Sunday, January 6, 2013

Literature gives us an internal compass, a way to negotiate all life's rough and tumble. It gives us insight, empathy, directed and warning. It is a concordance for the physical world, a magnificent prism through which reality is refracted. Much loved passages whisper in our ears. Long-dead authors hold us by the hand. Half-forgotten poems fill our mouths. Literature is present at the birth of our first child and the ordering of our morning coffee. It fills us. 

What is the alternative? A life without literature would be one unmoored.

Best of Book Riot: Why Books Provide Ballast

4 comments:

Harvee said...

I read a lot of mystery novels and they are full of warnings, yes! I also enjoy literature that gives us insight and empathy, as you so nicely pointed out.

Connie said...

I wouldn't want a life without literature. Nice post! Happy Sunday to you.

Melwyk said...

Exactly! This is a wonderful expression of how literature goes through life with us.

Nomad said...

Ooh.. I LOVE this! So sad we did not get to catch up while we were visiting.
Hope all is well!
:-) Nomad