I discovered a copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, by John Bartlett on a shelf at home when I was a kid and have loved quote books ever since. When I make a card for someone I often try and find just the right saying to include. (I do this with poems, too, but that's something for a later date).

It seems I've collected quite a number of these books so I am going to divide them between general collections and those with a specific theme, and spread them over several blog posts.

The Penguin Dictionary of Quotations, by J.M. and M.J. Cohen was the one I used at college. Smaller than Bartlett's (at least my Mom's copy), and in paperback, it was easy to carry in a backpack when necessary.

The first collection of quotes organized by subject that I saw was Best Quotations for All Occasions, arranged and edited by Lewis C. Henry. This made it easy to look up something about Peace, Anger, Sleep, etc.

The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations, by Tony Augarde does have more recent quotes (up to a point, of course) but it is a return to the traditional 'author' arrangement. There is a nice index to help find something on a specific subject.

I found Quote Unquote while at a scrapbooking store with Terry. It's a three volume set with sayings that would fit in nicely with family photos, vacations and so on. They also work well with cards! Volume 1: Real-life Quotes for Everyday Moments. Volume 2: Inspirational Quotes for Meaningful Moments. Volume 3: Lyrical Quotes for Noteworthy Moments. I especially like this last volume as there are lots of song lyrics. :-)

Now, if I could find a quote about quote books I'd have a great ending for this!

Reading Hermit With Dog