Is there any way to figure out what books will live for posterity? “The idea that, although you will be dust, your words will outlive you is a potent one. Potent, but vain. The fate of most books, even successful ones, is a fairly swift rendezvous with Lethe.
Realistically calculating the odds in the posterity stakes: ‘A writer’s ambition should be to trade 100 contemporary readers for 10 readers in 10 years’ time and for one in 100 years’.”
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