Page 129 - Writes of Passage

from A LITTLE PRINCESS
Never did she find anything so difficult as to keep herself from losing her temper when she was suddenly disturbed while absorbed in a book. People who are fond of books know the feeling of irritation which sweeps over them at such a moment. The temptation to be unreasonable and snappish is one not easy to manage.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
Not every book makes every reader feel like Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Sara, described here in A Little Princess. We are allowed to dislike a book. But if we dislike all books it’s because we haven’t yet found the right book for us at the right time. Or because somebody has made reading an unhappy experience for us.
That is the fault of the somebody, and not the fault of books. And that somebody must not be allowed to win by stealing the pleasure of reading from you. If reading aloud, or reading what you are told to read, or in order to be tested on it, or in competition with other readers, is no fun for you, or you are jeered at or sneered at for liking to read: read secretly. Read subversively. Read what you choose, anything you like, without telling anyone you are doing it. Then it is just between you and the book. (Or listen to it: audio counts.)Your pleasure is all your own, for no one to ruin. Take reading back from the spoilers. Make it yours. And don’t let on.
You can read more from Frances Hodgson Burnett on page 44.
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