About this quote

Books offer steady company and clear reference when people and plans change. They keep the same page and the same arguments, so you can return and find familiar footing instead of starting from scratch. If you feel untethered, pick one book you trust, mark a passage, and use that page to orient your thoughts. Make a short shelf of those go-to books and reach for them before you reach for worry.

When to use it

• College finals night: "There is no friend as loyal as a book," I told my roommate as I grabbed my highlighted organic chemistry text at 2 a.m.
• After a layoff: "There is no friend as loyal as a book," my coworker said while packing his favorite business books into a box for the move.
• At my mother's wake: I whispered, "There is no friend as loyal as a book," as I opened her dog-eared copy of poetry and read a line aloud.
• Moving to a new city: "There is no friend as loyal as a book," I told my neighbor while stacking my novels on the top shelf to make my new place feel like home.