I've been collecting quotes about writing and books lately.

Today I found this one by Neil Gaiman:

The funniest thing I find is the question that non-bookie people ask bookie people when they walk into their houses. They look at the books and they ask, "Have you read all these?", as if the idea of reading all these books is like some kind of terrible, awful punishment. It's as if they would actually be relieved if the answer were , "No, no I haven't read all these. These are purely for wall decoration. We buy them by the yard."

I can't tell you how many people come into my house and are aghast at all the books, and they're just looking at mine. My husband has a great many books, but they're not up in the living room.

I get, "Have you read all these?" a lot. I also get, "Why do you keep these out? Why don't you box them up? Or sell them?"

The questions and remarks people make usually cause me to raise my eyebrows. One woman, after asking me if I'd read all these books, commented that I must be the smartest person she knows. Let's hope not. One person elicited the response, "Well, where I was growing up, you either got pregnant or read books." I'll let you imagine what their initial comment was.

Growing up, my father had a friend who had quite a library. Someone came to his house and, after looking around, asked if he was an English major. The friend replied with, "No, it's my native language."

Once I bought a jacket load of books from a local used book shop. (Rice told me I could only buy as many books as I could carry. My jacket can carry more than my arms.) After looking at my selections (quite literary, evidently) the owner asked if I was an English major. I said, "No. Anthropology." He gave me such a look... I was good. I didn't reply with, "No, it's my native tongue."