“I don't see the use of reading the same thing over and over again,' said Phillip. 'That's only a laborious form of idleness.'But are you under the impression that you have so great a mind that you can understand the most profound writer at a first reading?'I don't want to understand him, I'm not a critic. I'm not interested in him for his sake but for mine.'Why do you read then?'Partly for pleasure, because it's a habit and I'm just as uncomfortable if I don't read as if I don't smoke, and partly to know myself. When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me; I've got out of the book all that's any use to me and I can't get anythning more if I read it a dozen times. ...”

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About W. Somerset Maugham

English writer, early 20th century

W. Somerset Maugham was an English writer of the early 20th century, known for his plays, novels, and short stories. He became widely read for work that combined clear storytelling with sharp observation of people and society. His writing includes plays, novels, and short fiction, and his reputation rests on the range and steady craftsmanship of that body of work.

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