The Quotable Book Lover [Hardcover]

Ben Jacobs (Editor), Helena Hjalmarsson (Editor), Nicholas A. Basbanes (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558218823 | ISBN-13: 978-1558218826 | Publication Date: August 1, 1999 | Edition: 1st

A comprehensive collection of the best words on words--from the world's most renowned bibliophiles.

"Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered."--W. H. Auden

"A room without books is like a body without a soul."--Cicero

"The proper study of mankind is books."--Aldous Huxley

This collection of over five hundred quotations captures the wisdom and wit of the most insightful things ever said about books, spoken and written by such distinct legendary figures as: Aeschylus, Woody Allen, Maya Angelou, Jane Austen, Francis Bacon, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Faulkner, Robert Frost, James Joyce, Rudyard Kipling, D. H. Lawrence, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Lloyd, Marianne Moore, Marcel Proust, George Bernard Shaw, Sir George Sitwell, Gertrude Stein, Sara Stein, Ruth Stout, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Jefferson, Franz Kafka, Helen Keller, Malcolm X, Groucho Marx, John Milton, George Orwell, John Ruskin, Charles Scribner, George Bernard Shaw, Wallace Stevens, Robert Penn Warren, William Carlos Williams, Oprah Winfrey, and W. B. Yeats.

Encompassing the many facets of books and the pleasures and puzzlements they afford, The Quotable Book Lover includes chapters on writing, reading, and bookbinding, among others. With its wide range of commentary, this compilation will surely entertain and enlighten bibliophiles of all types.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The bibliophiles of the world are an erudite and witty bunch, especially the hundreds of quotable sages and wags whose bons mots are collected in this tribute to the written word. The authors of these insights, spanning centuries and continents, include Aeschylus and Lady Bird Johnson, Gustave Flaubert and Francis Bacon, Russell Baker and Isadora Duncan, Katharine Hepburn and Mark Twain, Pablo Picasso and Brad Pitt.

The quotations offer witticisms as well as philosophical insights. Woody Allen quips, "I took a speed-reading course and read War and Peace in twenty minutes. It's about Russia." And Franz Kafka declares, "Books must be the axe to break the frozen sea inside me." Mark Twain reflects, "I like a thin book because it will steady a table, a leather volume because it will strop a razor, and a heavy book because it can be thrown at a cat." And Fran Lebowitz notes that "Magazines all too frequently lead to books, and should be regarded by the prudent as the heavy petting of literature." Aristotle observes that "To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man." H.L. Mencken explains, "I write in order to attain that feeling of tension relieved and function achieved, which a cow enjoys on giving milk." And Thomas Mann opines that "A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."

In all, there are more than 500 quotations that pithily consider every aspect of authors, readers, collectors, and books. Entertaining and provocative, it is the sort of book that makes you sit friends down and read them just one more entry. In one such entry, Robertson Davies observes that "There are many people--happy people, it usually appears--whose thoughts at Christmas always turn to books. The notion of a Christmas tree with no books under it is repugnant and unnatural to them." This is just the sort of book to make such people remarkably content. --Stephanie Gold

From Library Journal

This volume is a fresh and handy addition to the already well-worn crop of quotation dictionaries. Publisher Jacobs and freelance journalist Hjalmarsson have compiled over 500 book-related quotes and divided them into ten thematic sectionsAfrom "Reading" to "On Writing" to "Censorship and the Destruction of Books." Drawing from the words of historians, entertainers, political activists, educators, authors, and statesmen, the authors have included everything from Thomas Jefferson's familiar "I cannot live without books" to Katharine Hepburn's "What in the world would we do without our libraries?" Each quote is attributed to an individual, for whom some biographical information is given, and each section contains a brief introduction. The volume also contains an excellent foreword by Nicholas Basbanes, author of A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. Although some of the older quotations collected here, like Jefferson's, appear in standard quotation dictionaries, most of the more recent ones don't. In addition, the compilation of so many quotations on book-related topicsAfrom "Libraries" to "Literacy" to "Literature"Amakes this a uniquely valuable reference tool for patrons and librarians alike. Library staff and administrators might want to scan the book for quotations to use in promotional literature; for funding appeals; on library bookmarks, screensavers, or web sites; or in conjunction with traditional book displays. Recommended for all academic and public libraries.ALeah J. Sparks, Bowie P.L., MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lyons Press; 1st edition (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558218823
• ISBN-13: 978-1558218826
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #847,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER! HAS ALL MY FAVORITE QUOTES!, September 21, 1999

By 

Marion "[e-mail]" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Quotable Book Lover (Hardcover)

I've collected reading and book quotes for years in a spiral notebook. This one has all my favorites and then some. I plan to buy extra copies of this jewel for all my biblioholic friends!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love quotations, April 21, 2000

By 

Dartman "Chris Carey" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quotable Book Lover (Hardcover)

These two have something very special here. I love reading quotations and I love books, so I guess it's obvious why I like this. Yet, as Winston Churchill once said, "It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations." Thank you for the entertainment and enlightenment.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Primer on Quotations about Books, April 26, 2006

By 

J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Quotable Book Lover (Paperback)

Books about Books always get my attention. I have a lot of them in my library and have written reviews on several.This little tome packs a lot between its covers. While it is only
5" X 7",it has 241 pages. It is a really good introduction to the subject,especially if it is your first to read about book quotes. It is also interesting to someone who has read several.
The difference with this book is that it gives quotes from various areas of books.
First,we get a Forward by Nicholas A Basbanes,one of the premier writers about books. Then 10 Chapters as follows;
1 In Praise of Books
2 On Writing
3 Autobiography and Biography
4 Reading
5 Libraries
6 Literacy
7 Censorship and Destruction of Books
8 Publishing and Publishers
9 Literature
10 Collecting Books
So,you see it gives quotes on every aspect of books.
Personally,I found some chapters better than others. Surprisingly, I found that the quotes by writers did not impress me as much as I expected. I enjoyed the chapter on Collecting books the most;and that did not surprise me as Nicholas Basbanes was involved with it;and he is one of the best.
To someone new to Books about Books;you will be given the names of many other books on this subject.I kept waiting for some mention of one of my favorites,"The Anatomy of Bibliomania" by Holbrook Jackson. I had just about given up hope when it appeared on the last page.
All in all, a great little book and sure to delight any book lover.