--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff…" description: "\"“Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I've written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film. This isn't as straightforward as..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5d/alan-bennett-1922_bookcases_books-and-bookcases-cropping-up-in-stuff_2357023.jpg" --- # Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I've written… ![“Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I've written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film. This isn't as straightforward as it might seem. A designer will either present you with shelves lined with gilt-tooled library sets, the sort of clubland books one can rent by the…” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5d/alan-bennett-1922_bookcases_books-and-bookcases-cropping-up-in-stuff_2357023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5d/alan-bennett-1922_bookcases_books-and-bookcases-cropping-up-in-stuff_2357023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5d/alan-bennett-1922_bookcases_books-and-bookcases-cropping-up-in-stuff_2357023.jpg) > ““Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I've written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film. This isn't as straightforward as it might seem. A designer will either present you with shelves lined with gilt-tooled library sets, the sort of clubland books one can rent by the yard as decor, or he or she will send out for some junk books from the nearest second-hand bookshop and think that those will do. Another short cut is to order in a cargo of remaindered books so that you end up with a shelf so garish and lacking of character it bears about as much of a relationship to literature as a caravan site does to architecture. A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a shoe is shaped to the foot.”” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stage design must reflect a character’s unique personality, not just generic props, to convey authentic storytelling. **In simple terms:** Personalized sets reveal character depth. Key Takeaway Tailor details to the story. Themes theatre design characterization Mood thoughtful creative Type theatrical explanatory When to use this quote - stage production - film adaptation - set decoration - character study Key Concepts authenticity visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does setting influence audience perception? - When is simplicity more effective than detail? A Different Perspective Budget constraints may limit custom designs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bookcases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookcases/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Bookcases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-bookcases-2909556/) [Bookshelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshelf/) [Bookshelf Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshelf-particular-4520676/) [Bookshop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshop/) [Bookshop Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshop-think-5758647/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Shelf Garish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-garish-5758648/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/a-bookshelf-is-as-particular-to-its-owner-as-are-his-or-her-clothes-a-2/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [A bookshelf is as particular to its owner as are his or her clothes; a personality is stamped on a library just as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/a-bookshelf-is-as-particular-to-its-owner-as-are-his-or-her-clothes-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [People are much more willing to lend you books than bookcases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/people-are-much-more-willing-to-lend-you-books-than-bookcases/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“All the grief I had kept at bay for years by means of books and bookcases approached me now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/all-the-grief-i-had-kept-at-bay-for-years-by-means-of-books-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“I've squeezed as many bookcases in this tiny space as possible. Being surrounded by books and magazines makes me feel calm. It makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelo-surmelis/i-ve-squeezed-as-many-bookcases-in-this-tiny-space-as-possible-being/) [Angelo Surmelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelo-surmelis/) > [My father always says, ‘Never trust anyone who has a TV bigger than their bookshelf.’ So I make sure I read. Back at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-clarke/my-father-always-says-never-trust-anyone-who-has-a-tv-bigger-than/) [Emilia Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-clarke/) > [When I was 7, my proudest possession would have been my bookshelf - 'cause I'd alphabetized all of the books on my bookshelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/when-i-was-7-my-proudest-possession-would-have-been-my-bookshelf-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Behind every writer stands a very large bookshelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cronin/behind-every-writer-stands-a-very-large-bookshelf/) [Justin Cronin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cronin/) > [“And as I surveyed the clutter of his study I was pleased to see that he was a man after my own heart. