--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books are essential to me. I cannot live…" description: "\"“Books are essential to me. I cannot live without them, because I cannot live without reading. But, Arry has just said to me, you can always borrow the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/aidan-chambers-10534_book_books-are-essential-to-me-i-cannot-live_2773855.jpg" --- # Books are essential to me. I cannot live without them… ![“Books are essential to me. I cannot live without them, because I cannot live without reading. But, Arry has just said to me, you can always borrow them so why buy them? I don't buy books just to collect them. I'm not a collector. I'm not interested in them as objects that might be valuable one…” quote by Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/aidan-chambers-10534_book_books-are-essential-to-me-i-cannot-live_2773855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/aidan-chambers-10534_book_books-are-essential-to-me-i-cannot-live_2773855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/374/aidan-chambers-10534_book_books-are-essential-to-me-i-cannot-live_2773855.jpg) > ““Books are essential to me. I cannot live without them, because I cannot live without reading. But, Arry has just said to me, you can always borrow them so why buy them? I don't buy books just to collect them. I'm not a collector. I'm not interested in them as objects that might be valuable one day, regardless of what they are about, nor do I want to own every book ever written by one particular author or on one particular subject. I buy them because I want to read them, and I keep them because I've read them. I can't afford to buy all the ones I'd like to, so I have to borrow quite a few, and this has taught me something about myself, which I haven't heard anyone else admit. When I've read a book which I really like, a book which MATTERS, I feel it belongs to me. I mean, the book itself, the copy I've read. It's as if I pour myself onto the pages as I read them, all my thoughts and emotions, so that by the time I've finished that copy holds inside it the essence of my reading. A borrowed book has to be returned, so I lose this essence of myself when I give it back. Besides which, a borrowed book has inside it something of everyone else who's read it. They've fingered it and pawed over it, breathed on it, done heaven knows what else as well as read it. And knowing this spoils my reading. The other readers get in my way. I can feel their presence on the cover and on the pages. They even make it smell differently from my own books. In fact, to my mind they've polluted the book and everything in it. That is also why I never buy second-hand books.”” [Aidan Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aidan-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker values books for personal connection, feeling ownership through reading, and resents shared marks from others that dilute that intimacy. **In simple terms:** Reading makes a book feel personal; borrowing shares that intimacy. Key Takeaway Cherish personal reading experiences. Themes ownership reading personal connection intimacy materialism Mood reflective conflicted nostalgic Type personal philosophical critical When to use this quote - library borrowing - personal collection - gifted books - reading groups - book clubs Key Concepts subjectivity identity memory authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does personal ownership affect your reading? - Can shared experiences enhance or hinder enjoyment? A Different Perspective Borrowed books carry others' traces, which can diminish personal resonance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Thoughts and emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-and-emotions/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [ Writing those books \['Beauty' and 'Style'\]was really eye-opening, as you realize just how much goes into beauty and fashion, and also how much I've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-conrad/writing-those-books-beauty-and-style-was-really-eye-opening-as-you/) [Lauren Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-conrad/) > [There are many virtues in books, but the essential value is the adding of knowledge to our stock by the record of new facts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-are-many-virtues-in-books-but-the-essential-value-is-the-adding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The French government classifies books as an “essential good,” along with electricity, bread, and water.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-reich/the-french-government-classifies-books-as-an-essential-good-along/) [Robert B. 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I cannot live without them, because I cannot live without reading. But, Arry has just said to me, you can always borrow them so why buy them? I don't buy books just to collect them. I'm not a collector. I'm not interested in them as objects that might be valuable one day, regardless of what they are about, nor do I want to own every book ever written by one particular author or on one particular subject. I buy them because I want to read them, and I keep them because I've read them. I can't afford to buy all the ones I'd like to, so I have to borrow quite a few, and this has taught me something about myself, which I haven't heard anyone else admit. When I've read a book which I really like, a book which MATTERS, I feel it belongs to me. I mean, the book itself, the copy I've read. It's as if I pour myself onto the pages as I read them, all my thoughts and emotions, so that by the time I've finished that copy holds inside it the essence of my reading. A borrowed book has to be returned, so I lose this essence of myself when I give it back. Besides which, a borrowed book has inside it something of everyone else who's read it. They've fingered it and pawed over it, breathed on it, done heaven knows what else as well as read it. And knowing this spoils my reading. The other readers get in my way. I can feel their presence on the cover and on the pages. They even make it smell differently from my own books. In fact, to my mind they've polluted the book and everything in it. 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