Beware of books. They are more than innocent assemblages of paper and ink and string and glue. If they are any good, they have the spirit of the author within. Authors are rogues and ruffians and easy lays. They are gluttons for sweets and savories. They devour life and always want more. They have sap, spirit, sex. Books are panderers. The Jews are not wrong to worship books. A real book has pheromones and sprouts grass through its cover.
In Erica Jong's reflections on books, she presents them as complex entities filled with the essence of their authors, rather than mundane objects made simply of paper and ink. A good book embodies the spirit of its creator, who is often driven by intense passions and appetites, suggesting that authors are vibrant, sometimes unruly characters who infuse their work with life and desire.
Jong also implies that books have a seductive quality, offering more than just stories but also an intimate experience for readers. She acknowledges the cultural reverence for books, as seen in communities that hold them in high esteem, noting that a genuine book possesses a kind of life force, suggesting an almost organic connection between the written word and its readers.
