Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

By starBrook1973

“Why do you even bother reading, then?” “Mostly because I enjoy it, but also because it’s just kind of a habit—if I don’t read I feel just as uneasy as if I don’t smoke. And honestly, it’s also to help me know myself. When I read, it feels like I’m reading with my eyes only, but every once in a while I’ll hit a passage—maybe just a line—that really clicks, and then it starts to stick with me. Like I’ve gotten everything I’m going to get out of it. Even if I reread it a bunch of times, it won’t add more. It’s like you’re a closed bud most of the time, and most stuff you read or do doesn’t really change anything. But certain things matter to you, and they open one petal. Then another, until it’s all opened up.”