You might have noticed that I have been sending you used books. I have done this not to save money, but to make a point which is that a used book, unlike a used car, hasn't lost any of its initial value. A good story rolls of the lot into the hands of its new reader as smoothly as the day it was written. And there's another reason for these used paperbacks that never cost much even when new; I like the idea of holding a book that someone else has held, of eyes running over lines that have already seen the light of other eyes. That, in one image, is the community of readers, is the communion of literature. Yann Martel
About This Quote

The author, Raymond Chandler, was one of the founding fathers of the hard-boiled detective genre. The book he was referring to was The Big Sleep, published in 1939. This is one of the most well-known hard-boiled novels in the history of detective fiction. What it’s best known for is its opening line: “You know who I am, but I’ll bet you don’t know what I look like.” With its opening line, Chandler not only introduced the hard-boiled genre to his readership, but also created a standard that many other writers would try to emulate.

Source: What Is Stephen Harper Reading?: Yann Martels Recommended Reading For A Prime Minister And Book Lovers Of All Stripes

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