--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall…" description: "\"I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?' Late in his life, having read everything, Bloom asked which books had given him wisdom. I had ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png" --- # I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?'… ![“I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?' Late in his life, having read everything, Bloom asked which books had given him wisdom. I had just read a bunch of contemporary novels that had no wisdom for me.” quote by Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png) > “I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?' Late in his life, having read everything, Bloom asked which books had given him wisdom. I had just read a bunch of contemporary novels that had no wisdom for me.” [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After extensive reading, Bloom sought books that truly imparted wisdom, but contemporary novels lacked it for the speaker. **In simple terms:** Seeking wisdom, the speaker found modern books empty. Key Takeaway Seek deeper, timeless works. Themes wisdom reading literature search disappointment Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal development - reading lists - spiritual seeking Key Concepts knowledge value literary merit Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define a wise book? - How can you discern lasting value in literature? A Different Perspective Modern works may not always convey profound insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloom/) [Bloom Asked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloom-asked-2773771/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harold-bloom-1569769/) [Late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/late/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novels Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-wisdom-2773769/) [Read Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-bloom-2773770/) [Shall Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-wisdom-2773772/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Long before I was a writer, when I was just a haphazard reader and a dreamer of stories, I learnt about an influential book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-o-hagan/long-before-i-was-a-writer-when-i-was-just-a-haphazard-reader-and-a/) [Andrew O'Hagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-o-hagan/) > [“Harold Bloom weeps for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-bauman/harold-bloom-weeps-for-me/) [Christian Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-bauman/) > [Even at the time—twenty years old—I said to myself: better to go hungry, to go to prison, to be a tramp, than to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-babel/even-at-the-time-twenty-years-old-i-said-to-myself-better-to-go/) [Isaac Babel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-babel/) > [Information is endlessly available to us; where shall wisdom be found?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/information-is-endlessly-available-to-us-where-shall-wisdom-be-found/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [John Updike is always fun. And one of my former students, Tom Pynchon. And Harold Bloom, another former student.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-h-abrams/john-updike-is-always-fun-and-one-of-my-former-students-tom-pynchon/) [M. H. Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-h-abrams/) > [“Whether one believes that the faith he spawned is the world's only true religion or a preposterous fable, Joseph emerges from the fog of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/whether-one-believes-that-the-faith-he-spawned-is-the-world-s-only/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Love is a crowded theater, for as Harold Bloom remarks, “We can never embrace (sexually or otherwise) a single person, but embrace the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/love-is-a-crowded-theater-for-as-harold-bloom-remarks-we-can-never/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm not going to be the next Colin Farrell or Orlando Bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-sives/i-m-not-going-to-be-the-next-colin-farrell-or-orlando-bloom/) [Jamie Sives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-sives/) > [The short bloom of our brief and narrow life flies fast away. While we are calling for flowers and wine and women, old age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-short-bloom-of-our-brief-and-narrow-life-flies-fast-away-while-we/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [“In the morning when I wake And the sun is coming through, Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness, And you fill my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-paper-kites/in-the-morning-when-i-wake-and-the-sun-is-coming-through-oh-you-fill/) [The Paper Kites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-paper-kites/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [We are not here to get to tomorrow. We are here for today, to bloom today. We were made to Thrive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hall/we-are-not-here-to-get-to-tomorrow-we-are-here-for-today-to-bloom/) [Mark Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hall/) > [“A flower that refuses to bloom robs the world of its beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-flower-that-refuses-to-bloom-robs-the-world-of-its-beauty/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“We all bloom to wilt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlet-clearwater/we-all-bloom-to-wilt/) [Scarlet Clearwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlet-clearwater/) > [All states and nations, however great, bloom for a season and are replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/all-states-and-nations-however-great-bloom-for-a-season-and-are/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) ## More by Amor Towles > [“To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course- that's by the grace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/to-have-even-one-year-when-you-re-presented-with-choices-that-can/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn't one be better served by working her way towards an actual horizon, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/rather-than-sitting-in-orderly-rows-in-a-schoolhouse-wouldn-t-one-be/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mostly, he said, I've been thinking about what I'm not going to do. When I think of the last few years, I've been hounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mostly-he-said-i-ve-been-thinking-about-what-i-m-not-going-to-do-when/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“In the doleful court behind my building a patchwork of windows was all that separated me from a hundred muted lives being led