--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never been able to resist a book…" description: "\"I have never been able to resist a book about books.\" — Anne Fadiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/anne-fadiman-7855_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-resist-a-book_2036594.jpg" --- # I have never been able to resist a book about books. ![“I have never been able to resist a book about books.” quote by Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/anne-fadiman-7855_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-resist-a-book_2036594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/anne-fadiman-7855_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-resist-a-book_2036594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61a/anne-fadiman-7855_able_i-have-never-been-able-to-resist-a-book_2036594.jpg) > “I have never been able to resist a book about books.” [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses an irresistible fascination with meta-literature, highlighting a love for reading about reading. **In simple terms:** Loves books that discuss books. Key Takeaway Explore literature that reflects on reading. Themes literature meta curiosity Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - academic study - creative writing Key Concepts bibliophilia self‑referential works intellectual play Questions to Reflect On - Why are we drawn to stories about stories? - What does this reveal about our reading habits? A Different Perspective Meta‑books can be niche, limiting broader appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Any book has behind it all the other books that have been written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/any-book-has-behind-it-all-the-other-books-that-have-been-written/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [None will be able to resist truth and love and sincerity. Are you sincere? Unselfish even unto death, and loving? Then fear not, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/none-will-be-able-to-resist-truth-and-love-and-sincerity-are-you/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [“Oscar Wilde’s comment about being able to resist everything except temptation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pryor/oscar-wilde-s-comment-about-being-able-to-resist-everything-except/) [Mark Pryor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pryor/) > [There will never come a time when I will be able to resist my emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/there-will-never-come-a-time-when-i-will-be-able-to-resist-my-emotions/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [When I am able to resist the temptation to judge others, I can see them as teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-jampolsky/when-i-am-able-to-resist-the-temptation-to-judge-others-i-can-see-2/) [Gerald Jampolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-jampolsky/) > [If I get an idea for a series that I really like, I'm sure I won't be able to resist coming back and doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/if-i-get-an-idea-for-a-series-that-i-really-like-i-m-sure-i-won-t-be/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [“This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/this-is-why-you-must-take-up-the-full-armor-of-god-so-that-you-may-be/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [By and large the United States has been able to resist the temptation to close its doors to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-mahony/by-and-large-the-united-states-has-been-able-to-resist-the-temptation/) [Roger Mahony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-mahony/) > [“I wonder if they'll be able to resist. 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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 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/) ## More by Anne Fadiman > [“...in the midst of the tumult, part ecstasy and part panic, into which all first-time mothers are thrown by sleep deprivation and headlong identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/in-the-midst-of-the-tumult-part-ecstasy-and-part-panic-into-which-all/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He simply could not imagine a time when being a Jew, or even a half Jew, was not a disability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-simply-could-not-imagine-a-time-when-being-a-jew-or-even-a-half/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“When he looked back at the menu as an old man, it brought back everything; the food, the wine, the private dining room, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/when-he-looked-back-at-the-menu-as-an-old-man-it-brought-back/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“His books commingled democratically, united under the all-inclusive flag of Literature. Some were vertical, some horizontal, and some actually placed behind others. Mine were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/his-books-commingled-democratically-united-under-the-all-inclusive/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“her father had built from ax-hewn planks thatched with bamboo and grass. The floor was dirt, but it was clean. Her mother, Foua, sprinkled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/her-father-had-built-from-ax-hewn-planks-thatched-with-bamboo-and/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [Some day, as soon as a book is printed it will be simultaneously put into digital form. That will be a wonderful research tool,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/some-day-as-soon-as-a-book-is-printed-it-will-be-simultaneously-put/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [The most important thing when starting out with essay writing is to find a voice with which you're comfortable. You need to find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-most-important-thing-when-starting-out-with-essay-writing-is-to/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“we expect a wine of quality to demand something from us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/we-expect-a-wine-of-quality-to-demand-something-from-us/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Going through a dead parent's memorabilia is a hazardous undertaking; there is a fine line between pleasure and pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/going-through-a-dead-parent-s-memorabilia-is-a-hazardous-undertaking/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“He was constantly, pathologically, insanely busy. That’s how he afforded the wine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/he-was-constantly-pathologically-insanely-busy-that-s-how-he-afforded/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [...the reader who plucks a book from her shelf only once is as deprived as the listener who, after attending a single performance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/the-reader-who-plucks-a-book-from-her-shelf-only-once-is-as-deprived/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Benjamin Franklin wrote that he would like to be embalmed in a cask of Madeira”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/benjamin-franklin-wrote-that-he-would-like-to-be-embalmed-in-a-cask/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious corpus of volumes whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone-s-library-contains-an-odd/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [If you truly love a book, you should sleep with it, write in it, read aloud from it, and fill its pages with muffin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/if-you-truly-love-a-book-you-should-sleep-with-it-write-in-it-read/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [Something amazing happens when the rest of the world is sleeping. I am glued to my chair. I forget that I ever wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/something-amazing-happens-when-the-rest-of-the-world-is-sleeping-i-am/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Explore all 85 Anne Fadiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. 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