A book is like a child: it is easier to bring it into the world than to control it when it is launched there.

Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship.

Classic' - a book which people praise and don't read.

It was great fun writing a book.... It built an impalpable crystal sphere around one of interests and ideas. In a sense one felt like a goldfish in a bowl; but in this case the goldfish made his own bowl. This came along everywhere with me. It never got knocked about in travelling, and there was never a moment when agreeable occupation was lacking. Either the glass had to be polished, or the structure extended or contracted, or the walls required strengthening.

A multitude of books distracts the mind.

Books are infinite in number and time is short. The secret of knowledge is to take what is essential. Take that and try to live up to it.