Sometimes as the newspaper deadline looms, I have a crystal clear idea about a subject to address; other weeks I struggle, hoping for a muse to deliver a topic. When, during the search for this weeks topic, I looked to my family for inspiration, my husband suggested writing about what makes someone a passionate reader. It took him many years to develop the desire to read; but Ive always loved stories, books, and reading, and cant imagine not wanting and loving books. I have no idea what makes a person into a reader: Nurture? Nature? Some book lovers I know grew up in families who never read or went to the library. Others, who were surrounded by books and readers, have little interest in reading and books. Although I am still searching for an answer to the question, my quest unearthed some startling, funny, and clever quotes from famous people about books, libraries, and writing:Wear the old coat and buy the new book. 19th Century American educator Austin PhelpsIm not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court. basketball player Kareem AbdulJabbar Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. British novelist C. S. Lewis (The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe)A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted. You should live several lives while reading it. American writer William Styron (Sophies Choice)A writer is, after all, only half his book. The other half is the reader and from the reader the writer learns. Author P. L. Travers (Mary Poppins)You dont have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. science fiction author Ray Bradbury (Fahrenheit 51 and The Martian Chronicles): I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book. comedian Groucho MarksA home without books is a body without soul. Roman orator and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money. French writer Jules Renard (Les Histoires Naturelles)Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public. British statesman Winston ChurchillWriting is like prostitution. First you do it for love, and then for a few close friends, and then for money. French author and playwright Moliere (Tartuffe)To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. English playwright and novelist W. Somerset MaughamBooks are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. US historian Barbara Tuchman Pam McAdoo is a Truckee resident, an artist and active in library issues in the community.

Truckee Library, 10031 Levon Ave. 582-7846 Hours Monday 10 a.m. 8 p.m. Tuesday 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Wednesday 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m. 8 p.m. Friday 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. 6 p.m. Bookshelf Book ClubMeets at the Library on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Participants at the book group meeting will receive a coupon for 15 percent off a onetime book purchase at the Bookshelf at Hooligan Rocks.Special Childrens ProgramWinter Reading Program: Stories to the Screen: Books that Became MoviesFor ages 5 and up, now through February. Sign up anytime at the Library. Childrens ProgramsToddlertime Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for ages 2 to 3 years Babes in Bookland Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., for ages 6 to 24 months Storytelling with Mrs. Fix Thursdays at 11:15 a.m. For ages 3 to 6.Bilingual Storytimes Stories, songs, and fingerplays in Spanish and English Fridays at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., for ages 3 to 5 Now on display at the libraryPortraits by Truckee artist Raphael Jolly Over the fireplace: acrylic painting by Eve Werner, Quercus lobata serpentine