One day a good fortune befell him, for he hit upon Lane's translation of the Thousand Nights and a Night.
He was captured first by the illustrations, and then he began to read. [...]
He could think of nothing else.
He forgot the life about him.
He had to be called two or three times before he would come to his dinner.
Insensibly he formed the most delightful habit in the world, the habit of reading:
he did not know that thus he was providing himself with a refuge from all the distress of life;
he did not know either that he was creating for himself an unreal world which would make the real world of every day a source of bitter disappointment. [...]
Whenever he started a book with two solitary travellers riding along the brink of a desperate ravine he knew he was safe.
From Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham.
Quotables is a new feature I am incorporating into my blog. It will feature notable passages from books and other bookish quotes.
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