“Why is marking a book indespensible to reading it?”

“Why is marking a book indespensible to reading it? First, it keeps you awake — not merely conscious, but wide awake. Second, reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in wordes, spoken or written…Third, writing your reactions down helps you to remember the thoughts of the author…Marking a book is literally an expression of your differences or your agreements with the author, It is the highest respect you can pay him.” Mortimer Adler, How to Read a Book

Quotation of the Week