The Joy of Good Books (standard:other, 251 words)
Author: J P St. Jullian	Added: Jul 13 2002	Views/Reads: 3491/1	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The company of a good book is like that of a cherished friend.

Good books, like good friends, should be few and well chosen.  The more
select they are, the more enjoyment they give, and like good friends, 
they should be approached with diffidence, not sought too often nor too 
familiarly.  They should be sought only when friends are not available 
or when friends tire. 

Books are the most mannerly of companions, in that they are accessible
at all times, in all moods, and they frankly declare the author's mind 
without giving offense.  Just as living friends have their own voice 
and physiognomies, so do books.  Just as the company of an old friend 
is prized, so is the company of a good book.  Just as we sometimes seek 
out friends in our need of counsel or amusement, without impertinence 
or apology, sure of having our claims heard and our need met, so too do 
we seek out books which are able to approximate the same things.  I 
cannot conceive of times in my life where such fellowships would be 
denied.  We would be, for all purposes and intents, alone in the world 
without them. 

As for me, I truly do believe that next to the discourse of a dear and
cherished friend, no morsel of civilization could be more delicious 
than a ripe book, one whose flavor is as refreshing in the thousandth 
reading as it was in the first.  Books, oh give me books when friends 
tend to weary me, books when conversation sags, and books even when 
nature fails to inspire. 


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