"From the very beginning of his career as a student he regarded books as the most precious heritage of mankind, and he never ceased to rely on them in his search for truth. It was not only the provincial condition of his architectural environment, therefore, that turned Jefferson to books, it was also a deep, abiding conviction that books were the repository of all knowledge and wisdom, and throughout his lifetime his architecture was to have its roots in books. But books like foundations are earth-bound whereas buildings like trees rise to the sky, and although Jefferson’s early work was largely derived from books, his later efforts, as his creative powers increased, became more and more a confrontation with the building itself; and in his mature years books became useful tools rather than absolute authorities"

William H Pierson, American Buildings and their Architects

Books and architecture, two of my favorite things.