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Booksellers are the most valuable destination for the lonely, given the numbers of books that were written because authors couldn't find anyone to talk to.

— Alain de Botton The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)

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More quotes by Alain de Botton

It wasn't only fanatics and drunkards who began conversations with strangers in public.

The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)

The greatest works of art speak to us without knowing us.

The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)

We should not be frightened by appearances.

The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)

To look at the paper is to raise a seashell to one’s ear and to be overwhelmed by the roar of humanity.

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work (2009)

A virtuous, ordinary life, striving for wisdom but never far from folly, is achievement enough.

The Consolations of Philosophy (2000)

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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: Alain de Botton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.