I think that reading is always active. As a writer, you can only go so far; the reader meets you halfway, bringing his or her own experience to bear on everything you've written. What I mean is that it is not only the writer's memory that filters experience, but the reader's as well.

Ruth Reichl

Ruth Reichl

Active Always Bear Bringing Everything Experience Far Filters Go Halfway Her His I Think Mean Meets Memory Only Own Reader Reading Think Well Writer Written You

Related Quotes

My mother started out by being a very good girl. She did everything that was expected of her, and it cost her dearly. Late in her life, she was furious that she had not followed her own heart; she thought that it had ruined her life, and I think she was right.

— Ruth Reichl

BeingCostDearly

I think it's hard, when you're someone who likes to please people, as I am, to be a boss. I had to learn how to rein myself in and not terrify people.

— Ruth Reichl

I don't have my own garden; we're on shale and in the woods. And if I did have a garden, the deer and chipmunks and squirrels and bears would eat everything anyway.

— Ruth Reichl

AnywayBearsDeer

I think all characters are facets of the writer. In a way, they have to be if you're going to write them convincingly.

CharactersFacetsGoing

M. F. K. Fisher was a wonder and a huge influence, and someone I got to know pretty well at the end of her life.

— Ruth Reichl