On the Books
“Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it fifty times.”
“I have stopped smoking now and then, for a few months at a time, but it was not on principle, it was only to show off; it was to pulverize those critics who said I was a slave to my habits and couldn’t break my bonds.”
You gotta love Mark Twain–a giant of American humor–and a darn good writer too. (Literary lions such as Faulkner and Hemingway said all American literature has descended from “Huckleberry Finn.” Hemingway added that nothing quite as good had ever followed.)
Twain’s quotes at the top of the page make him all the more endearing to tobacco addicts.
My grandfather, Burr Williamson, loved Twain. When he died, I got to select a few of his books to keep. I have his Twain anthology and a book of quotations.
I also inherited my great-aunt Niki’s fabulous library, which includes many books on art, poetry and eastern philosophy.
One of the most awesome things about having these books is that both Pap-pa and Niki wrote notes in the margins. Niki also slipped notes and related newspaper clippings in some books.
Now, when I open one of their books, it’s like having a visit with them. I always come away with new insight or wisdom from their words.
