It’s a new month and that means a new homepage quote. This one comes from the great transcendentalist intellectual and author Ralph Waldo Emerson. It’s strange that when we meet a bright person we never wonder, “I wonder what video games he’s been playing recently.” Or, “I wonder what reality shows she is into right now.” Somehow, books provide a different signal of smarts. Literacy inspires a respect that can be difficult to duplicate.
Whenever I meet someone smart or have long and interesting conversations with friends I respect, I always want to know what they have been reading lately. I want to learn, to be exposed to something new, to simply see what is out there that I have missed. And I am always happy when they are eager to share.
It always makes me feel good when people ask me what books I am reading, or what books I recommend they read. This doesn’t give me a sense of arrogance or intellectual superiority; rather, it demonstrates two things: 1) those people respect me well enough to trust that I will describe or offer something worthwhile, enlightening, or otherwise interesting; 2) they are mature enough in their own intellectual curiosity to seek out someone’s advice about books. And I never get tired of those two things.
Remember, you are never too old or too young to be a recommender or a seeker of good books. Strive to be someone of “rare intellect,” and be sure to ask for and offer a good book this month!
Whenever I meet someone smart or have long and interesting conversations with friends I respect, I always want to know what they have been reading lately. I want to learn, to be exposed to something new, to simply see what is out there that I have missed. And I am always happy when they are eager to share.
It always makes me feel good when people ask me what books I am reading, or what books I recommend they read. This doesn’t give me a sense of arrogance or intellectual superiority; rather, it demonstrates two things: 1) those people respect me well enough to trust that I will describe or offer something worthwhile, enlightening, or otherwise interesting; 2) they are mature enough in their own intellectual curiosity to seek out someone’s advice about books. And I never get tired of those two things.
Remember, you are never too old or too young to be a recommender or a seeker of good books. Strive to be someone of “rare intellect,” and be sure to ask for and offer a good book this month!