--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It has long been my belief that…" description: "\"“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 subject matt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone_393832.jpg" --- # It has long been my belief that everyone's library… ![“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 subject matter is completely unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, upon closer inspection, reveals a good deal about its owner.” quote by Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone_393832.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone_393832.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c5/anne-fadiman-7855_books_it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone_393832.jpg) > ““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 subject matter is completely unrelated to the rest of the library, yet which, upon closer inspection, reveals a good deal about its owner.”” [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. Everyone’s hidden collection reveals unexpected aspects of their identity. **In simple terms:** Odd books reflect hidden self. Key Takeaway Explore your personal “odd shelf”. Themes identity library self‑discovery secrets Mood curious introspective Type literary psychological When to use this quote - personal archives - creative writing - self‑analysis Key Concepts literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does your odd shelf say about you? - How can hidden interests guide growth? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be surprising. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. On this shelf rests a small, mysterious completely unrelated to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/it-has-long-been-my-belief-that-everyone-s-library-contains-an-odd-2/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Nothing is so intimately a part of a man as his library. It contains just what the possessor wants to look at most often,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft-2/nothing-is-so-intimately-a-part-of-a-man-as-his-library-it-contains/) [H.P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft-2/) > [A great library contains the diary of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-great-library-contains-the-diary-of-the-human-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The public library contains multitudes. And each person who visits contains multitudes as well. Each of us is a library of thoughts, memories, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hanagarne/the-public-library-contains-multitudes-and-each-person-who-visits/) [Josh Hanagarne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hanagarne/) > [“A good library contains something in it to offend everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-goodwin/a-good-library-contains-something-in-it-to-offend-everyone/) Jo Goodwin > [An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignificant-satisfaction-of-a-shelf-of/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Every relationship comes with a shelf life; that duration could be a minute or even a lifetime. If, for whatever reasons, a relationship cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-bedi/every-relationship-comes-with-a-shelf-life-that-duration-could-be-a/) [Kabir Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-bedi/) > [Let's put the jam on the lower shelf so the little people can reach it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-yarborough/let-s-put-the-jam-on-the-lower-shelf-so-the-little-people-can-reach-it/) Ralph Yarborough > [Man what's the point of living if I'm living for myself Lord empty out my life before I put you on the shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/man-what-s-the-point-of-living-if-i-m-living-for-myself-lord-empty/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [“Write the book you wish you could find on the shelf but can't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/write-the-book-you-wish-you-could-find-on-the-shelf-but-can-t/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on a shelf, like one who cannot. 'Were”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/no-one-who-can-read-ever-looks-at-a-book-even-unopened-on-a-shelf/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [One could get a first-class education from a shelf of books five feet long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-eliot/one-could-get-a-first-class-education-from-a-shelf-of-books-five-feet/) [Charles William Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-william-eliot/) > [People are best on records and books because you can turn them off or put them back on the shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/people-are-best-on-records-and-books-because-you-can-turn-them-off-or/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [Sometimes with people I know, they're playing the hunky action guy and there's resistance to them coming out because it's so connected to straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/sometimes-with-people-i-know-they-re-playing-the-hunky-action-guy-and/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [No one to talk with, all by myself. No one to walk with, but I'm happy on the shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fats-waller/no-one-to-talk-with-all-by-myself-no-one-to-walk-with-but-i-m-happy/) [Fats Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fats-waller/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [I can think of few better ways to introduce a child to books than to let her stack them, upend them, rearrange them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/i-can-think-of-few-better-ways-to-introduce-a-child-to-books-than-to/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) [Explore all 85 Anne Fadiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It has long been my belief that everyone's library contains an Odd Shelf. 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