By Thea Green of the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries by Molly MacRae
Hi, I’m Thea Green and I’m a librarian. That’s kind of like being the Benevolent Empress of Everything. Really, it is, and I say that in all humility. My library, the J.F. Culp Memorial Public Library in Blue Plum, Tennessee, is a portal, a time machine, a starship and I’m in charge. Bring your child to the library and you’ll be exposing him to the world’s accumulated knowledge. You’ll be giving her nothing short of the universe—past, present, and future. Am I passionate about my position as Benevolent Empress of Everything? Well yes. Books and reading aren’t just in my blood, they are my blood. Can you imagine anything better?
I collect quotations about books and reading. Here are some of my favorites and just for fun, here are some of my favorite picture books, too.
“Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!”
— Betty Smith A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t.”
— Mark Twain
“I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.”
— Jorge Luis Borges
“Reading aloud with children is known to be the single most important activity for building the knowledge and skills they will eventually require for learning to read.”
— Marilyn Jager Adams
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.”
— Victor Hugo, Les Miserables
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
— Frederick Douglass
“There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all.”
— Jacqueline Kennedy
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.”
— Walt Disney
“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”
— Emilie Buchwald
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
— Groucho Marx
Do you have a favorite quote about reading or books? A favorite picture book? I’d love to hear them!
LAST WOOL AND TESTAMENT, the first book in the Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and available in mass market, e-book, audio book, and soon to be released in large print, is the winner of the 2013 Lovey Award for best Paranormal, Sci-fi, or Horror Novel and was named as one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2012. Look for DYEING WISHES, book two in the series, in July 2013 (now available for pre-order.)
Follow Molly MacRae on Facebook and Pinterest, or find her the first Monday of each month at Vintage Cookbooks and Crafts.
Posts
I can never remember which Rex Stout it's in, but at some point Archie Goodwin tells Nero Wolfe, "Go to hell, I'm reading." And there's a quote in the most recent Flavia book about writing that I loved when I read it - of course, I passed the book on and didn't write the quote down. Perhaps somebody else can supply it?
ReplyDeleteP.J. Coldren
Hah! I'd love to make sign with Archie's line on it for the desk at the library. A librarian's dream . . . Thanks, P.J.
ReplyDeleteI always liked Goodnight Moon. It put Haylee right to sleep when she was a little girl.
ReplyDeleteIt still does.
DeleteHave you seen the Goodnight Moon parody called Goodnight IPad? Very funny!
Delete"This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."
ReplyDeleteHey, I said that!
Another great quote I'd love to have on a sign at my desk in the library. Thank you, Dorothy!
Delete