On finishing books
A book abandoned at page forty is not a failure of the reader. Most books are written to be sampled, and the few that deserve a full pass announce themselves early — usually by making the next page feel necessary rather than owed.
A book abandoned at page forty is not a failure of the reader. Most books are written to be sampled, and the few that deserve a full pass announce themselves early — usually by making the next page feel necessary rather than owed.
Notes in the margin are a conversation with a version of yourself that no longer exists. Rereading them years later is the closest thing to correspondence with someone who knew you well and has since moved away.