If the most significant characteristic of man is the complex of biological needs he shares with all members of his species, then the best lives for the writer to observe are those in which the role of natural necessity is clearest, namely, the lives of the very poor. – W. H. Auden

What the candystore was to other kids, the bookstore was to me. The library was my vacation. – Terri Guillemets, “Young bookworm,” 1998

Medicine for the soul. – Inscription over the door of the Library at Thebes