Book after Book

Once I start a book I finish it. That was the way one was brought up. Books, bread and butter, mashed potato - one finishes what's on one's plate. That's always been my philosophy. From “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

(…) what William James wrote on forgetting a word or name; a tantalizing, empty shape remains, almost but not quite defining the idea it once contained. Even as you struggle against the numbness of poor recall, you know precisely what the forgotten thing is not. From "Saturday" by Ian McEwan As I struggle each day to find exactly the right word in the right language, I like this quote because it clearly describes the feeling of knowing what you want to say even when you're not able to retrieve from your mind the combination of letters you're looking for. What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

When we are reading a good novel, we leave our small, cozy apartments behind, go out into the night alone and start getting to know people we had never met before and perhaps had even been biased against. Elif Shafak What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

Briefing is terse, factual and to the point. Reading is untidy, discursive and perpetually inviting. Briefing closes down a subject, reading opens it up. From “The Uncommon Reader” by Alan Bennett What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

Books represent infinitely more than money. A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold. Henry Miller What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

Literature has to take us beyond. If it cannot take us there, it is not good literature. Elif Shafak What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

Buying books isn't shopping, it's breathing. Kathryn Flett in an Observer Magazine article What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

With each passing year, and with each whimsical purchase, our libraries become more and more able to articulate who we are, whether we read the books or not. Nick Hornby What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more. Gabriel Zaid What do you think of this quote? I personally like it because it's a perfect excuse to keep buying books! What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!

The struggle of literature is in fact a struggle to escape from the confines of language; it stretches out from the utmost limits of what can be said; what stirs literature is the call and attraction of what is not in the dictionary. Italo Calvino What are your favourite quotes? Share them on Twitter or in the comments below!