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"Illiterate people should only be charged for the photographs, when buying a newspaper."

"Don't you think it's better to continue reading than to just close the book?"

"A book won't move your eyes for you like TV or a movie does. A book won't move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart in it. It won't do the work for you. To read a good novel well is to follow it, to act it, to feel it, to become it-everything short of writing it, in fact. Reading is a collaboration, an act of participation. No wonder not everybody is up to it."

"Don't let me get sappy on you, but when you get right down to it, every collection of letters is a magic spell, even if it's a moronic proclamation by the Emperor. Words have their impact, girl. Mind your manners. I may not know how to fly but I know how to read, and that's almost the same thing."

"Has it ever struck you as odd, or unfortunate, that today, when the proportion of literacy is higher than it has ever been, people should have become susceptible to the influence of advertisement and mass propaganda to an extent hitherto unheard of and unimagined?"

"Fight against illiteracy."

"The highest paid Americans read an average of two to three hours per day. The lowest paid Americans don't read at all......58% of adults never read another book after they leave high school-including 42% of university graduates......43.6% of American adults read below the 7th grade level... they are functionally illiterate... fully 50% of high school graduates cannot read their graduation diplomas, nor fill out an application form for a job at McDonald's..."
Explore more quotes by Idries Shah


"Show a man too many camels' bones,or show them to him too often,and he will not be able to recognize a camel when he comes across a live one."
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