The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision. As long as we have books, we are not alone.

It's not easy to have the job of president. It's not easy to run for it. And it's not a job for the feint of heart.

Well, we've faced very difficult decisions and challenges in our country, every one of us have, as we - since September 11th, as we fought the war on terror, all of those decisions that the President had to make to put young men and women in harm's way.

A good book is like an unreachable itch. You just can't leave it alone.

In many developing countries, girls don't go to school. They stay home. They are at the water wells, bringing water back and forth to the village. Or they are doing chores, preparing meals, farming. Some cultures think girls and women shouldn't be educated, and those are very often the places where the treatment of women and girls is the worst.

As long as we have books, we are not alone.

Diseases don't respect borders. You know, just at the edge of the American border, that isn't the edge of diseases. We need to be sure that we're looking worldwide. And it is in our security interest, as well as our moral interest, to pay attention to the rest of the world.