Books are the carriers of civilization

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. Without books, the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are engines of change (as the poet said), windows on the world and lighthouses erected in the sea of time. They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print.
[Barbara Tuchman - Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Nov. 1980), pp. 16-32]”

“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally and rightfully on the shelves of every cottage. They have no cause of their own to plead, but while they enlighten and sustain the reader his common sense will not refuse them. Their authors are a natural and irresistible aristocracy in every society, and, more than kings or emperors, exert an influence on mankind.” ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

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

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

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

“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” ~John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“There is no friend as loyal as a book.” ~Ernest Hemingway

“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.” ~Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” ~Charles W. Eliot

“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” ~Sir Francis Bacon

“Reader's Bill of Rights:

1. The right to not read

2. The right to skip pages

3. The right to not finish

4. The right to reread

5. The right to read anything

6. The right to escapism

7. The right to read anywhere

8. The right to browse

9. The right to read out loud

10. The right to not defend your tastes” ~Daniel Pennac