---
title: "1 Personal Library Quotes By Jay Parini"
description: "1 Personal Library quotes by Jay Parini. Plus more from Jay Parini and more Personal Library sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/jay-parini-39613_book_a-personal-library-is-an-x-ray-of-the-ow_3027905.jpg"
---

> [“A personal library is an X-ray of the owner’s soul. It offers keys to a particular temperament, an intellectual disposition, a way of being in the world. Even how the books are arranged on the shelves deserves notice, even reflection.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/a-personal-library-is-an-x-ray-of-the-owner-s-soul-it-offers-keys-to/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/abb/jay-parini-39613_book_a-personal-library-is-an-x-ray-of-the-ow_3027905.jpg)

## More by Jay Parini

> [“A horse,” he once said, “is the symbol of the rider’s soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/a-horse-he-once-said-is-the-symbol-of-the-rider-s-soul/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“All writers would like to be overrated in their own lifetimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/all-writers-would-like-to-be-overrated-in-their-own-lifetimes/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“It is not an easy thing to alter the trajectory of your life. People have expectations on your behalf. You come to believe them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/it-is-not-an-easy-thing-to-alter-the-trajectory-of-your-life-people/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“This is my commandment,” Jesus said, putting before us a single ideal, “That you love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/this-is-my-commandment-jesus-said-putting-before-us-a-single-ideal/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“Believe me, if you’re a teenager, you’re always in the damned woods. Literally, you’re in the woods — probably too much you’re in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/believe-me-if-you-re-a-teenager-you-re-always-in-the-damned-woods/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“In dreams begin possibilities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/in-dreams-begin-possibilities/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“...and he realized that he missed the old days of sailing, the ship almost willowy and hesitant, responsive to winds and weathers - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/and-he-realized-that-he-missed-the-old-days-of-sailing-the-ship/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“Fictional characters soon take on a life of their own. They run with the bit between their teeth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/fictional-characters-soon-take-on-a-life-of-their-own-they-run-with/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“Test-oriented teaching strikes me as anti-educational, a kind of unpleasant game that subverts the real aim of education: to waken a student to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/test-oriented-teaching-strikes-me-as-anti-educational-a-kind-of/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“A personal library is an X-ray of the owner’s soul. It offers keys to a particular temperament, an intellectual disposition, a way of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/a-personal-library-is-an-x-ray-of-the-owner-s-soul-it-offers-keys-to/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

> [“Poetry is a language adequate to one's experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/poetry-is-a-language-adequate-to-one-s-experience/)

[Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/)

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