The heroes of the books I read, The Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series, always felt a duty to save the world.

I have always loved and avidly read the novels of Jack London, Jules Verne and Ernest Hemingway. The characters depicted in their books, who are brave and resourceful people embarking on exciting adventures, definitely shaped my inner self and nourished my love for the outdoors.

We do not belong to those who only get their thought from books, or at the prompting of books. It is our custom to think in the open air, walking, leaping, climbing, or dancing on lonesome mountains by preference, or close to the sea, where even the paths become thoughtful.

I wanted to read all these books, but I would have to have been in a rest home or something to do that.

The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read.

Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi.