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very often when people talk about books (particularly true for intellectual twitter, imo), they frame it in terms of takeaways and learnings and insights imo there's a whole other way of reading, and it's what I really love about books: that they present different ways of being
richard feynman, david ogilvy, anthony bourdain, ray bradbury, stephen pressfield, jeannette winterson, ursula le guin – they all have different ways of seeing, different ways of being, and I enjoy reading and re-reading all their books to get into their frame(s) of mind(s)
a book is a set of ordered words, yes – and those words represent a series of propositions, a series of invitations – and what is said sits not just on its own, but in contrast and complement to everything else that has been said. a book is a way of seeing https://t.co/QkFvcj8N8C
So here’s how I think I think about it: a book is a sort of prosthetic. A book is a frame, put together by an author and her support team, a specific window, a specific lens, a particular way of seeing. The book is FOCUSING *FOR* YOU. Am I making sense? https://t.co/YJEjlgDuQr
winterson relates https://t.co/fmnXqADZrH
a lot of the value I get out of a book is not WHAT an author says, but HOW they say it alan watts' cheekiness feynman's joyful curiosity bourdain's sensitivity winterson's radical honesty lewis thomas's sense of awe and splendor sagan's expansiveness randy pausch's warmth
this is true for people IRL, too. the best thing I learned from my ex-boss wasn't any single insight or truism, but *his way of being*. He's calm in the face of conflict & difficulty, sincerely believe that it's possible to know things, and do things, and to change for the better
Similarly, I hate the question “why do you love her”. it’s such a reductive request! What I love about my wife is *who she is*, or her *way of being*. I love her because love is the consequence of our coexistence. to give a *reason* would be reductive, itemizing the infinite
@visakanv I had to send this to my wife because when she asks me why I love her, I know she's just looking for reassurance and comfort. Still, it really is "itemizing the infinite": Listing out all the reasons feels like a diminishment of the reality of the whole enterprise.