The Black Swan in the Bookshop

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

"I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest. The day Hazlitt came he opened to "I hate to read new books," and I hollered "Comrade!" to whoever owned it before me." - Helene Hanff, 84, Charing Cross Road

 

Erebus in the Bookshop

Erebus by Michael Palin

"I vowed to myself that when I grew up and became a theoretical physicist, in addition to doing research, I would write books that I would have liked to have read as a child. So whenever I write, I imagine myself, as a youth, reading my books, being thrilled by the incredible advances being made in physics and science." - Michio Kaku