“There are too many books in the world to read in a single lifetime; you have to draw the line somewhere.”

“I have read somewhere that we often spend a lifetime searching for what we already have.”

Mary Balogh (1944) Welsh-Canadian novelist

“Your criticism sounds to me as if you have read too many critical books and are too smart in an artificial, destructive, and very limited way.”

Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) American novelist, short story writer

“If you have read 6,000 books in your lifetime, or even 600, it's probably because at some level you find 'reality' a bit of a disappointment.”

Joe Queenan (1950) American writer

“There are too many books I haven’t read, too many places I haven’t seen, too many memories I haven’t kept long enough.”

Irwin Shaw (1913–1984) American politician

“Are you unselfish? That is the question. If you are, you will be perfect without reading a single religious book, without going into a single church or temple.”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu monk and phylosopher

“Draw a line; draw a line that pleases you. And remember that it is not the artist's role to copy the outlines of things but to create a world of his own lines on paper." (pp.28-29)”

Milan Kundera (1929–2023) Czech author of Czech and French literature

“Just give me a comfortable couch, a dog, a good book, and a woman. Then if you can get the dog to go somewhere and read the book, I might have a little fun.”

Groucho Marx (1890–1977) American comedian

“You can never, never have too many books”

Drew Barrymore (1975) American actress, director and producer

“Only in today's sick society can a man be persecuted for reading too many books.”

Markus Zusak (1975) Australian author