Difficult Books Quotes

When book and reader's furrowed brow meet, it isn't always the book that's stupid.

William H. Gass

My mother taught me that reading is a kind of work, and that every paragraph merits exertion, and in this way, I learned how to absorb difficult books. Soon after I went to kindergarten, however, I learned that reading difficult books also brings trouble. I was punished for reading ahead of the class, for being unwilling to speak and act "nicely." I didn't know why I simultaneously feared and adored my female teachers, but I did know that I needed their attention

If difficult times teach us the most important lessons, we should then learn to read difficult books.