Beyond Insane

I recommend readers to be adventurous and to try things they’ve never heard of or considered reading before. Get out of the comfort zone and discover something new and exciting. If you’d never be caught dead in the mystery section go and read some George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly or many others. If you only read thrillers get deep into the literary fiction aisle and let yourself be seduced. If you only read non-fiction pick up a Ian McDonald novel or a Joyce Carol Oates novel. If you only read comic books, get acquainted with the great Charles Dickens or a certain Monsieur Dumas. Pick up something at random and read a page. Feel the texture of the language, the architecture of the imagery, the perfume of the style… There’s so much beauty, intelligence and excitement to be had between the pages of the books waiting for you at your local bookstore the only thing you need to bring is an open mind and a sense of adventure. Disregard all prejudices, all pre-conceived notions and all the rubbish some people try to make you think. Think for yourself. Regarding books or anything in life. Think for yourself.

‘But Clary, since the first time i’ve saw you, I have belonged to you completely. I still do. If you want me.’

Books. I love books, never once have I sat down with a book and had it insult or criticise me in the time we spent together; nor do they make me feel bad (unless it’s the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, in which case I spent two days feeling painfully autistic). They don’t let me down or push me away, they seldom hurt me or mess me around; they never call me a bad friend or a bad person and they never stop me escaping or running away if I want to and they never cease to pleasantly surprise and irritate me. Books are difficult, they are frustrating; they can move me to tears and to laughter. They can make me think of her, whoever ‘she’ may be, and they can take me somewhere else when I need it; they can bring me together with people or make sure I don’t see anyone for months on end. They’ve gotten me here without incident, for the most part, and have always reminded me of what’s important. Wodehouse taught me manners and Tolkien taught me to see the world, Murakami taught me to dream and Suskind qualified me to sense; Wilde taught me to speak and Kipling helped me find that voice when it deserted me; Adams trained me to laugh and Waugh showed me how to be candid- and McCarthy truly showed me the importance of punctuation. Books are, undeniably, my life. Now, if only I could write one myself.

I wish we could just freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever.

To love is to destroy,
And to be loved is to be the one destroyed.

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.

Killing Iron Man. I’m going to kill him. I kill people. He’s wicked popular. You’re going to cry, though. I just think it’ll be funny. It’s a pre-credit sequence. It’s kind of wacky. I’m totally kidding. I’m killing Hawkeye.

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.