[TfTi] 30 more quotes on books to inspire writers and readers

This Tips from Tom’s inbox entry was itself inspired, once again, by James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter, with a subject line that read in part: “the value of books.”

No way to resist that hook, eh?

What I found inside was his lengthy quote from Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. And as I read it, I was struck by how almost every sentence could stand alone as a beautiful aphorism (or should I be more hip and say “meme”) about, you guessed it, the value of reading and books.

I’ve posted some of my favorites before, but somehow Roddenberry’s escaped my attention. So let’s start a new list with these eight cropped to give each its due:

“I consider reading the greatest bargain in the world.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“A shelf of books is a shelf of many lives and ideas and imaginations which the reader can enjoy whenever he wishes and as often as he wishes.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“Instead of experiencing just one life, the book-lover can experience hundreds or even thousands of lives. He can live any kind of adventure in the world.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“Books are [a book-lover’s] time machine into the past and also into the future.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“Books are [a reader’s] “transporter” by which he can beam instantly to any part of the universe and explore what he finds there.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“Books are an instrument by which [the reader] can become any person for a while — a man, a woman, a child, a general, a farmer, a detective, a king, a doctor, anyone.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“Great books are especially valuable because a great book often contains within its covers the wisdom of a man or woman’s whole lifetime.”
— Gene Roddenberry

“But the true lover of books enjoys all kinds of books, even some nonsense now and then, because enjoying nonsense from others can teach us to also laugh at ourselves. A person who does not learn to laugh at his own problems and weaknesses and foolishness can never be a truly educated or a truly happy person. Also, probably the same thing could be said of a person who does not enjoy learning and growing all his life.”
— Gene Roddenberry

Now, having realized how many valuable quotes — and some just for fun — that I’d overlooked, I went in search of more! In no particular order, let’s round out this list with twenty-two more (the attributions are via Goodreads):

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
— Cicero

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
— Mark Twain

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
— Jane Austen

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
— Groucho Marx

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
— Haruki Murakami

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
— Jorge Luis Borges

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
— Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
— C.S. Lewis

“One must always be careful of books,” said Tessa, “and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“You should date a girl who reads. . . .

Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve. . . .

. . . Let her know that you understand that words are love. . . .

If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”
― Rosemarie Urquico

Author’s aside: These excerpts from the quote about a girl who reads are just a taste of a wonderful, much longer piece and I urge you to go read the whole thing. Then, if you’re not already committed, follow her advice.

I did, before ever seeing the quote, and the blessings it promises are real. I have reason to hope Yvonne feels the same about finding a boy who reads. And writes.

Now back to the list!

“I can never read all the books I want . . . I am horribly limited.”
― Sylvia Plath

“Books are the ultimate Dumpees: put them down and they’ll wait for you forever; pay attention to them and they always love you back.”
― John Green

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
― Madeleine L’Engle

“… a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books … and … write … as only you can.”
― Neil Gaiman

“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”
― William Styron

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
― Ray Bradbury

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn’t carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.”
― Stephen King

“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
― Erasmus

“Here’s to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy.”
― Charlaine Harris

“It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.”
― James Baldwin

“Where is human nature so weak as in the bookstore?”
― Henry Ward Beecher

“Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book.”
― Jane Smiley

“I cannot live without books.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.”
― Paul Auster

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”
― Mortimer J. Adler

“I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”
― J.K. Rowling

“Books have a unique way of stopping time in a particular moment and saying: Let’s not forget this.”
― Dave Eggers

Um, oh hey, you still here? I think I might have lost count. So, 30 or so quotes.

But I bet you know more still, right? Share your favorites in the comments!

[TfTi] 30 more quotes on books to inspire writers and readers