without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/in-the-doleful-court-behind-my-building-a-patchwork-of-windows-was/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? Why, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-is-how-time-passes-when-one-is-left-waiting-unaccountably-the/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mishka would pine for Katerina the rest of his life! Never again would he walk Nevsky Prospekt, however they chose to rename it, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mishka-would-pine-for-katerina-the-rest-of-his-life-never-again-would/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [Every year, I would spend weeks at a time in the hotels of distant cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/every-year-i-would-spend-weeks-at-a-time-in-the-hotels-of-distant/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For eventually, we come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-eventually-we-come-to-hold-our-dearest-possessions-more-closely/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-the-role-of-the-parent-to-express-his-concerns-and-then/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“But I've come to realie that however blue my circumstance,s if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-i-ve-come-to-realie-that-however-blue-my-circumstance-s-if-after/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Sometimes,” Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody? Did everybody write the Odyssey? Did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/sometimes-nina-clarified-everybody-tells-you-something-because-they/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) [Explore all 266 Amor Towles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More Bloom quotes > [All states and nations, however great, bloom for a season and are replaced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-davies/all-states-and-nations-however-great-bloom-for-a-season-and-are/) [Norman Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-davies/) > [“We all bloom to wilt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlet-clearwater/we-all-bloom-to-wilt/) [Scarlet Clearwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlet-clearwater/) > [“A flower that refuses to bloom robs the world of its beauty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/a-flower-that-refuses-to-bloom-robs-the-world-of-its-beauty/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [We are not here to get to tomorrow. We are here for today, to bloom today. We were made to Thrive!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hall/we-are-not-here-to-get-to-tomorrow-we-are-here-for-today-to-bloom/) [Mark Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hall/) > [May I strike my heart's keys clearly, and may none fail because of slack, uncertain, or fraying strings. May the tears that stream down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/may-i-strike-my-heart-s-keys-clearly-and-may-none-fail-because-of/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“In the morning when I wake And the sun is coming through, Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness, And you fill my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-paper-kites/in-the-morning-when-i-wake-and-the-sun-is-coming-through-oh-you-fill/) [The Paper Kites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-paper-kites/) > [The short bloom of our brief and narrow life flies fast away. While we are calling for flowers and wine and women, old age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-short-bloom-of-our-brief-and-narrow-life-flies-fast-away-while-we/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [I'm not going to be the next Colin Farrell or Orlando Bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-sives/i-m-not-going-to-be-the-next-colin-farrell-or-orlando-bloom/) [Jamie Sives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-sives/) > [Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/let-a-hundred-flowers-bloom-let-a-hundred-schools-of-thought-contend/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [If we cut open the bud of a beautiful rose in order to see how it is 'packed' and what it is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gardner/if-we-cut-open-the-bud-of-a-beautiful-rose-in-order-to-see-how-it-is/) [Ian Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gardner/) > [“Hope always blooms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-neftzger/hope-always-blooms/) [Amy Neftzger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-neftzger/) > [To make room for the parts that aren't you it gets harder to bloom in a garden of Love love love love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/to-make-room-for-the-parts-that-aren-t-you-it-gets-harder-to-bloom-in/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [In the earliest days, make-up and moralising were intertwined. The 'cosmetic slops and washes' of the 17th and 18th centuries aimed to smooth complexions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/in-the-earliest-days-make-up-and-moralising-were-intertwined-the/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [“What if winters were only there to make flowers bloom and not to see them dying in summer heat?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crestless-wave/what-if-winters-were-only-there-to-make-flowers-bloom-and-not-to-see/) [Crestless Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crestless-wave/) > [No one is born the perfect flower. You have to give yourself time to bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-one-is-born-the-perfect-flower-you-have-to-give-yourself-time-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 237 Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bloom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?' Late in his life, having read everything, Bloom asked which books had given him wisdom. I had just read a bunch of contemporary novels that had no wisdom for me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amor Towles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wisdom-be-found-late-in-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bloom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wisdom-be-found-late-in-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01e/amor-towles-1249_bloom_i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wi_1896783.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?' Late in his life, having read everything, Bloom…” — Amor Towles", "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": "Amor Towles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had read Harold Bloom's 'Where...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wisdom-be-found-late-in-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-had-read-harold-bloom-s-where-shall-wisdom-be-found-late-in-his/#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 } } ] } ```