Reading with an eye towards metaphor allows us to become the person weโre reading about, while reading about them. Thatโs why there is symbols in books and why your English teacher deserves your attention. Ultimately, it doesnโt matter if the author intended the symbol to be there because the job of reading is not to understand the authorโs intent. The job of reading is to use stories as a way into seeing other people as a we ourselves.
John GreenIn the contemporary world where things fall apart, and the centre cannot hold, you have to imagine a community where there is no centre. Hank, at the end of this year I started thinking that a lot of life is about doing things that donโt suck with people who donโt suck.
John GreenThat's the great thing about being in the third grade. If you've got one polysyllabic adjective, everyone thinks you're a genius.
John GreenToo pissed off to cry, I said, 'This is only making me hate her. I don't want to hate her. And what's the point, if that's all it's making me do?' Still refusing to answer how and why questions. Still insisting on an aura of mystery. I leaned forward, head between by knees, and the Colonel placed a head on my upper back. 'The point is that there are always alsweres, Pudge.' And then he pushed air out between his pursed lips and I could hear the angry quiver in his voice as he repeated, 'There are always answers. We just have to be smart enough.' ~Miles/Pudge and Chip/the Colonel, pg 168
John GreenI wrote my first novel and my second novel in Chicago. It was the place where I became a writer. It's my favorite city.
John GreenEvery time I try to set something in Chicago, I get intimidated by 'Augie March.' It's easy to set something in Indianapolis - we don't have 'Augie March' here. But I love writing about Chicago, and I love being there and imagining lives in Chicago. I hope to set something there in the future, but it's intimidating.
John Green