What's in a Book? Perhaps Too Much

“The covers of this book are too far apart.” TRIVIA CHALLENGE: Who said that? Answer: Ambrose Bierce, a gifted, mysterious author of odd stuff who died, possibly, in 1914.

I love books. But lest we take them too seriously, critics like Bierce periodically put them in their place. Other bookish quotes you may find edifying, or at least amusing:

* “The reason why so few good books are written is that so few people who can write know anything.” (Walter Bagehot)
* “Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it, except sitting in a corner by myself with a little book.” (Thomas à Kempis)
* “. . . . Books of the true sort, not . . . what they club for at book clubs.” (Charles Lamb)
* “A bad book is as much of a labour to write as a good one; it comes as sincerely from the author’s soul.” (Aldous Huxley)
* “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” (Francis Bacon)

And probably my favorite -- for its off-beat value if nothing more: “[H]e took me into his library and showed me his books, of which he had a complete set.” (Ring Lardner)