百家菁藻，万卷撷珍
书单精选。
索引¶
阅读是一座随身携带的避难所¶
...Reading suffers from no such disadvantages; there is no occupation—except perhaps needlework, but that leaves the restless spirit at liberty—which you can more easily take up at any moment, for any period, and more easily put aside when other calls press upon you; there is no other amusement that can be obtained in these happy days of public libraries and cheap editions at so small a cost. To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. Almost all, I say, for I would not go so far as to pretend that to read a book will assuage the pangs of hunger or still the pain of unrequited love; but half a dozen good detective stories and a hot-water bottle will enable anyone to snap his fingers at the worst cold in the head. But who is going to acquire the habit of reading for reading's sake, if he is bidden to read books that bore him?
― W. Somerset Maugham, Books and You
……（但是）阅读就不一样了，它丝毫不会让你有这种困扰。没有哪一项活动可以像读书一样——除了针线活，但它并不能平复你焦躁的心情——能随时开始，随便读多久，当有人找你时也可以随时搁下。没有其他娱乐项目比阅读更省钱了，你在公共图书馆的那些愉快日子和阅读廉价版图书时的愉快体验正好说明了这一点。 培养阅读的习惯能够为你筑造一座避难所，让你逃脱几乎人世间的所有悲哀。 我说“几乎”是因为我不想夸张到说阅读能缓解饥饿的痛苦，或者平复你单相思的愁闷。但是一些好的侦探小说和一个热水袋，便能让你不在乎最严重的感冒的不适。相反，如果有人必须读那些使他觉得无味的书，谁会养成为了阅读而阅读的习惯呢？
——《阅读是一座随身携带的避难所：毛姆读书随笔》（怎样读书才有乐趣·读书应该是一种享受）， 罗长利 译