Books Quotes
Samuel Johnson is on this page more than once for good reason. In The Rambler (1750) he wrote that no place gives a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library. Boswell (1791) has him saying that a man ought to read just as inclination leads him, because what he reads as a task will do him little good. Alberto Manguel, Emerson and Northrop Frye are among the most-quoted writers here, which is what you would expect from people who spent their working lives reading.
Two entries are flagged as misattributed. The quip about a manuscript that is both good and original, with the good parts not original and the original parts not good, is credited to Johnson. “Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!” is credited to General Patton.
The act of writing the book was painful at times, but it was easier than talking to someone.
Any journalist worth his salt, should have to study literature to some extent.
A giraffe from Kitāb al-Hayawān (Book of the Animals) by al-Jāḥiẓ.
“Reading and comprehension is still an issue for 9 out of 10 children…”
“You will fail miserably! If you’ve not been reading, you can’t write well.”
If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.