Quotation by Alan Bennet

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something--a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things--which you had thought special and particular to you.  Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met before, someone who is long dead.  And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours." -Alan Bennett 

I love this quotation from Alan Bennett.  I think it came from the shopping bag I received from Waterstones bookstore in London.  They had several different versions of the bags they put purchases in, and each one had a different quotation about reading or books.  What a grand idea!  This one was particularly meaningful for me. I have certainly had that experience in books, magazines, and now blogs!  (and I guess technically, I kind of had the same experience he is describing when I read what was printed on the side of a plastic bag!).  

Also, Alan Bennett is awesome.  I believe his History Boys was the second play we saw in London.  AMAZING.  The whole class was floored!  And then I read it as well, and did my final paper for the Contemporary London Theatre class on his writings.  His writing is humorous, poignant, a little bit dark, and very honest.  I love it!