Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a read more

Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.

There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written.

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed in profit.

That is a good book which is opened with expectation and closed in profit.

The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it read more

The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.

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

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

That place that does contain
My books, the best companions, is to me
A glorious court, where read more

That place that does contain
My books, the best companions, is to me
A glorious court, where hourly I converse
With the old sages and philosophers;
And sometimes, for variety, I confer
With kings and emperors, and weigh their counsels;
Calling their victories, if unjustly got,
Unto a strict account, and, in my fancy,
Deface their ill-placed statues.

Old books that have ceased to be of service should no more be abandoned than should old friends who have read more

Old books that have ceased to be of service should no more be abandoned than should old friends who have ceased to give pleasure.

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

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

One can live with the thought of one's own death. It is the thought of the death of the words read more

One can live with the thought of one's own death. It is the thought of the death of the words and books that is terrifying for that is the deeper extinction.