It__ remarkable that a device, which fits in your pocket, can hold thousands of books. But a room full of books is an entirely different kind of remarkable.

If you're frightened of the countless number of books in the library, you'll never write anything, until you close your eyes and hold the pen.

Of all the ways of acquiring books, writing them oneself is regarded as the most praiseworthy method._ Walter Benjamin, "Unpacking My Library

Deserted libraries hold the shades of writers who worked within, and are haunted by their absence.

An ordinary man can surround himself with two thousand books and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is always possible to be happy.

Oh please tell me we're not doing the Poirot thing again _ the suspects in the library with the candlestick or whatever'.Max looked at him [DCI Cotton]. 'Fruitcake in this case. And what would you prefer? A car chase? It__ the most efficient way to flush out a killer, as Dame Agatha Christie well knew.