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I must get inside that library! I must have books again. If I cannot read and learn and have things that are worth thinking about, I would rather immolate myself than go on living.

— Walter Tevis Mockingbird (1980)

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More quotes by Walter Tevis

Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.

Mockingbird (1980)

He thought, looking at the cat, if only you were the intelligent species on this world. And then, smiling wryly, maybe you are.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963)

The woman beside me hesitated a moment, and then said softly, “This man is different, Mary. He’s a Reader.”

Mockingbird (1980)

“But, damn it, you’re not gods.”
“No, but have your gods ever saved you before?”
“I don’t know. No, of course not.”

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963)

It always horrified Bryce to see professors fawn on businessmen—the very men they ridiculed in their private conversations—whenever a research contract might be in the offing.

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963)

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Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.

Francis Bacon Meditationes sacræ (1597)

It is not in the books of the Philosophers, but in the religious symbolism of the Ancients, that we must look for the footprints of Science, and re-discover the Mysteries of Knowledge.

Albert Pike Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (1871)

There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.

Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 (1953)

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

Logan Pearsall Smith Afterthoughts (1931)

Attribution

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