E. M. Forster, Selected Letters: Letter 419, to William Plomer, 12 December 1957.
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I had an interesting day's reading yesterday, with the sudden sensaton of being in close contact with what I was reading. [...] But as for reading how curious it is: all these books, their lore of the ages, waiting to be embraced but usually slipping out of one's nerveless hands on to the floor. When one reads properly it is as if a third person is present.

— E. M. Forster on Reading

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I had an interesting day's reading yesterday, with the sudden sensaton of being in close contact with what I was reading. [...] But as for reading how curious it is: all these books, their lore of the ages, waiting to be embraced but usually slipping out of one's nerveless hands on to the floor. When one reads properly it is as if a third person is present." in the context of "E. M. Forster, Selected Letters: Letter 419, to William Plomer, 12 December 1957." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Reading" (F) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
E. M. Forster

About E. M. Forster

Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 July 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist.