Books that you carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are most useful after all.

The good parts of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life --and one is as good as the other.

This is not a book. This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty... what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing.

The only obligation to which in advance we may hold a novel, without incurring the accusation of being arbitrary, is that it be interesting.

O, let my books be then the eloquence and dumb presages of my speaking breast.

The chief knowledge that a man gets from reading books is the knowledge that very few of them are worth reading.

I wish I could write a beautiful book to break those hearts that are soon to cease to exist: a book of faith and small neat worlds and of people who live by the philosophies of popular songs.

To buy books would be a good thing if we also could buy the time to read them.

A book worth reading is worth buying.

This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum.