• “Books were my pass to personal freedom,” says television talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey. “I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.” Winfrey has shared her love of reading with her fans, as her book club has to literary classics.
SO, YOU’D LIKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL
AUTHOR?
Consider what these famous writers have to say about reading:
• “A man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” – Mark Twain
• “We don’t need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts; we need books, time and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.” – Philip Pullman
• “Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” – Joyce Carol Oates
• “It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin
• “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway
• “When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” – Maya Angelou
• “We read to know that we are not alone.” – C.S. Lewis
• “I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
• “Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” – Daniel Handler (a.k.a. “Lemony Snicket”)
• “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” – Victor Hugo
SO, YOU’D LIKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL
ATHLETE?
Consider:
• Many professional golfers are prolific readers, as it gives them something to talk about in their down time. Tiger Woods lists Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days as his favorite book.
• Arte Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, says he reads self- help books all the time.
• “Sports were important to him,” writes biographer Steve Greenberg in his biography of Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes, “but nothing could take the place of his cherished collection of books to this day.”
• Three-time Olympic medalist sprinter Gail Devers says she reads a 350-page book every day.
• Boxing legend Gene Tunney frequently read from an eclectic mix of literature, including books on philosophy, psychology and economics.
• John McKay, known as the “winningest” coach in USC Trojan football history, frequently boasted, “I try to read a book a day.”
• NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West says he reads everything he can get his hands on in the areas of inspiration, self-help and leadership.
• Bill Belichick, Super Bowl-winning coach of the New England Patriots, has a boy and collects football strategy books to this day.
• LeBron James reads as a prominent part of his pre-game ritual. During his first NBA championship run with the Miami Heat, he sat in front of his locker enjoying The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
14