Home > Author > Anne Bogel
1 " Hard writing makes easy reading. "
― Anne Bogel , Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life
2 " Sometimes I fantasize about getting my hands on my library records. . . my recurring bookworm dream is to peruse my personal library history like it's a historical document. My bookshelves show me the books I've bought or been given. . . But my library books come into my house and go out again, leaving behind only memories and a jotted line in a journal (if I'm lucky). I long for a list that captures these ephemeral reads - all the books I've borrowed in a lifetime of reading, from last week's armful spanning back to when I was a seven-year-old kid with my first library card. I don't need many details - just the titles and dates would be fine - but oh, how I'd love to see them.Those records preserve what my memory has not. I remember the highlights of my grade-school checkouts, but much is lost to time. How I'd love to see the complete list of what I chose to read in second grade, or sixth, or tenth. "
― Anne Bogel , I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
3 " We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be so much harder than giving. "
4 " For everyone who’s ever finished a bookunder the covers with a flashlightwhen they were supposed to be sleeping. "
5 " With apologies to Kathleen Kelly, what I've come to learn is this: if my real life reminds me of something I read in a book , I'm reading well -- and I'm probably living well, too. "
6 " ...it's great for my outlook to focus on the positive instead of only calling out people for messing up. It's a face of life that people tend to get what they give. "
― Anne Bogel , Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything
7 " If you care, you’ll be there. If you don’t, you won’t. "
8 " A good book, when we return to it, will always have something new to say. It's not the same book, and we're not the same reader "
9 " People read for a multiplicity of reasons. Nearly forty years in, I can tell you why I inhale books like oxygen: I'm grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand --and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life. "
10 " When we share our favorite titles, we can't help but share ourselves as well. Shakespeare said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but we readers know one's bookshelves reveal just as much. "
11 " I feel certain of this: I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I weren’t a reader. "
12 " You accept that it’s time to cull your personal library. You lovingly handle each book, determining if it brings you joy. It does. They all do. You are full of bookish joy, but still woefully short on shelf space. "
13 " We can’t know what a book will mean to us until we read it. And so we take a leap and choose. "
14 " Every reader goes through this rite of passage: the transition from having books chosen for us to choosing books for ourselves. When given the choice, some choose not to read. But you, dear reader, moved from being told what to read to choosing for yourself. From reading on assignment, perhaps to please someone else, to reading at your own leisure to please only yourself. When faced with the task of establishing your own reading life, you did it, or maybe you’re still in the middle of doing it. "
15 " Understanding our personalities makes it significantly easier to change the things within our grasp. This is whole point of studying various frameworks! Some people resist personality frameworks because they say such frameworks put them in a box. I’ve found that understanding my personality helps me step out of the box I’m trapped in. When I understand myself, I can get out of my own way. "
16 " Reading is often viewed as a solitary act; that’s one of the reasons I love it, and it’s certainly my favorite escape and introvert coping strategy of choice. "
17 " A book twin is a joy, and I highly recommend finding one, if you can. "
18 " I can tell you why I inhale books like oyxgen: I am grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand—and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life. "
19 " With apologies to Kathleen Kelly, what I’ve come to learn is this: if my real life reminds me of something I read in a book, I’m reading well—and I’m probably living well, too. "
20 " You’re sad because whatever you read next can’t possibly be as good as the book you just finished. You despair because nothing you read can possibly be as good, ever again. "
