--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books are not about passing time. They're…" description: "\"Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg" --- # Books are not about passing time. They're about other… ![“Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg) > “Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.” [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. Books transport readers into other lives and worlds, making time feel insufficient; travel is a metaphor for escapism. **In simple terms:** Reading offers escape and a desire for more time. Key Takeaway Make time for reading and exploration. Themes reading time escape imagination Mood inspirational thoughtful Type cultural educational When to use this quote - leisure - education - travel planning - personal development Key Concepts literature mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How do you prioritize reading? - What worlds do you wish to explore? A Different Perspective Reading can also be a passive activity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hobbies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hobbies/) [Other worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other-worlds/) [Passing Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passing-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Books are not about passing the time. They’re about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-the-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other-2/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-the-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“For time to pass it would have to go somewhere, and where would that be? Time sits. We move, it sits. Sometimes it trembles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/for-time-to-pass-it-would-have-to-go-somewhere-and-where-would-that/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“This is how I show my students that I love them—by putting books in their hands, by noticing what they are about, and finding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/this-is-how-i-show-my-students-that-i-love-them-by-putting-books-in/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [“The porter spends his days in the Library keeping strict vigil over this catacomb of books, passing along between the shelves and yet never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-n-p-barbellion/the-porter-spends-his-days-in-the-library-keeping-strict-vigil-over/) [W.N.P. Barbellion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-n-p-barbellion/) > [Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/don-t-let-the-fear-of-the-time-it-will-take-to-accomplish-something-2/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in he way of your doing it.the time will pass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/don-t-let-the-fear-of-the-time-it-will-take-to-accomplish-something/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/the-time-will-pass-anyway-we-might-just-as-well-put-that-passing-time/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“And he doesn't care what you're wearing or what you've brought him. He just wants you there. Wanting him. And time is running out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-kraus/and-he-doesn-t-care-what-you-re-wearing-or-what-you-ve-brought-him-he/) [Nicola Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-kraus/) > [We dont talk like we used too,We're not even the same anymore. Everything is-is different. Our moments we talk is just like wanting time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/we-dont-talk-like-we-used-too-we-re-not-even-the-same-anymore/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [You are wanting me to give up and move on, but you're at the same time wanting me to give you my attention. Mad?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unkown/you-are-wanting-me-to-give-up-and-move-on-but-you-re-at-the-same-time/) Unkown > [There are days when I struggle with wanting to be a full-time, stay-at-home mom, and feeling guilty about that because I work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-spelling/there-are-days-when-i-struggle-with-wanting-to-be-a-full-time-stay-at/) [Tori Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-spelling/) > [“The hardest thing about waiting to die is being torn between wanting more time and wishing they would just get it over with already.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/the-hardest-thing-about-waiting-to-die-is-being-torn-between-wanting/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [I never intended to go into the family business. I've always been drawn to wanting to do something else at some time in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-hefner/i-never-intended-to-go-into-the-family-business-i-ve-always-been/) [Christie Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-hefner/) > [I would pass time looking at Justin Bieber on my phone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/i-would-pass-time-looking-at-justin-bieber-on-my-phone/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) ## 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 Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/alan-bennett-1922_book_books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re_2321456.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books are not about passing time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass…” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books are not about passing time....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/books-are-not-about-passing-time-they-re-about-other-lives-other/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```