When you open a book, the sentimental library posters said, anything can happen. This was so. A book of fiction was a bomb. It was a land mine you wanted to go off. You wanted it to blow your whole day. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of books were duds. They had been rusting out of everyone's way for so long that they no longer worked. There was no way to distinguish the duds from the live mines except to throw yourself at them headlong, one by one.
The passage reflects on the unpredictable nature of reading fiction, likening a book to a bomb that can either ignite your imagination or fizzle out into disappointment. The exciting potential of a good story is compared to a landmine, suggesting it can have a profound impact on your day, completely transforming your experience. However, the reality is that many books are simply unremarkable, remnants of the past that fail to engage or inspire.
This sentiment captures the essence of the reader's journey through literature, where the thrill of discovery comes with the risk of encountering countless uninspiring works. It emphasizes the challenge of finding those rare gems amidst a sea of duds, illustrating the adventurous yet uncertain process of diving into new books without knowing their true value.
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