Bartlett's Familiar Quotations Book by John Bartlett

stars. This is a beast of a read, being over 1,000 pages—though to be honest the index makes up about half—and it took me over 6 months to read it, adopting a brilliant idea my friend Kelsey Bryant mentioned, i.e., reading it as I ate my breakfast every morning. Despite the time it took, I loved it! The specific edition I read was the 9th edition, published in 1905, and I recognized so many quotes from Alcott and Montgomery and other authors of the time. I also enjoyed seeing what was often the best writings of various authors—I found several I have to check out!!; finding the truth about some now distorted or misattributed sayings; and discovering where common phrases, expressions, proverbs, etc, come from. It’s a fascinating read and I highly recommend it—especially to people writing books set in this era. ;)