Philosophy of Loneliness and Books

"I have a theory about why I'm so good at sleeping. Maybe you've figured that one out, too. I am utterly and blissfully alone. But that's not all; that's not the entire philosophy. There are a lot of parts to this. Because, you see, I'm not really alone. I've got books. Not just the physical presence of books, though they're obviously attractive and warm. I mean the people, the stories, the active intelligence of whatever I'm reading. People who go to bed alone often have a TV playing. They say it keeps them company, assuages the pangs of solitude, but in fact, it doesn't work that way. When you read a book, you fully and completely enter a universe. Your mind is an energetic participant in the written language. It cannot be otherwise. But when you watch television, you cannot enter that world. You always remain on the outside looking into the screen, and the screen is the wall blocking your entrance. And so the television makes you horribly aware of the very thing you wish to escape: your loneliness."

Carr, Josephine. The Dewey Decimal System of Love. New York: New American Library. 2003.