Robertson Davies Quotes

The best books for a man are not always those which the wise recommend, but often those which meet the peculiar wants, the natural thirst of his mind, and therefore awaken interest and rivet thought.

I don't read a great deal of fiction, to my shame, other than the classics.

In quoting of books, quote such authors as are usually read; others you may read for your own satisfaction, but not name them.

I have said it often and I will say it again: I believe you learn to read when you are young, then read to learn for the rest of your life.

I read books like mad, but I am careful to to let anything I read influence me.

We are always looking for the book it is necessary to read next.

I suppose people might consider me a 'loose' reader, as I seem willing to read anything of quality thinking and prose.

I still carry the residue of the pressure I felt as a child to read and appreciate the right books. Growing up, I never allowed myself to read beach reading. I was always plowing through Ford Madox Ford's 'Good Solider' or something I wasn't equipped to understand.

I remember, in school during English lessons, I would ask the teacher what were the most difficult books to read, and when she'd say 'Ulysses' or something, I'd run off to the library to check out a copy, eager to attempt the most difficult mountain.

I think I write in order to discover on my shelf a new book that I would enjoy reading, or to see a new play that would engross me.

There is always room and occasion enough for a true book on any subject; as there is room for more light the brightest day and more rays will not interfere with the first.

Who knows if Shakespeare might not have thought less if he had read more?

There are no wrong books. What's wrong is the fear of them.

There are fashions in reading, even in thinking. You don't have to follow them unless you want to. On the other hand, watch out. Don't stick too closely to your favorite subject. That would keep you from adventuring into other fields. It's silly to build a wall around your interests.

I began reading everyhing in the family library. Kidnapped, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe. And of course, if you're running out of books to read you can always read Shakespeare.

Read everything. Read fiction and non-fiction, read hot best sellers and the classics you never got around to in college.

There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those, dropping them when they bore you, skipping the parts that drag-and never, never reading anything because you feel you ought, or because it is part of a trend or a movement. Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty-and vise versa. Don’t read a book out of its right time for you.

Some read to think, these are rare; some to write, these are common; and some read to talk, and these form the great majority.

The more you read, the more you realize there are fascinating books to be read and so little time to do so.

The best leaders are the most dedicated learners. Read great books daily.

I know of no other practise which will make one more attractive in conversation than to be well-read in a variety of subjects. There is a great potential within each of us to go on learning. Regardless of our age, unless there be serious illness, we can read, study, drink in the writings of wonderful men and women. It is never too late to learn.

When I was a kid and a young man I read everything. When I was about 23, I was incredibly lucky in that I wound up with several book review columns, which meant that I had to read huge amounts of stuff that was outside my experience and outside my comfort zone. I think every young writer should be forced to read the kind of stuff they would not normally read for pleasure.

It's the same with this idea of a literate public, and also of a democracy in which people have access to and really read the best books. It turns out that even when you create this kind of environment, maybe only 10 percent of the people want to read those books.

The man who never reads lives only one.

I believe in the absolute and unlimited liberty of reading. I believe in wandering through the stacks and picking out the first thing that strikes me. I believe in choosing books based on the dust jacket.