古今的智者和我們在書中相逢，他們的言語深深扣響我們的心弦，帶給我們的，何只是驚喜交集呢！

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「書中自有黃金屋，書中自有顏如玉」...   讀書可陶冶我們的性情，開拓我們的視野，這是小時候媽媽教導我的。相傳猶太人有個習俗，當小孩稍微懂事時，母親就會翻開《聖經》 滴一點蜂蜜在上面，然后叫小孩去舔書上的蜂蜜，這種儀式的用意不言而喻：書本是甜的。我聽過一位嫁給猶太醫生的朋友說，傳說猶太人在墓園也放有書本，他們認為往生者的靈魂會在深夜裡回來看書，生命有終止時，但求學無止境，大概就是其象徵意義吧。

我喜歡台北的誠品和 Page One，誠品的中文書籍種類多而齊全，Page One 則是外文書籍的天堂。想念那悠閒自在的夏日午後，手持一本喜愛的小說或是剛出爐的雜誌，讀累了，啜飲一杯咖啡；下雷陣雨了，呵！再來一杯！只是我從未去過深夜裡的誠品，似乎聽人說過此時... 書店就是黃金屋，看書的人是顏如玉...

"Hi, May I have Cheese Panini and Grande Mocha?" 
"Your total comes $4." 

That's all I need to pay for a morning of quiet study
at Barnes ＆ Noble or Borders bookstore.
Yeah, you can argue that you can read and borrow books
from the library for free.
However, the library rarely has the latest issue of the economist,
Business Week magazine , Time Magazine and even Harvard Business Review
 ( not folded within plastic...).

When I am bored, I mean really bored, I can even check out
Jane Austin's Novel if I want to.
Why not spend a little bit to reward the wonderful settings
those bookstores give us, especially when most of the people
left empty plates and books on the tables without the tips?

Yes, it is quite different here!
You see kids are doing and copying homework answers from the books;
poor college students are practicing GRE questions without paying;
young Asian ladies are teaching old American guys
their native languages...for whatever reasons.

It seems like this for-profit business is not
so "for profit" anymore.
It carries its social responsibility.