Maybe you’re worn out. You’ve read tons of books before. Some were just light weights on a Kindle or Nook, no big deal really. Others were Infinite Jest-style burdens, heavy on your back or in your purse. Weighing you down all the time. Maybe you’ve taken some time off from reading because the last few books you read just weren’t worth it. Do they even write new, great works of literature anymore? Maybe that time you fell in love with a book before will just never happen for you again. Maybe it’s a once in a lifetime feeling and you’re never gonna find it again.
或许你已疲惫至极。你曾阅览无数,有些无足轻重无甚重要,而有些却像荒诞讽刺的包袱,沉重地压在你背上或藏在你行囊里,随时都可能压垮你。或许因为上次读的书索然无味,你已暂时避开阅读时光。还会有优秀的新文学作品么?只怕等你再次恋上一本书前,那优秀的新作品永远也不会出现罢。或许这真的就是千年等一回、除却巫山不是云了。
Or something exciting could happen. Maybe this will become your new favorite book. That’s always a possibility right? That’s the beauty of risk. The reward could actually be worth it. You invest your time and your brain power in the words and what you get back is empathy and a new understanding and pure wonder.
当然,生活总会有新鲜事发生,你也会有新的爱书。一切总有可能,不是吗?这正是冒险的魅力。得到的也大抵物有所值吧。你在字里行间播撒时间和心思,自然便可收获新的感悟、理解与遐思。
How could someone possibly know you like this? Some stranger, some author, some character. It’s like they’re seeing inside your soul. This book existed inside some book store, on a shelf, maybe handled by other people and really it was just waiting for you pick it up and crack the spine. It was waiting to speak to you. To say, “You are not alone.”
怎会有人知道你喜欢它呢?某个陌生人、作者,抑或书中的某个角色。他们似乎能看透你的心思。这本书,它陈列在某隅书店的书架上、它经人辗转,真的就像是在等你捧起翻阅,等着向你低语:“我会伴你左右。”