A book is still atemporal. It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do with the timescale of reading. And for the hours that we retreat into this moratorium, with the last form of private and silent human activity that isn't considered pathological, we are outside of time.

I used to work for 12 or 14 hours at a time but the digital age has made such happy immersions almost impossible.

We will live with racism for ever. But senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for grabs.

Richard Powers Quotes