Iain Pears

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”

“The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.”

“People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.”

“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.”