If being a parent consists often of passing along chunks of ourselves to unwitting — often unwilling — recipients, then books are, for me, one of the simplest and most sure-fire ways of doing that. I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.

Anna Quindlen (b. 1953) American journalist, novelist

“Public & Private: Enough Bookshelves,” New York Times (1991-08-07)
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Reprinted in her essay collection Thinking Out Loud (1993).