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Speaking of Books: The Best Things Ever Said About Books and Book Collecting
"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours."
-- J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
"I would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading." -- Thomas B. Macaulay, Life (1876)
The love of books, and the desire to speak and write of that love, are as old as books themselves. In fact, they are even older than printed books. "All the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books," wrote Richard de Bury in The Philobiblon (The Love of Books), which was completed in 1345, more than a hundred years before Gutenberg printed his first Bible.
And in every generation since de Bury's there have been new voices expressing the pleasures they take in books and reading. Speaking of Books contains hundreds of the best of those expressions -- entertaining and thought-provoking quotations about the reading and enjoyment of -- not to mention obsession with -- books. The collection includes examples of bibliophilia that range across the centuries and around the globe, from ancient Chinese proverbs to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, from the Bible to Woody Allen, from Jane Austen to Mark Twain, and from William Shakespeare to J. D. Salinger.
Filled with insight, wisdom, and humor, Speaking of Books will be read with pleasure by everyone who believes, as Thomas Carlyle did, that "of the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy are the things called books."
"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."
-- Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, August 7, 1991
"It was books that taught me that the things that torment me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." -- James Baldwin, in the New York Times, January 1, 1964
"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore!" -- Henry Ward
Beecher, Star Papers; or, Experiences of Art and Nature (1855)
"What refuge is there for the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new books he ought to read, while life is only long enough for him to attempt to read a hundred?" -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Over the Teacups (1891)
"I took a speed-reading course where you run your finger down the middle of the page and was able to read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It's about Russia." -- Woody Allen, in a letter by Phyllis Mindell to the New York Times, September 3, 1995
"You may perhaps be brought to acknowledge that it is very well worthwhile to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read all the rest of it." -- Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818)
"Book-love, I say again, lasts throughout life, it never flags or fails, but, like beauty itself, is a joy for ever." -- Holbrook Jackson, The Anatomy of Bibliomania (1930)
-- J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (1951)
"I would rather be a poor man in a garret with plenty of books than a king who did not love reading." -- Thomas B. Macaulay, Life (1876)
The love of books, and the desire to speak and write of that love, are as old as books themselves. In fact, they are even older than printed books. "All the glory of the world would be buried in oblivion, unless God had provided mortals with the remedy of books," wrote Richard de Bury in The Philobiblon (The Love of Books), which was completed in 1345, more than a hundred years before Gutenberg printed his first Bible.
And in every generation since de Bury's there have been new voices expressing the pleasures they take in books and reading. Speaking of Books contains hundreds of the best of those expressions -- entertaining and thought-provoking quotations about the reading and enjoyment of -- not to mention obsession with -- books. The collection includes examples of bibliophilia that range across the centuries and around the globe, from ancient Chinese proverbs to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, from the Bible to Woody Allen, from Jane Austen to Mark Twain, and from William Shakespeare to J. D. Salinger.
Filled with insight, wisdom, and humor, Speaking of Books will be read with pleasure by everyone who believes, as Thomas Carlyle did, that "of the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy are the things called books."
"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."
-- Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, August 7, 1991
"It was books that taught me that the things that torment me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had ever been alive." -- James Baldwin, in the New York Times, January 1, 1964
"Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore!" -- Henry Ward
Beecher, Star Papers; or, Experiences of Art and Nature (1855)
"What refuge is there for the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new books he ought to read, while life is only long enough for him to attempt to read a hundred?" -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Over the Teacups (1891)
"I took a speed-reading course where you run your finger down the middle of the page and was able to read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It's about Russia." -- Woody Allen, in a letter by Phyllis Mindell to the New York Times, September 3, 1995
"You may perhaps be brought to acknowledge that it is very well worthwhile to be tormented for two or three years of one's life, for the sake of being able to read all the rest of it." -- Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1818)
"Book-love, I say again, lasts throughout life, it never flags or fails, but, like beauty itself, is a joy for ever." -- Holbrook Jackson, The Anatomy of Bibliomania (1930)
252 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
1 person is currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 17, 2020
I enjoyed this. I did not sit down and read it straight through. I took my time, plucking away at it. I enjoy reading quotes from others. And this book full of quotes that have to do with books and reading was enjoyable to me.
March 4, 2022
I did not think that I would enjoy this book, but I really did. It's all about books and book collecting. It is 20 chapters that talk about everything about books: Bibliomania, What books D0-and Don't Do For Us, Lending and Borrowing books, and Enemies of Books to name a few. In each chapter there are quotes/passages on the topic of the chapter....from the earliest book readers/writers/critics in the 1300's to the present.
