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Old 02-08-2013, 04:26 PM   #1
profen4
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Help finding a famous quote
There is a pretty well known quote by an author about how he loves hearing readers talk about the hidden messages/themes he's put in his books, because he never does so on purpose and he finds it interesting to read what he came up with . . . or something like that.

I'm trying to finish up a blog post about such things, and it's driving me nuts that I can't track down the quote that got me started on the post in the first place!
do lot nam sieu mong do boi nu goi cam thoi trang cho be ban si vay cong so nu cho thue trang phuc re dep
Anyone know it? There are likely more than one...
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Old 02-08-2013, 05:38 PM   #2
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The only thing coming to my mind at the moment is this webcomic.
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Old 02-08-2013, 05:48 PM   #3
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I'm not sure if it's what you're referring to, but I think people are always finding hidden meanings in Dr. Seuss books (and Disney cartoons).

Might have been Douglas Adams.
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Old 02-08-2013, 05:55 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by profen4 View Post
There is a pretty well known quote by an author about how he loves hearing readers talk about the hidden messages/themes he's put in his books, because he never does so on purpose and he finds it interesting to read what he came up with . . . or something like that.

I'm trying to finish up a blog post about such things, and it's driving me nuts that I can't track down the quote that got me started on the post in the first place!

Anyone know it? There are likely more than one...
I've seen lots of authors say words to that effect on Twitter, Facebook, blogposts, and interviews. It's so common it's almost become a cliche.
I'm afraid I can't help you find a direct quote. If I was to do the same thing you do, I'd ask authors on Facebook and Twitter if they've said something along those lines that are available online. If you don't have that option, I think you're left with trawling author interviews online. -If you know which author, that would make it a bit easier.

Basically you can sum up what many authors say as:
"Readers will always find more in a book than the author put in there."
-But I'm not sure that is a quote, or me paraphrasing something I've heard.
Hope you find what you are looking for, or at least something you can use.
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Old 02-08-2013, 08:20 PM   #5
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Rhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate complimentsRhoda Nightingale is so great that we've run out of appropriate compliments
Is it James Joyce by any chance? I feel like he said something like that about Ulysses once.
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Old 02-08-2013, 09:04 PM   #6
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Samuel Clemens (or do I mean Sammuel? ) opened Huckleberry Finn with, "Persons attempting to find a motive in the narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot."

Made me like him even more.

It's not quite it, but it expresses some of the same sentiment.

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Old 02-08-2013, 09:39 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maryn View Post
Samuel Clemens (or do I mean Sammuel? ) opened Huckleberry Finn with, "Persons attempting to find a motive in the narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot."

Made me like him even more.

It's not quite it, but it expresses some of the same sentiment.

Maryn, glad of Project Gutenberg
I think that one would work. I just wanted to end the post with a relevant quote from an author.

The one I had previously read/remembered definitely said something about how he enjoyed discovering what he'd written, or what he'd "really" written....

But that one works well.
quan lot khe do boi nam ca tinh xe day loai khac chan vay cong so nu thoi trang cong so nu cho thue trang phuc bieu dien
That cartoon from bearilou is great, too.
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Old 02-08-2013, 09:41 PM   #8
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There is a quote from Yogi Berra that is something like: "I never said most of the things I said."
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Old 02-08-2013, 10:13 PM   #9
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http://mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=30937

“Yes, readers often infer that there is symbolism in my work, which I do not intend. My reaction is sometimes annoyance. It is sometimes humorous. It is sometimes even pleasant, indicating that the reader’s mind has collaborated in a creative way with what I have written.”
-Ralph Ellison

“This happens often, and in every case there is good reason for the inference; in many cases, I have been able to learn something about my own book, for readers have seen much in the book that is there, although I was not aware of it being there.”
-Joseph Heller
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Old 02-08-2013, 10:20 PM   #10
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I'm at work and can't access FB, but I've seen this Venn diagram on there many times:

Two intersecting circles.

The large part of the left one reads: What the author wrote: The curtains were blue.

The large part of the right one reads: What the teacher thinks the author meant: The blue curtains represent the author's inherent disillusionment with the state of (yada yada yada).

The tiny intersecting middle section reads: What the author meant: The curtains were f***ing blue.

It always makes me laugh, since I'm a former English teacher.
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Old 02-08-2013, 10:23 PM   #11
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callalily61, it’s the picture on this page:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...susInPurgatory
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Old 02-08-2013, 10:36 PM   #12
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Thanks, Dorky. All those kinds of sites are blocked here at work.
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