Dwight Garner

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, you know, it's a book of quotes and lines and aphorisms. You know, often they're philosophical or they're humorous or they're literary. And normally they're kept by one person. It's just, you know, humans have had a written language for 5,000 years.

Well, you know, it's a book of quotes and lines and aphorisms. You know, often they're philosophical or they're humorous or they're literary. And normally they're kept by one person. It's just, you know, humans have had a written language for 5,000 years.

And during most of that time, people have written down or kept in some form observations and bits of books that really appeal to them and stuck with them. And Commonplace books have been around forever. I mean, Thomas Jefferson kept a famous one, and so did Virginia Woolf, so did W.H. Auden. And it's just a place to keep track of things that meant something to you while you're reading a book.

And during most of that time, people have written down or kept in some form observations and bits of books that really appeal to them and stuck with them. And Commonplace books have been around forever. I mean, Thomas Jefferson kept a famous one, and so did Virginia Woolf, so did W.H. Auden. And it's just a place to keep track of things that meant something to you while you're reading a book.

Well, I was pretty young. I was in my teens and I was just this huge reader. And once in a while, I would come across a line that really stood out for me. And I thought, well, this is why I'm reading, you know, for a sentence like this that really shakes me awake and opens my eyes. And I would start writing them down.

Well, I was pretty young. I was in my teens and I was just this huge reader. And once in a while, I would come across a line that really stood out for me. And I thought, well, this is why I'm reading, you know, for a sentence like this that really shakes me awake and opens my eyes. And I would start writing them down.

And, you know, when you're a teenager, the things you think are cool and interesting, you know, life is like a box of chocolates. You know, how true are not the things you think are cool and interesting when you're 59 as I am now. And so my taste has grown over time. But I started doing this when I was pretty young. And I just, you know, some people collect stamps.

And, you know, when you're a teenager, the things you think are cool and interesting, you know, life is like a box of chocolates. You know, how true are not the things you think are cool and interesting when you're 59 as I am now. And so my taste has grown over time. But I started doing this when I was pretty young. And I just, you know, some people collect stamps.

I collect sentences and observations and I find that I'm always sort of moved by them.

I collect sentences and observations and I find that I'm always sort of moved by them.

Oh, God. I would say probably 1,000, you know, at minimum, because... Wait, 1,000?

Oh, God. I would say probably 1,000, you know, at minimum, because... Wait, 1,000?

I'm reading the book and I'm highlighting. And then when I'm done with the book, I slap it down next to my laptop and I flip through it page by page and I type out the best quotes that I've marked in there. I find the act of typing something, typing a line, typing an observation, typing a great word sort of fixes it in my mind a bit. I'm more likely to remember it.

I'm reading the book and I'm highlighting. And then when I'm done with the book, I slap it down next to my laptop and I flip through it page by page and I type out the best quotes that I've marked in there. I find the act of typing something, typing a line, typing an observation, typing a great word sort of fixes it in my mind a bit. I'm more likely to remember it.

One of my favorite books this year was Sheila Hedy's Alphabetical Diaries. You know, Hedy is a really talented young Canadian novelist, and she had a nifty idea. She printed her journals, her diaries, in alphabetical order, so the sentences all just run from A to Z. And she wrote... No one at this point in history knows how to live. So we read biographies and memoirs hoping to get clues.

One of my favorite books this year was Sheila Hedy's Alphabetical Diaries. You know, Hedy is a really talented young Canadian novelist, and she had a nifty idea. She printed her journals, her diaries, in alphabetical order, so the sentences all just run from A to Z. And she wrote... No one at this point in history knows how to live. So we read biographies and memoirs hoping to get clues.

And I love that line, not because it's funny, but because it's the reason I think I started reading. Once upon a time in America, before Netflix, before the internet, fiction was where we went to get news about how other people lived. Food-wise, sex-wise, relationships, marriages, that's where news was delivered. And it's not so true anymore, but for me it still is. And

And I love that line, not because it's funny, but because it's the reason I think I started reading. Once upon a time in America, before Netflix, before the internet, fiction was where we went to get news about how other people lived. Food-wise, sex-wise, relationships, marriages, that's where news was delivered. And it's not so true anymore, but for me it still is. And