Possibly my favorite quote about books

(I really, really want these bookshelves. And the windows. And maybe the dog.)

I'm obsessed with Sarah Addison Allen's books. She's quite possibly one of my favorite authors. You wanna know why? Because she has the most amazing insights, like the following one about books from "The Sugar Queen":

"Books can be possessive, can't they? You're walking around in a bookstore and a certain one will jump out at you like it had moved there on its own, just to get your attention. Sometimes what's inside will change your life, but sometimes you don't even have to read it. Sometimes it's a comfort just to have a book around. Many of these books haven't even had their spines cracked. 'Why do you buy books you don't even read?' our daughter asks us. That's like asking someone who lives alone why they bought a cat. For company, of course."

I absolutely love this quote. Especially the part about books providing company, even when they're sitting there unread and you don't really know when you'll get around to reading them. It certainly justifies all the books I have sitting around in piles.

I love quotes like this. I mean, don't you just love it when you read something that says exactly what you feel, but in a better way than you could ever have managed? It's almost . . . comforting to know that there's another person out there who feels exactly like you do--it's like you've made a friend without even speaking.

So what do you think? Do you have any favorite book/reading quotes?