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Why do you read books?
For some people, books provide an escape from the mundane and an opportunity to experience something different from what real life has to offer. Others, meanwhile, discover a treasure trove of knowledge within the pages of books.
Whatever the reason you have for picking up a book, we encourage you to develop a reading habit. It is a sure way to find success in many areas in life.
These days, information about almost any topic is available online. However, books still play an important part in people’s lives. Today’s collection of reading quotes is a reminder of the benefits of reading books.
The first section celebrates the love of reading, with quotes from authors and people of influence who understand the value of the written word.
Love of Reading Quotes
- “Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” – Harper Lee
- “I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.” – Jorge Luis Borges
- “A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.” – Charles Baudelaire
- “Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: They feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It's like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.” – Anne Lamott
- “Reading—the best state yet to keep absolute loneliness at bay.” – William Styron
- “A novel is like a bow, and the violin that produces the sound is the reader’s soul.” – Stendhal
- “Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn
- “We read in bed because reading is halfway between life and dreaming, our own consciousness in someone else’s mind.” – Anna Quindlen
- “Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real.” – Nora Ephron
- “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive.” – James Baldwin
- “Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.” – Alberto Manguel
“Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.”
– Alberto Manguel
- “Some books are so familiar that reading them is like being home again.” – Louisa May Alcott
- “Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.” – Bill Watterson
- “Books break the shackles of time, proof that humans can work magic.” – Carl Sagan
- “What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “I always read. You know how sharks have to keep swimming or they die? I’m like that. If I stop reading, I die.” – Patrick Rothfuss
Inspirational Reading Quotes for Students
Do you want your kids to go far in life? Then instill in them a love for the written word.
A solid reading habit helps develop a desire for learning that lasts a lifetime. It encourages young people to look forward to learning something new each day.
The following quotes are meant for students and young people, showing them the endless possibilities waiting in the pages of books.
- “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss
- “Keep reading. It’s one of the most marvelous adventures that anyone can have.” – Lloyd Alexander
- “Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world.” – Jeanette Winterson
- “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” – Joseph Brodsky
- “A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.” – William Styron
- “Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.” – Vera Nazarian
Reading Quotes and Sayings
Do you remember the first book you’ve read from cover to cover? How did you feel afterwards?
Have you read a book that made a great impact in your life?
Books hold power within their pages. This power is life-changing. Perhaps you’ve experienced it with at least a couple of books you’ve read.
The following quotes are reminders of the power of books to change people’s lives.
- “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” – Harry Truman
- “That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you to another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive–all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.” – Mary Ann Shaffer
- “No entertainment is so cheap as reading, nor any pleasure so lasting.” – Mary Wortley Montagu
- “Books let us into their souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own.” – William Hazlitt
- “A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.” – Mark Twain
- “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” – Mortimer J. Adler
- “To know a man’s library is, in some measure, to know a man’s mind.” – Geraldine Brooks
- “Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.” – Barack Obama
- “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” – Victor Hugo
- “Reading is important, because if you can read, you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything.” – Tomie dePaola
- “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.” – Walt Disney
- “I'm reading so much and exposing myself to so many new ideas. It almost feels like the chemistry and the structure of my brain is changing so rapidly sometimes.” – Emma Watson
- “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” – Oscar Wilde
Reading Quotes for Teachers
Perhaps there’s a person who inspired you to become a bookworm. Maybe this person recommended a book that changed your life.
This section is dedicated to those individuals you’ve met through the years who helped you and others develop a love for reading.
- “Reading should not be presented to children as a chore, a duty. It should be offered as a gift.” – Kate DiCamillo
- “We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading. Knowing the contents of a few works of literature is a trivial achievement. Being inclined to go on reading is a great achievement.” – B. F. Skinner
- “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” – Frank Serafini
- “Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
- “A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” – George R. R. Martin
- “We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: We need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.” – Philip Pullman
- “It is known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.” – Catherynne M. Valente
- “It is not enough to simply teach children to read; we have to give them something worth reading. Something that will stretch their imaginations—something that will help them make sense of their own lives and encourage them to reach out toward people whose lives are quite different from their own.” – Katherine Patterson
- “Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.” – Charles William Eliot
- “Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words!” – Betty Smith
- “Children know perfectly well that unicorns aren’t real, but they also know that books about unicorns, if they are good books, are true books.” – Ursula K. LeGuin
- “The greatest gift is a passion for reading.” – Elizabeth Hardwick
Short Reading Quotes
Short and simple quotes are often the ones that hold the most impact.
The quotes in this section are indeed short, but their overall message about books and reading is powerful and inspiring.
- “We live for books.” – Umberto Eco
- “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” – Ernest Hemingway
- “Wear the old coat and buy the new book.” – Austin Phelps
- “A book is like a garden, carried in the pocket.” – Chinese Proverb
- “Books are a uniquely portable magic.” – Stephen King
- “A book is a gift you can open again and again.” – Garrison Keillor
- “Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere.” – Mary Schmich
- “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” – Margaret Fuller
- “We read to know we’re not alone.” – William Nicholson
- “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” – Frederick Douglass
- “A room without books is like a body without a soul.” – Cicero
- “Reading is departure and arrival.” – Terri Guillemets
- “Reading brings us unknown friends.” – Honoré de Balzac
- “The world belongs to those who read.” – Rick Holland
- “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison
- “Books may well be the only true magic.” – Alice Hoffman
- “Read, read, read.” – William Faulkner
- “Books are the mirrors of the soul.” – Virginia Woolf
Final Thoughts on Reading Quotes
There you have it—a collection of quotes about reading that are powerful and inspiring. Which one is your favorite?
Regardless of your reason for reading, developing it into a habit is quite beneficial for both personal and professional success.
We hope you get excited about reading!
And if you want more inspirational quotes about reading, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- Chopra Quotes on Life, Love, and Happiness
- 35 Inspirational Quotes About Living in the Moment
- 122 Inspiring Quotes About Time and Living Life to the Fullest
Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then watch this free video that details the 7-minute habit for planning your day to focus on what's truly important to you..
