--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [I] threw open the door to find Rob…" description: "\"“[I] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by card­board box­es. He was seal­ing the last on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png" --- # \[I\] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low… ![“[I] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by card­board box­es. He was seal­ing the last one up with tape and string. There were eight box­es - eight box­es of my books bound up and ready for the base­ment! "He looked up and said, 'Hel­lo…” quote by Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png) > ““\[I\] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by card­board box­es. He was seal­ing the last one up with tape and string. There were eight box­es - eight box­es of my books bound up and ready for the base­ment! "He looked up and said, 'Hel­lo, dar­ling. Don't mind the mess, the care­tak­er said he'd help me car­ry these down to the base­ment.' He nod­ded to­wards my book­shelves and said, 'Don't they look won­der­ful?' "Well, there were no words! I was too ap­palled to speak. Sid­ney, ev­ery sin­gle shelf - where my books had stood - was filled with ath­let­ic tro­phies: sil­ver cups, gold cups, blue rosettes, red rib­bons. There were awards for ev­ery game that could pos­si­bly be played with a wood­en ob­ject: crick­et bats, squash rac­quets, ten­nis rac­quets, oars, golf clubs, ping-​pong bats, bows and ar­rows, snook­er cues, lacrosse sticks, hock­ey sticks and po­lo mal­lets. There were stat­ues for ev­ery­thing a man could jump over, ei­ther by him­self or on a horse. Next came the framed cer­tificates - for shoot­ing the most birds on such and such a date, for First Place in run­ning races, for Last Man Stand­ing in some filthy tug of war against Scot­land. "All I could do was scream, 'How dare you! What have you DONE?! Put my books back!' "Well, that's how it start­ed. Even­tu­al­ly, I said some­thing to the ef­fect that I could nev­er mar­ry a man whose idea of bliss was to strike out at lit­tle balls and lit­tle birds. Rob coun­tered with re­marks about damned blue­stock­ings and shrews. And it all de­gen­er­at­ed from there - the on­ly thought we prob­ably had in com­mon was, What the hell have we talked about for the last four months? What, in­deed? He huffed and puffed and snort­ed and left. And I un­packed my books.”” [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A partner’s hobby replaces cherished possessions with trophies, revealing incompatibility and prompting a decisive break. **In simple terms:** A lover’s obsession with sports trophies overwrites the narrator’s love of books, showing they are mismatched. Key Takeaway Recognize and act on fundamental value differences early. Themes relationships values conflict identity breakup Mood frustrated disgusted determined Type narrative confessional reflective When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - cohabitation - gift-giving - shared spaces Key Concepts materialism identity compatibility priorities personal boundaries Questions to Reflect On - What core values are non‑negotiable for you? - How do you address mismatched priorities in a partnership? A Different Perspective If the narrator had communicated earlier, the conflict might have been avoided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Tug of war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tug-of-war/) ## Related quotes > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [“He saw a square room furnished as a library. The entire section of the walls which he could spy was covered from floor to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stephens/he-saw-a-square-room-furnished-as-a-library-the-entire-section-of-the/) [James Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stephens/) > [“The multiverse, she said, was like an old library whose shelves were packed with books arranged by a cataloguing system that ranked them according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-mcauley/the-multiverse-she-said-was-like-an-old-library-whose-shelves-were/) [Paul J. McAuley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-mcauley/) > [That was the trouble with moving houses; no matter how carefully you packed the books, they never ended up on the new shelves in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-mcdermid/that-was-the-trouble-with-moving-houses-no-matter-how-carefully-you/) [Val McDermid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-mcdermid/) > [“Dune; Nova; Double Star; The Corridors of Time; Cat's Cradle; Half Past Human; Murder in Retrospect; Gideon's Day; The Red Right Hand; The Trojan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/dune-nova-double-star-the-corridors-of-time-cat-s-cradle-half-past/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [But I hope I will never have a life that is not surrounded by books, by books that are bound in paper and cloth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-bragg/but-i-hope-i-will-never-have-a-life-that-is-not-surrounded-by-books/) [Rick Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-bragg/) > [These weren't cheap modern books; these were books bound in leather, and not just leather, but leather from clever cows who had given their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/these-weren-t-cheap-modern-books-these-were-books-bound-in-leather/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Because reading books and having them bound represent two enormously different stages of development. First, people gradually get used to reading, over centuries naturally,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/because-reading-books-and-having-them-bound-represent-two-enormously/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“For he would rather have at his bed's head Some twenty books, all bound in black and red, Of Aristotle and his philosophy Than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-he-would-rather-have-at-his-bed-s-head-some-twenty-books-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [“It should be possible to exist with only a short shelf of books, to read and give away. After all - we may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/it-should-be-possible-to-exist-with-only-a-short-shelf-of-books-to/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [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/) > [There were two sets of double doors leading out of the antechamber, one marked STACKS and the other TOMES. Not knowing the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-were-two-sets-of-double-doors-leading-out-of-the-antechamber/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Each of us will make his own shelf of books. The book for me is the book that delights, attracts, soothes, or uplifts me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-francis-egan/each-of-us-will-make-his-own-shelf-of-books-the-book-for-me-is-the/) [Maurice