“I breathed the book before I saw it; tasted the book before I read it.”
“This is a book. It is a book I found in a box. I found the box in the attic. The box was in the attic, under the eaves. The attic was hot and still. The air was stale with dust. The dust was from old pictures and books. The dust in the air was made up of the book I found. I breathed the book before I saw it; tasted the book before I read it.”
“Before I Talk, I Should Read A Book”
“I'm going to be dead before I read the books I'm going to read.”
“I never read a book before reviewing it; it prejudices a man so.”
“The first time I read an excellent book, it is to me just as if I had gained a new friend. When I read a book over I have perused before, it resembles the meeting with an old one.”