Our society accepts the book as a given, but the act of read... - Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night

"Our society accepts the book as a given, but the act of reading -- once considered useful and important, as well as potentially dangerous and subversive -- is now condescendingly accepted as a pastime, a slow pastime that lacks efficiency and does not contribute to the common good."

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More quotes by Alberto Manguel, The Library at Night

"Ultimately, the number of books always exceeds the space they are granted."
"One book calls to another unexpectedly, creating alliances across different cultures and centuries."
"If justice takes place, there may be hope, even in the face of a seemingly capricious divinity."
"In a library, no empty shelf remains empty for long."
"Digestion of words as well; I often read aloud to myself in my writing corner in the library, where no one can hear me, for the sake of better savouring the text, so as to make it all the more mine."