--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I realize that people still read books…" description: "\"“I realize that people still read books now and some people actually love them, but in 1946 in the Village our feelings about books--I’m talking about ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/anatole-broyard-14101_beyond-love_i-realize-that-people-still-read-books-n_2535149.png" --- # I realize that people still read books now and some people… ![“I realize that people still read books now and some people actually love them, but in 1946 in the Village our feelings about books--I’m talking about my friends and myself--went beyond love. It was as if we didn’t know where we ended and books began. Books were our weather, our environment, our…” quote by Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/anatole-broyard-14101_beyond-love_i-realize-that-people-still-read-books-n_2535149.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/anatole-broyard-14101_beyond-love_i-realize-that-people-still-read-books-n_2535149.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a4/anatole-broyard-14101_beyond-love_i-realize-that-people-still-read-books-n_2535149.png) > ““I realize that people still read books now and some people actually love them, but in 1946 in the Village our feelings about books--I’m talking about my friends and myself--went beyond love. It was as if we didn’t know where we ended and books began. Books were our weather, our environment, our clothing. We didn’t simply read books; we became them. We took them into ourselves and made them into our histories. While it would be easy to say that we escaped into books, it might be truer to say that books escaped into us. Books were to us what drugs were to young men in the sixties. They showed us what was possible. We had been living with whatever was close at hand, whatever was given, and books took us great distances. We had known only domestic emotions and they showed us what happens to emotions when they are homeless. Books gave us balance--the young are so unbalanced that anything can make them fall. Books steadied us; it was as if we carried a heavy bag of them in each hand and they kept us level. They gave us gravity.”” [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books become an extension of self, shaping identity and perception beyond mere reading. **In simple terms:** Books become part of who we are. Key Takeaway Let books transform you, not just entertain you. Themes identity literature growth escape balance Mood reflective nostalgic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - adolescents seeking meaning - writers developing voice - educators fostering empathy - readers coping with change Key Concepts self‑construction psychological immersion cultural transmission Questions to Reflect On - How have books reshaped your self‑image? - Can literature replace lived experience? A Different Perspective Books may idealize reality, leading to escapism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beyond love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beyond-love/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-began-738720/) [Books Escaped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-escaped-1380601/) [Books People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-people-238636/) [Books Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-talking-1380602/) [Books Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-took-309935/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Young men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-men/) ## Related quotes > [“Books are what I escaped to when I was a kid, and books...unless they're just really piss poor, I get swept up in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/books-are-what-i-escaped-to-when-i-was-a-kid-and-books-unless-they-re/) [Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/) > [From fire, water, the passage of time, neglectful readers, and the hand of the censor, each of my books has escaped to tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/from-fire-water-the-passage-of-time-neglectful-readers-and-the-hand/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [All of my books began as sermons, so really the heart of the message is still the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/all-of-my-books-began-as-sermons-so-really-the-heart-of-the-message/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“Miss Climpson believed in books that began with “begat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/miss-climpson-believed-in-books-that-began-with-begat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was sitting there, as I said, and had been for several watches, when I came to me that I was reading no longer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/i-was-sitting-there-as-i-said-and-had-been-for-several-watches-when-i/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“I'd had the idea, once, that if I could get the chance before I died I would read all the good books there were.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-d-had-the-idea-once-that-if-i-could-get-the-chance-before-i-died-i/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [My first novel was turned down by about twenty publishers over a period of two and a half years. 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Books were our weather, our environment, our clothing. We didn’t simply read books; we became them. We took them into ourselves and made them into our histories. While it would be easy to say that we escaped into books, it might be truer to say that books escaped into us. Books were to us what drugs were to young men in the sixties. They showed us what was possible. We had been living with whatever was close at hand, whatever was given, and books took us great distances. We had known only domestic emotions and they showed us what happens to emotions when they are homeless. Books gave us balance--the young are so unbalanced that anything can make them fall. Books steadied us; it was as if we carried a heavy bag of them in each hand and they kept us level. 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