A room without books is as a body without a soul.

Cicero

'Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.'

Groucho Marx

astrokath, you beat me to it. That's my fav as well.

I have always imagined that Paradise would be a kind of library. - Jorge Luis Borges.

Can't quite remember where I saw that one...

This one is long, but is my favorite.

Even when reading is impossible, the presence of books acquired produces such an ecstasy that the buying of more books than one can read is nothing less than the soul reaching towards infinity... we cherish books even if unread, their mere presence exudes comfort, their ready access, reassurance.
- A.E. Newton

There may be a lot of second and third rate writers but there are a hell of a sight more second and third rate readers.

Stan Barstow

"I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia."
Woody Allen

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."

Henry David Thoreau.

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."

Mark Twain.

Dorieann, I love yours.

Dorothy Parker...."This is not a novel to be tosed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

Dorieann, I haven't seen that one before - how true!

I happened to stumble across this one today at bookcrossing.com:

"Wear the old coat and buy the new book."

Austin Phelps

When I have money, I buy books. If any money is left over, I buy food and clothes. - Erasmus

I have two, one that appeared here not so long ago:

Ah yet, ere I descent to the grave
May I a small house and large garden have;
And a few friends, and many books, both true,
Both wise, and both delightful too!
Abraham Cowley 1618-1667

and another that appeared here a very long time ago:

Solemn Spaces Without Joy.

There is an architecture of books as surely as there is one of buildings. When you read a book, you enter by its cover, but you live within the spatial environment that its pages throw up around you. You inhabit its margins, whether commodious or cramped; you ambulate among the serifed glyphs of the typography; you respond to the climate of the page, pure white or mottled beige, and even negotiate the textured terrain of the paper itself, whether it be the alabastrine smoothness of bible stock or the porosity of wood pulp.

James Gardner.

Why it is called "Solemn Spaces Without Joy" alludes me-there are few more joyous places than a book!

I found this quote in a book on decorating --- from Victoria magazine. This magazine (now long gone) really promoted reading and books --- and making room for books in every room of the home. The magazine always included quotes from so many writers --- and readers too.

"What I mean by reading is not skimming, not being able to say as the world saith, "Oh yes I've read that," but reading again and again, in all sorts of moods, with an increase of delight every time, till the thing read has become a part of your system and goes forth along with you to meet any new experience you may have."

C.E. Montague --- A Writer's Notes on HIs Trade

"How many a man has dated a new area in his life from the reading of a book?" Henry David Thoreau

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.
--Mark Twain

Me and my books in the same apartment: like a gherkin in its vinegar.

Osip Mandelstahm (the Russian poet)

Just saw this one, made me smile. I suspect book lovers will relate:

>"It's not that I don't like people. It's just that when I'm in the company of others--even my nearest and dearest--there always comes a moment when I'd rather be reading a book." Maureen Corrigan

"Books may well be the only true magic."

Alice Hoffman

I'm currently reading Passion for Books: A Book LoverÂs Treasury of Stories, Essays, Humor, Lore, and Lists on Collecting, Reading, Borrowing, Lending, Caring for, and Appreciating Books. I don't know if it's famous or not, but I laughed out loud when I read Umberto Eco's "How To Justify a Private Library".

[For]people who possess a fairly sizable library (large enough in my case that someone entering our house canÂt help but notice it; actually, it takes up the whole place), a visitor enters and says "What a lot of books! Have you read them all?" At first I thought that the question characterized only people who had scant familiarity with books...

But there is more to it than that. I believe that, confronted by a vast array of books, anyone will be seized by the anguish of learning and will inevitably lapse into asking the question that expresses his torment and his remorse...

In the past I adopted a tone of contemptuous sarcasm. 'I haven't read any of them; otherwise, why would I keep them here?' but this is a dangerous answer because it invites the obvious follow-up: 'And where do you put them after you've read them?' The best answer is the one always used by Roberto Leydi: 'And more, dear sir, many more,' which freezes the adversary and plunges him into a state of awed admiration. But I find it merciless and angst generating. Now I have fallen back on the riposte: 'No, these are the ones I have to read by the end of the month. I keep the others in my office,' a reply that on the one hand suggests a sublime ergonomic strategy and on the other leads the visitor to hasten the moment of his departure.

People say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading.

Logan Pearsall Smith

I cannot live without books. Thomas Jefferson

This I cannot attribute to anyone. I can only say it is a sticker that has been stuck on the outside of my reading notebook for over a decade:

"Bibliophile: An otherwise rational member of the community comsumed by a love of books."

And this is on the inside cover of the same notebook:

The Reader's Bill of Rights

The right to not read,
The right to skip pages,
The right not to finish,
The right to re-read,
The right to read anything,
The right to escapsim,
The right to read anywhere,
The right to browse,
The right to read out loud,
The right not to defend your tastes.
(from Better Than Life by Daniel Pennac)

PAM

I love that bill of rights. It took me decades to assert Nos. 2 and 3, and the older I get, the more often I exercise them!

I've never had a problem dropping a book I didn't like. But I always felt guilty about skipping pages. No more. In fact, there are times that I take Billy Crystal's advice (from Harry met Sally) - I read the back few pages to see what happens, then read how it happens. Lowers stress level, and heightens the enjoyment of the ride.

"When I am attacked by gloomy thoughts, nothing helps me so much as running to my books, They quickly absorb me and banish the clouds from my mind." - Montaigne.

Adam