In our land of opportunities and distractions, it's hard to devote our attention to the quiet pleasures of reading. It's as if we live our lives in a noisy restaurant and can't have the intimate conversation we most yearn for.

Plan to the extent that feels right to you at a particular time in your life, but always be open to serendipity.

Perspective is a kind of mental sunblock that, provided we apply it properly, prevents us from getting burned by past mistakes.

Book love is something like romantic love. When we are reading a really great book, burdens feel lighter, cares seem smaller, and commonplaces are suddenly delightful. You become your best optimistic self. Like romantic love, book love fills you with a certain warmth and completeness. The world holds promise.

Book love is something like romantic love. When we are reading a really great book, burdens feel lighter, cares seem smaller.

A library is a fueling station for your mind.

I’m imagining that paper books will evolve to become something akin to candles - we have them in our homes and cherish their light, but don’t light our homes with them. Readers of Lincoln’s era would likely be surprised at how well-lit our homes are, and I think it’s likely that we will be surprised at how well-read future book readers will be.