I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer, and I have my mind… and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge. That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.
Tags: tyrion-lannister, strength, reading, intellect, books

Other Quotes by "George R.R. Martin"

Sure, I knew the differences between a space opera and a hard-boiled detective story and a historical novel...but I never cared about such differences. It seemed to me, then as now, that there are good stories and bad stories, and that was the only distinction that truly mattered.
Tags: reading, genre-fiction, books
Before he had lost his sight, the maester had loved books as much as Samwell Tarly did. He understood the way that you could sometimes fall right into them, as if each page was a hole into another world.
Tags: samwell-tarly, reading, maester-aemon, books
He'll be down with the books. My old septon used to say books are dead men talking. Dead men should keep quiet is what I say. No one wants to hear a dead man's yabber.
Tags: books
I have lived a thousand lives and I’ve loved a thousand loves. I’ve walked on distant worlds and seen the end of time. Because I read.
Tags: george-r-r-martin, books
Wars are bad for trade.
— George R.R. Martin The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones
Tags: wisdom, war, trade, peace, oldtown, learning, knowledge, hightower, cunning, culture
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