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Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous anecdotes and divine revelation - endows the reader with the power of creating a story, and the listener with a sense of being present at the moment of creation.

— 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.