I recently came across this quote from Edith Nesbit's The Wonderful Garden, in an article I was reading:
"There is no bond like having read and liked the same books.”
I have a very lovely, illustrated edition. The illustrations are by H R Millar, a popular and well known illustrator. My copy is essentially a reprint of the first edition.
In this charming novel, there is not only a wonderful walled garden difficult to access, there is a “secret passage” leading to the garden, but also a quaint, faded book, The Language of Flowers, often consulted by the Three C.s - Caroline, Charlotte, and Charles.
The Three Cs also discover two ancient hidden books of magic which have a profound effect on their Great-Uncle Charles’s research on the history of magic.
It's a glorious book, and I can feel a re-read coming on, but the quote which jumped out at me, is just so true. Loving the same books is such a bond and creates a depth of mutual understanding and appreciation that only happens, for me at least, when discussing much loved books, and being introduced to new books by friends (they will know who they are!) whose taste you trust and share.