It has been said that a good book leaves you wanting to re-read the book, while a great book compels you to re-read your own soul.
In my own reading over time, I have always been intrigued to discover key paragraphs within novels and serious non-fiction that give a sense of having already existed; perhaps somehow even before their inclusion in said volumes. A magical grouping of words that seem to have the ability to stand alone and be self sufficient, in addition to their role as part of a narrative. Over the course of some years, I have made it my objective to capture as many of these self-contained gems as possible, setting them aside, to be dealt with at a later date.
What seems to be common to all of the excerpts I have collected is this:
They make an observation (about life, mostly) that provides an insight into—as well as attempt to capture—the essence of an idea, a concept or a point of view. And, in the course of reading enough fine literature, there will be mates to these excerpts discovered in other books, by other authors, from different eras. Not exact representations, but related and echoing each other. Resembling them and overlapping , but not identical, of course. The end result is the acquisition of new insights to expand one’s thinking, or perhaps to confirm one’s suspicions. And, if another benefit is some honest soul searching, then that is even better.
Resonance 