Books that have become classics — books that have had their day and now get more praise than perusal — always remind me of retired colonels and majors and captains who, having reached the age limit, find themselves retired on half pay. – Thomas Bailey Aldrich

One cannot celebrate books sufficiently. After saying his best, still something better remains to be spoken in their praise. – A. Bronson Alcott, “Books,” June 1869

If the book is second-hand, I leave all its markings intact, the spoor of previous readers, fellow-travellers who have recorded their passage by means of scribbled comments, a name on the fly-leaf, a bus ticket to mark a certain page. – Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night