Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.

David Quammen
About This Quote

A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper. The book is a work of art that can live forever. When you look at it, you see it in your mind’s eye. You think about it all the time.

You wonder what it would be like to hold it in your hands. You imagine reading it, over and over again. But when the time comes to read it, you put down your keys and pick up your Kindle or your iPad instead.

There are so many other ways to enjoy a book that it seems wasteful to waste time reading the one that’s already there. It’s not just about books anymore, though. We have iPhones and iPads, for crying out loud.

Source: The Boilerplate Rhino: Nature In The Eye Of The Beholder

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