The Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, West Virginia published a reprint of a John Patrick Grace column titled “Want to feel better and live longer? Slow down a bit” in which Grace quotes Updike:

“John Updike, the novelist, was asked a few years ago why he was publishing yet another rambling novel of New England life, some 500 pages. ‘Who has time to read novels that long anymore?’ the questioner said.

“Updike replied, more or less in this vein: ‘That’s just it. People need to slow down their lives and take time to read a good long book. That’s exactly why I write novels of that length.’

“Does that make sense? Well, then, slow the heck down and read a good book.”

John Patrick Grace is a book editor and publisher. He lives in Huntington.