"Book tours are almost designed to beat out of an author any affection he has for his book"
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Michael Lewis' quote, "Book tours are almost designed to beat out of an author any affection he has for his book", brings a paradoxical and somewhat candid commentary on the typically grueling nature of book trips. The expression suggests that while book trips are ostensibly planned to promote an author's work, they can ironically end up being a draining experience that wears down the author's personal connection to their creation.
At the heart of the quote is the idea of the book trip as an exhaustive, repetitive routine. Authors, who might have put years of creativity, energy, and emotion into their works, find themselves thrust into a cycle of travel, interviews, readings, and finalizings. This procedure can possibly strip away the romanticism and individual accessory to their book by transforming it into a business item to be marketed instead of a cherished art piece.
The hyperbolic usage of "designed to vanquish" suggests a nearly intentional objective, as if book trips are methodically structured to separate authors from their productions. This expression highlights a stress in between the art of composing and business of selling books. The phrase communicates a sense of disillusionment: an awareness that the world of publishing requires not simply the happiness of development but also the demands of promo.
Furthermore, Lewis' quote points to the broader detach between the singular, reflective process of writing and the public, extroverted nature of promotion. For lots of authors, the extreme public exposure and consistent repetition of discussing their book can be a source of tension and tiredness, instead of fulfillment.
Eventually, the quote serves as both a review and a reflection on the commodification of art in the literary world. It subtly welcomes readers to feel sorry for authors who browse the difficult transition from personal imagination to public commercialism, hinting at the personal sacrifices often masked by the glittering façade of literary success.
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