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.

When we read we are able to travel to many places, meet many people and understand the world.

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.

Writing a long and substantial book is like having a friend and companion at your side, to whom you can always turn for comfort and amusement, and whose society becomes more attractive as a new and widening field of interest is lighted in the mind.

In the humble environs of my boyhood, books were a scarce commodity. By local standards, however, the personal library of STR Manickam, a former 'revolutionary' or militant nationalist, was sizeable. He encouraged me to read all I could and I often visited his home to borrow books.

Stories of perseverance and extraordinary courage always inspire me. This piece in a book called Everyday Greatness by Stephen R. Covey has remained with me ever since.