature?
A.Interesting. | B.Outdated. |
C.Challenging. | D.Valuable. |