"No two people read the same book" Edmund Wilson, 1971.
"Most of today's books have an air of having been written in one day from books read the night before" Sebastian=Roch=Nichilas Chamfort, 1796.
"No two people read the same book" Edmund Wilson, 1971.
"Most of today's books have an air of having been written in one day from books read the night before" Sebastian=Roch=Nichilas Chamfort, 1796.
August 9, 2024
This was a particularly good and broad collection of quotes about books. I always appreciate a collection that helps me travel outside my own century.
“To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate conversation with men of unseen generations—such is a pleasure beyond compare.” Yoshida Kenko
“The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding), lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once again in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.” Ben Franklin
“To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate conversation with men of unseen generations—such is a pleasure beyond compare.” Yoshida Kenko
“The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer (like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding), lies here, food for worms; but the work shall not be lost, for it will (as he believed) appear once again in a new and more elegant edition, revised and corrected by the Author.” Ben Franklin
June 1, 2022
This book of quotes was just amazing. It has made me aware of about 25 books I need to read badly that I have never heard of before. Many of the books that I am speaking of were published in the 1800's and early 1900's. Thanks to the internet those books are still available to read. I liked the intro that is written in each chapter before they get into the quotes.
I am sure I will reread this book later. That good!
I am sure I will reread this book later. That good!
March 1, 2021
A fun & thoughtful read for bibliophiles!
June 17, 2010
This book is billed as a companion volume to the more comprehensive Passion for Books, which is compilation of essays on book love and collecting. This book is actually a compilation of aphorisms on book love and collecting. Many of the selected quotations are taken from longer essays that appear in A Passion for Books. Those that are new are interesting enough (though tread on familiar territory). I will say I liked how the editors organized and arranged the quotes (by thematic chapters) and also appreciated how selected quotes also prompted the reader to see other quotes on subsequent and previous pages. However this indexing was incomplete and seemed to be done at the whim of the editor rather than with any type of thoroughness or accuracy. It was also the case that many of the quotes were merely attributed to an author, while others came along with more exact bibliographic information including when and where the quote was uttered. Again, there didn't seem to be rhyme or reason here, as many of the quotes with mere authors might have been filled in with a bit of research. I probably should blame myself for buying this book without looking at it more carefully, and I guess it was worth reading as I did get a couple "leads" from it in terms of articles to find and read in their entirety. But, if you are looking to read aphorisms, I would suggest Bartlett's Quotations before this volume.
October 4, 2016
The sort of thing you can thumb through. Some great quotes, but honestly, it seems like nothing before 1995 or so. Where are quotes from some of the well-known authors like Stephen King? James Patterson? It's primarily classic authors, or those that are considered literary.
Some favorites:
"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." Oscar Wilde
"The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the ways in history." Carl Rowan
"One of the greatest gifts adults can give - to their offspring and to their society - is to read to children." Carl Sagan
"When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness." Vincent Starrett
"I learned...the lesson that nothing is so depressing as to spend one's life doing something in which one is not interested. Most of us would rather be making a competence out of books than a fortune out of soap." Geoffrey Faber
"The weapon of the dictator is not so much propaganda as censorship." Terence H. Qualter
Some favorites:
"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." Oscar Wilde
"The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the ways in history." Carl Rowan
"One of the greatest gifts adults can give - to their offspring and to their society - is to read to children." Carl Sagan
"When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness." Vincent Starrett
"I learned...the lesson that nothing is so depressing as to spend one's life doing something in which one is not interested. Most of us would rather be making a competence out of books than a fortune out of soap." Geoffrey Faber
"The weapon of the dictator is not so much propaganda as censorship." Terence H. Qualter
October 26, 2011
A very enjoyable collection of quotes about books and reading. The editors did try to represent a broad range of topics related to reading. I found myself jotting a few good quotes in my personal journal. If you are a book lover, you will want to buy this book. Definitely a book to savor and take your time with it.
April 23, 2016
- although somewhat repetitive, and even predictable, the 700 plus quotations/observations on the subjects of books and book-collecting represented here were a pleasure to read
October 10, 2014
Wonderful quotes for book lovers.
September 5, 2016
A lovely compilation that expanded my "to read" book list.
March 26, 2010
Hee. A book about books. Many things that are great to read out-loud.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews