---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was the kind of library he had only…"
description: "\"It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.\" — Alan Bennett"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg"
---

#  It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.

![“It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg)

> “It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.”

[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.

Describes a library so extraordinary it seems fictional.

**In simple terms:** The library is unbelievably impressive.

Key Takeaway

Seek out inspiring environments.

Themes

literature imagination wonder

Mood

reflective curious

Type

descriptive inspirational

When to use this quote

- visiting museums
- reading rooms
- travel
- design inspiration

Key Concepts

aesthetic appreciation cultural value

Questions to Reflect On

- What makes a space feel magical?
- How can ordinary places become inspiring?

A Different Perspective

Such idealized places may set unrealistic expectations.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/)

## Related quotes

> [“Paradise will be a kind of library”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/paradise-will-be-a-kind-of-library/)

[Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/)

> [I read the books, get some, Listen to others, get little but what i get the most is to sit and think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/i-read-the-books-get-some-listen-to-others-get-little-but-what-i-get/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [“Every forest is a good library where you can find many books! Animals, trees, even rocks are the books of this mystic library! Read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/every-forest-is-a-good-library-where-you-can-find-many-books-animals/)

[Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“The days shuffled by like bland schoolgirls. I didn’t notice their individual faces, only their basic uniform: day and night, day and night. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/the-days-shuffled-by-like-bland-schoolgirls-i-didn-t-notice-their/)

[Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/)

> [I didn't belong to the sort of family where the children's classics were laid on. I went to the public library and read everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-barker/i-didn-t-belong-to-the-sort-of-family-where-the-children-s-classics/)

[Pat Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-barker/)

> [Don't join the book burners... Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-be-afraid-to-go-in-your-library-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Every day, no matter how tired my father was, he'd put me in the car and drive me to Schaumburg Public Library, and he'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/every-day-no-matter-how-tired-my-father-was-he-d-put-me-in-the-car/)

[Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/)

> [How do you explain to somebody who doesn't understand that you don't build a library to read. A library is a resource. Something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/how-do-you-explain-to-somebody-who-doesn-t-understand-that-you-don-t/)

[Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/)

> [“A book is read one page at a time. A shelf is read one book at a time. A library is read one shelf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/a-book-is-read-one-page-at-a-time-a-shelf-is-read-one-book-at-a-time/)

[Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/)

> [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/)

[Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/)

> [I must say I find television very educational. The minute somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a good book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-must-say-i-find-television-very-educational-the-minute-somebody/)

[Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/)

> [“All I wanted to do was go back inside to the library and read a book.I used to spend all my time reading books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-magendie/all-i-wanted-to-do-was-go-back-inside-to-the-library-and-read-a-book/)

Kathryn Magendie

> [“Having a nice library doesn’t make you smart. Don’t buy books and stack them up in your library; read them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mensah-oteh/having-a-nice-library-doesn-t-make-you-smart-don-t-buy-books-and/)

[Mensah Oteh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mensah-oteh/)

> [It was an incredible resource. I'd sit with a big stack of bound New Yorkers in the library and read through, especially the 'Talk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/it-was-an-incredible-resource-i-d-sit-with-a-big-stack-of-bound-new/)

[Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/)

> [As for reading, I wish I had a magic door to a library where I could go in, read for days and days, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/as-for-reading-i-wish-i-had-a-magic-door-to-a-library-where-i-could/)

[David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/)

## 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": "It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alan Bennett"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-read-about-in-books/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-read-about-in-books/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8b6/alan-bennett-1922_book_it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-r_3230933.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It was the kind of library he had only read about in books.” — 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": "It was the kind of library...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-read-about-in-books/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/it-was-the-kind-of-library-he-had-only-read-about-in-books/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