Francis Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-francis-egan/) > [You are a shelf of books without the pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-aplin/you-are-a-shelf-of-books-without-the-pages/) [Gabrielle Aplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-aplin/) ## More by Annie Barrows > [I am a grown woman-- mostly-- and I can guzzle champagne with whomever I choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-am-a-grown-woman-mostly-and-i-can-guzzle-champagne-with-whomever-i/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [Then he felt remorseful, which was so unlike him and endearing that I almost changed my mind and said yes. But then I imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/then-he-felt-remorseful-which-was-so-unlike-him-and-endearing-that-i/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [If I could have anything I wanted, I would choose story without end, and it seems I have lots of company in that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/if-i-could-have-anything-i-wanted-i-would-choose-story-without-end/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“The wonderful thing about books--and the thing that made them such a refuge for the islanders during the Occupation--is that they take us out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/the-wonderful-thing-about-books-and-the-thing-that-made-them-such-a/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“Ivy! It's a natural disaster! You have to be there!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/ivy-it-s-a-natural-disaster-you-have-to-be-there/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [It suddenly struck me that Dawsey is a lonesome person. I think it may be that he has always been lonely, but he didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/it-suddenly-struck-me-that-dawsey-is-a-lonesome-person-i-think-it-may/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“There had been a problem in Bean's house. The problem was staples. Bean loved staples. She loved them so much that she had stapled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/there-had-been-a-problem-in-bean-s-house-the-problem-was-staples-bean/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [We clung to books and to our friends; they reminded us that we had another part to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/we-clung-to-books-and-to-our-friends-they-reminded-us-that-we-had/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“Mary Ann could no more endure a day without reading than she could grow feathers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/mary-ann-could-no-more-endure-a-day-without-reading-than-she-could/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“We could have gone on longing for one another and pretending not to notice forever. This obsession with dignity can ruin your life if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/we-could-have-gone-on-longing-for-one-another-and-pretending-not-to/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“You are so weird sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/you-are-so-weird-sometimes/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“When grown-ups asked you to sit in a circle, they were usually about to tell you something you didn't want to hear. Ms. Aruba-Tate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/when-grown-ups-asked-you-to-sit-in-a-circle-they-were-usually-about/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“The first rule of snooping is to come at it sideways--when you began writing me dizzy letters about Alexander, I didn't ask if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/the-first-rule-of-snooping-is-to-come-at-it-sideways-when-you-began/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“Reading good books spoils you for enjoying bad books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/reading-good-books-spoils-you-for-enjoying-bad-books/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [“please.” Bean’s mother said that Nancy was going through a stage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/please-bean-s-mother-said-that-nancy-was-going-through-a-stage/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) [Explore all 20 Annie Barrows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) ## 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": "“[I] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by card­board box­es. He was seal­ing the last one up with tape and string. There were eight box­es - eight box­es of my books bound up and ready for the base­ment! \"He looked up and said, 'Hel­lo, dar­ling. Don't mind the mess, the care­tak­er said he'd help me car­ry these down to the base­ment.' He nod­ded to­wards my book­shelves and said, 'Don't they look won­der­ful?' \"Well, there were no words! I was too ap­palled to speak. Sid­ney, ev­ery sin­gle shelf - where my books had stood - was filled with ath­let­ic tro­phies: sil­ver cups, gold cups, blue rosettes, red rib­bons. There were awards for ev­ery game that could pos­si­bly be played with a wood­en ob­ject: crick­et bats, squash rac­quets, ten­nis rac­quets, oars, golf clubs, ping-​pong bats, bows and ar­rows, snook­er cues, lacrosse sticks, hock­ey sticks and po­lo mal­lets. There were stat­ues for ev­ery­thing a man could jump over, ei­ther by him­self or on a horse. Next came the framed cer­tificates - for shoot­ing the most birds on such and such a date, for First Place in run­ning races, for Last Man Stand­ing in some filthy tug of war against Scot­land. \"All I could do was scream, 'How dare you! What have you DONE?! Put my books back!' \"Well, that's how it start­ed. Even­tu­al­ly, I said some­thing to the ef­fect that I could nev­er mar­ry a man whose idea of bliss was to strike out at lit­tle balls and lit­tle birds. Rob coun­tered with re­marks about damned blue­stock­ings and shrews. And it all de­gen­er­at­ed from there - the on­ly thought we prob­ably had in com­mon was, What the hell have we talked about for the last four months? What, in­deed? He huffed and puffed and snort­ed and left. And I un­packed my books.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Annie Barrows" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ting-on-the-low-stool-in-front/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ting-on-the-low-stool-in-front/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/annie-barrows-27608_books_i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ti_1948623.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[I] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by…” — Annie Barrows", "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": "Annie Barrows", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“[I] threw open the door to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ting-on-the-low-stool-in-front/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ting-on-the-low-stool-in-front/#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 } } ] } ```