The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to
another.
—J. Frank Dobie, 1945
Bob Wilson admitted to himself that a Ph.D. and an appointment as an instructor was not
his idea of existence. Still, it beat working for a living.
—Robert A. Heinlein, 2005
***
[What we become] depends on what we read, after all manner of Professors have done their
best for us. […] The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.
—Thomas Carlyle, 1840
The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past
centuries.
—René Descartes, 1637
A book is a gift you can open again and again.
—Ron Silliman, 1988
15
Where books are burned, in the end people will be burned too.
—Heinrich Heine, 1823
An ordinary man can in the ordinary course […] surround himself with [two thousand
books] and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be
happy.
—Augustine Birrell, 1895
A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library.
—Frank Westheimer, 1979
Education […] has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is
worth reading.
—G. M. Trevelyan, 1942
Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and
character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter.
—Edwin Paxton Hood, 1851
We must be careful what we read, and not, like the sailors of Ulysses, take bags of wind for
sacks of treasure.
—John Lubbock, 1901
Few books today are forgivable.
—R. D. Laing, 1967
15
Sometimes misattributed to Garrison Keillor.
On Education, Reading, and Knowledge
63
another.
—J. Frank Dobie, 1945
Bob Wilson admitted to himself that a Ph.D. and an appointment as an instructor was not
his idea of existence. Still, it beat working for a living.
—Robert A. Heinlein, 2005
***
[What we become] depends on what we read, after all manner of Professors have done their
best for us. […] The true University of these days is a Collection of Books.
—Thomas Carlyle, 1840
The reading of all good books is indeed like a conversation with the noblest men of past
centuries.
—René Descartes, 1637
A book is a gift you can open again and again.
—Ron Silliman, 1988
15
Where books are burned, in the end people will be burned too.
—Heinrich Heine, 1823
An ordinary man can in the ordinary course […] surround himself with [two thousand
books] and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be
happy.
—Augustine Birrell, 1895
A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library.
—Frank Westheimer, 1979
Education […] has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is
worth reading.
—G. M. Trevelyan, 1942
Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep; for your habits and
character will be as much influenced by the former as by the latter.
—Edwin Paxton Hood, 1851
We must be careful what we read, and not, like the sailors of Ulysses, take bags of wind for
sacks of treasure.
—John Lubbock, 1901
Few books today are forgivable.
—R. D. Laing, 1967
15
Sometimes misattributed to Garrison Keillor.
On Education, Reading, and Knowledge
63