Books · 1955
When you sell a man a book you don't sell him just 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue'you sell him a whole new life.
— Christopher Morley ‧ Parnassus on Wheels
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The line contrasts a book's physical ingredients with the change it can bring to a reader. Selling paper, ink and glue becomes selling a new life. The exaggeration gives reading transformative value beyond the modest weight and ordinary materials of the object.
Context reviewed