Famous quote by Nicholson Baker

"That was the problem with reading: you always had to pick up again at the very thing that had made you stop reading the day before"

About this Quote

Nicholson Baker's quote captures a subtle yet poignant aspect of the reading experience: the inescapable go back to a point of disruption. This not only speaks with the physical act of resuming a book from where you last left off however also embodies a much deeper mental and emotional journey.

At its core, this quote reflects a reader's encounter with the world contained within the pages. Life, with its myriad interruptions, regularly obliges us to pause our engagement with a text. Each time we return, we deal with the very same narrative thread, emotions, or complexities that had actually halted us, requiring us to re-enter the author's universe and potentially face what lies below our preliminary pause. This procedure, while in some cases tough, enhances the reading experience as it requires perseverance and deeper contemplation.

The expression "the very thing that made you stop" suggests a moment of stress, trouble, or maybe extensive individual resonance within the text that became a natural stopping point. This could refer to a challenging idea that needs more reflection, an emotional moment requiring healing, or just a thick passage warranting more detailed evaluation. Such instances reveal the dynamic relationship between a reader and the text. They highlight that reading is not almost taking in information but participating in a continuous dialogue with the product.

Additionally, this quote implicitly acknowledges the imperfect truth of life interrupting leisure, a nod to the contemporary reader's struggle to find unbroken time for deep engagement. It underscores the perseverance required to go back to a text, to tackle once again what challenged or intrigued us, and ultimately savor the benefits of pushing through obstacles.

Baker's observation celebrates reading as an active, iterative procedure-- a testimony to the power of literature to hold our attention and constantly draw us back, even when life forces us to for a short time step away.

More details

About the Author

This quote is written / told by Nicholson Baker somewhere between January 7, 1957 and today. He was a famous Novelist from USA. The author also have 7 other quotes.
Go to author profile

John Hope

"One rainy Sunday when I was in the third grade, I picked up a book to look at the pictures and discovered that even though I did not want to, I was reading. I have been a reader ever since"

Beverly Cleary, Author

"I've always loved to read. But sometimes I go for a year without reading, because I forget to"

Norah Jones, Musician

"Let all the time you can get be spent in trying to learn to read"

Jupiter Hammon, Poet

"I'm still not a great reader, but my wife is and my daughters are, and I envy them. I think I got into a bad habit of trying to do something all the time, instead of trying to sit down and take my time a little bit"

Mike Krzyzewski, Coach

"I've always been an avid reader. If I don't have a book in the car, I'll stop and pick one up just to have something to read. I don't even remember learning to read"

Janis Ian, Musician

"My head was always bubbling over with facts and it seems to me this had little to do with my paying close attention in school and more to do with my voracious and omnivorous reading habits"