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The shelves of books we haven't written, like those of books we haven't read, stretches out into the darkness of the universal library's farthest space. We are always at the beginning of the beginning of the letter A.

— Alberto Manguel A History of Reading (1996)

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More quotes by Alberto Manguel

In our day, computer technology and the proliferation of books on CD-ROM have not affected - as far as statistics show - the production and sale of books in their old-fashioned codex form.

A History of Reading (1996)

Books read in a public library never have the same flavour as books read in the attic or the kitchen.

A History of Reading (1996)

Every library is a library of preferences, and every chosen category implies an exclusion.

A History of Reading (1996)

Most readers, then and now, have at some time experienced the humiliation of being told that their occupation is reprehensible.

A History of Reading (1996)

In every literate society, learning to read is something of an initiation, a ritualized passage out of a state of dependency and rudimentary communication.

A History of Reading (1996)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Alberto Manguel (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.