I divide all readers into two classes; those who read to remember and those who read to forget. – William Lyon Phelps

The literary man must needs be a thinking one, and every day he lives he becomes wiser—if wiser, then better—if better, then happier. – Charles Lanman, “Thoughts on Literature,” 1840

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. – Charles W. Eliot

There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book; books are well written or badly written. – Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891