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/and-as-i-surveyed-the-clutter-of-his-study-i-was-pleased-to-see-that/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“Some of the best friends we have are books. Why? Well, they belong usually to our relaxed armchair hours. They come only if chosen;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-baldwin-york/some-of-the-best-friends-we-have-are-books-why-well-they-belong/) [Esther Baldwin York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-baldwin-york/) > [“The thing about this bookshelf is that each of these books is a vast experience unto itself, while also being both self-contained and superbly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/the-thing-about-this-bookshelf-is-that-each-of-these-books-is-a-vast/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [“Don Raimondo tells me what he can’t tell them. “The emptiness on the surface of a wall left by a sold bookshelf is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erri-deluca/don-raimondo-tells-me-what-he-can-t-tell-them-the-emptiness-on-the/) [Erri DeLuca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erri-deluca/) > [You ever buy a book and not read it? You feel almost guilty having it up on a bookshelf. People are like, "Hey, how's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/you-ever-buy-a-book-and-not-read-it-you-feel-almost-guilty-having-it/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I have a nice bookshelf in my office, but not my house. I'm crass, but not that crass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-seinfeld/i-have-a-nice-bookshelf-in-my-office-but-not-my-house-i-m-crass-but/) [Jerry Seinfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-seinfeld/) > [When I was 7, my proudest possession would have been my bookshelf 'cause I had alphabetized all of the books on my bookshelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/when-i-was-7-my-proudest-possession-would-have-been-my-bookshelf/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-not-good-at-precise-coherent-argument-but-plays-are-suited-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Bookcases quotes > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [You rented the apartment with a dead guy in the corner?” I shrugged. “I wanted the apartment, and I figured I could cover him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/you-rented-the-apartment-with-a-dead-guy-in-the-corner-i-shrugged-i/) [Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/) > [The book must of necessity be put into a bookcase. And the bookcase must be housed. And the house must be kept. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-gladstone/the-book-must-of-necessity-be-put-into-a-bookcase-and-the-bookcase/) [William E. Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-gladstone/) > [The Pulitzer has nothing to do with me; it's more about people's perceptions of me, whatever they may be. I'm not being humble -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lindsay-abaire/the-pulitzer-has-nothing-to-do-with-me-it-s-more-about-people-s/) [David Lindsay-Abaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lindsay-abaire/) > [Let your bookcases and your shelves be your gardens and your pleasure-grounds. Pluck the fruit that grows therein, gather the roses, the spices, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-ben-saul-ibn-tibbon/let-your-bookcases-and-your-shelves-be-your-gardens-and-your-pleasure/) [Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-ben-saul-ibn-tibbon/) > [I own a hundred and fifty books, but I have no bookcase. Nobody will lend me a bookcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/i-own-a-hundred-and-fifty-books-but-i-have-no-bookcase-nobody-will/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [My father always says, ‘Never trust anyone who has a TV bigger than their bookshelf.’ So I make sure I read. Back at home,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emilia-clarke/my-father-always-says-never-trust-anyone-who-has-a-tv-bigger-than/) [Emilia Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emilia-clarke/) > [“all around the walls there are bookcases. They're filled with books. Books and books and books, right out in plain view, no locks, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-around-the-walls-there-are-bookcases-they-re-filled-with-books/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-contents-of-someone-s-bookcase-are-part-of-his-history-like-an/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [What I saw next stopped me dead in my tracks. Books. Not just one or two dozen, but hundreds of them. In crates. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-donnelly/what-i-saw-next-stopped-me-dead-in-my-tracks-books-not-just-one-or/) [Jennifer Donnelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-donnelly/) > [Meanwhile, as we read, two little girls slept as if couched on zephyrs on the south side of the parlor floor, in a room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cantwell/meanwhile-as-we-read-two-little-girls-slept-as-if-couched-on-zephyrs/) [Mary Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cantwell/) > [“Books were everywhere in their large apartment. Histories, biographies, novels, studies on Quebec antiques, poetry. Placed in orderly bookcases. Just about every table had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/books-were-everywhere-in-their-large-apartment-histories-biographies/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [“The bookcases were lined with titles, hundreds of books shelved by subject in alphabetical order.-Everything from aberrant behavior to the mysteries of zen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tami-hoag/the-bookcases-were-lined-with-titles-hundreds-of-books-shelved-by/) [Tami Hoag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tami-hoag/) > [Myrna could spend happy hours browsing bookcases. She felt if she could just get a good look at a person’s bookcase and their grocery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/myrna-could-spend-happy-hours-browsing-bookcases-she-felt-if-she/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [The young need discipline and a full bookcase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/the-young-need-discipline-and-a-full-bookcase/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) [Browse all 42 Bookcases quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookcases/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Books and bookcases cropping up in stuff that I've written means that they have to be reproduced on stage or on film. This isn't as straightforward as it might seem. A designer will either present you with shelves lined with gilt-tooled library sets, the sort of clubland books one can rent by the yard as decor, or he or she will send out for some junk books from the nearest second-hand bookshop and think that those will do. Another short cut is to order in a cargo of remaindered books so that you end up with a shelf so garish and lacking of character it bears about as much of a relationship to literature as a caravan site does to architecture. 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