So Many Books, So Little Time!
Reading is the bane of writers. First, it is a time consuming addiction. Secondly, it is humiliating and discouraging, for there is so very much incredibly good writing, one is bound to feel inadequate. Yet it is a necessary addiction.
It is hard to imagine anyone writing anything of worth without having spent more time reading than writing. “There would be a lot less bad writing if more people opened a few books before they opened their notebooks.” (Hippokrites)
And one can’t strive for greatness at anything without knowing what is great. I can’t remember what writer said that every time he sat down to write he felt he was in competition with Shakespeare. He said he was well aware of how hopelessly outclassed he was, but it nevertheless made him try harder and thus do better.
