Henry Ward Beecher Quotes

There are 10,000 books in my library, and it will keep growing until I die. This has exasperated my daughters, amused my friends and baffled my accountant. If I had not picked up this habit in the library long ago, I would have more money in the bank today; I would not be richer.

For twenty years I read a book a day, from the time I was seven until I was twenty-seven.

But the penciled sheets did not seem like nor smell like the library book so she had given it up, consoling herself with the vow that when she grew up, she would work hard, save money and buy every single book that she liked.

I collect books - a lot of books.

Naturally, I have compensated in my adult years by owning very large numbers of books.

I couldn't live a week without a private library - indeed, I'd part with all my furniture and squat and sleep on the floor before I'd let go of the 1500 or so books I possess.

I personally own six or seven thousand books, so I - and I certainly don't want to see them go away.

I love books. I want to read them, and I want to own them so they're always available to be reread.

I have about 3,500 books, maybe more.

If you read one hour per day in your field, that will translate into about one book per week. One book per week translates into about 50 books per year. 50 books per year will translate into about 500 books over the next ten years.

It should be possible to exist with only a short shelf of books, to read and give away. After all - we may not open a book, once read, for ten years or more. But the act of reading has made it part of us - to relinquish it would be to lose an extension of our being.

Of all things I liked books best. My father had a large library and whenever I could manage I tried to satisfy my passion for reading.

Let every man, if possible, gather some good books under his roof.

I suddenly had a little epiphany: all the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal.

I have no feelings of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have unlimited patience. They will wait for me till the end of my days.

Then he got more books. He saved all the books.

All told, she owned fourteen books, but she saw her story as being made up predominantly of ten of them. Of those ten, six were stolen, one showed up at the kitchen table, two were made for her by a hidden Jew, and one was delivered by a soft, yellow-dressed afternoon.

All the books we own, both read and unread, are the fullest expression of self we have at our disposal. ... But 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.

A library represents the mind of its collector, his fancies and foibles, his strength and weakness, his prejudices and preferences. Particularly is this the case if, to the character of a collector, he adds - or tries to add - the qualities of a student who wishes to know the books and the lives of the men who wrote them. The friendships of his life, the phases of his growth, the vagaries of his mind, all are represented.

I have a couple of thousand books in my personal library. Choosing a favorite is next to impossible. But I do love the written word.

To a book collector, you see, the true freedom of all books is somewhere on his shelves.

Any book is better than no book. Slowly, surely, one will lead you to another, which will lead you to the best.

My books piled up before me for my use waiting in space where I placed them, they haven't disappeared, time's left its remnants and qualities for me to use -- my words piled up, my texts, my manuscripts, my loves.

What is the virtue and service of a book? Only to help me live less gingerly and shabbily.

I read for growth, firmly believing that what you are today and what you will be in five years depends on two things: the people you meet and the books you read.