--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a book also, words and thoughts and…" description: "\"I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held together by flesh. We open and close ourselves to the world. We are read by others or put away by..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg" --- # I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held… ![“I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held together by flesh. We open and close ourselves to the world. We are read by others or put away by them. We wait to be seen, sitting quietly on shelves for someone to bother having a look inside us.” quote by Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg) > “I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held together by flesh. We open and close ourselves to the world. We are read by others or put away by them. We wait to be seen, sitting quietly on shelves for someone to bother having a look inside us.” [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A person is likened to a book, containing stories and thoughts, awaiting discovery by others. **In simple terms:** We hold stories inside, waiting to be read. Key Takeaway Share your inner narrative openly. Themes identity communication vulnerability Mood thoughtful open intimate Type literary motivational When to use this quote - social media - therapy - creative writing - interpersonal relationships Key Concepts narrative self‑presentation empathy Questions to Reflect On - What stories are you keeping hidden? - How can you invite others to read you? A Different Perspective People may fear exposure, keeping their "closed." ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-words-1476999/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Flesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flesh/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Shelves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelves/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Sitting quietly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting-quietly/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-held-2251445/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Thoughts Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts-stories-2251444/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waiting/) [Words Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-thoughts-382105/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“He passed his hands over some of the fine embossed bindings as he thought, I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/he-passed-his-hands-over-some-of-the-fine-embossed-bindings-as-he/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“The truth is that we never know from whom we originally get the ideas and beliefs that shape us, those that make a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-mar-as/the-truth-is-that-we-never-know-from-whom-we-originally-get-the-ideas/) [Javier Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-mar-as/) > [“I am trying to ignore each of my thoughts and each of my stories and books... if I read them... they never sound well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deyth-banger/i-am-trying-to-ignore-each-of-my-thoughts-and-each-of-my-stories-and/) [Deyth Banger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deyth-banger/) > [Words are power. And a book is full of words. Be careful what power you get from it. But know that you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/words-are-power-and-a-book-is-full-of-words-be-careful-what-power-you/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [Sometimes I read the same books over and over and over. What's great about books is that the stuff inside doesn't change. People say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-erskine/sometimes-i-read-the-same-books-over-and-over-and-over-what-s-great/) [Kathryn Erskine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-erskine/) > [The Bible is no ordinary book. The words are like medicine to your soul, and it has the power to change your life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/the-bible-is-no-ordinary-book-the-words-are-like-medicine-to-your/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [The stitch of a book is its words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/the-stitch-of-a-book-is-its-words/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > [“Read a book, words by words, to find a story within and be amazed. Your heart will make that poor written book into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-aksara/read-a-book-words-by-words-to-find-a-story-within-and-be-amazed-your/) [Adam Aksara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-aksara/) > [The world is a book. Some words stand out from the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/the-world-is-a-book-some-words-stand-out-from-the-page/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [“Forth from the war emerging,a book I have made, the words of my book nothing, the drift of it everything, a book separate, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/forth-from-the-war-emerging-a-book-i-have-made-the-words-of-my-book/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“A book without words is a mind without thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-forbes/a-book-without-words-is-a-mind-without-thought/) [Catherine Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-forbes/) > [It is a magic book. Words mean things. When you put them together they speak. Yes, sometimes they flatten out and nothing they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/it-is-a-magic-book-words-mean-things-when-you-put-them-together-they/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“When a child says, “Mr. Roberson, how do you spell this word? What does that word mean?” I’ll look tortured. “Oh,” I’ll exclaim, hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-robertson/when-a-child-says-mr-roberson-how-do-you-spell-this-word-what-does/) [Doug Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-robertson/) > [A book without words is like love without a kiss; its empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-book-without-words-is-like-love-without-a-kiss-its-empty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A book without words is like love without a kiss; it's empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-book-without-words-is-like-love-without-a-kiss-it-s-empty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Ari Berk > [“When we change the shape of the Land, we alter the contents and contexts of our collective, familial, and personal memories. Yet, stories can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/when-we-change-the-shape-of-the-land-we-alter-the-contents-and/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Here were love letters, the youth knew. Secret love letters. Unfound, still waiting somewhere beyond the mist. A young man’s words for this girl,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/here-were-love-letters-the-youth-knew-secret-love-letters-unfound/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“The past is a chatty companion, I can tell you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/the-past-is-a-chatty-companion-i-can-tell-you/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“The day his dad didn’t come home, it was like a huge window over their heads had shattered, and every day they were walking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/the-day-his-dad-didn-t-come-home-it-was-like-a-huge-window-over-their/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“It was a stalemate Silas was willing to live with, and apparently, so was his mother. They both knew it wasn’t about the hem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/it-was-a-stalemate-silas-was-willing-to-live-with-and-apparently-so/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“You can never go back, really, there is only forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/you-can-never-go-back-really-there-is-only-forward/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Little things like time and generations don’t matter very much with good friends who are fond of each other’s company.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/little-things-like-time-and-generations-don-t-matter-very-much-with/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“He passed his hands over some of the fine embossed bindings as he thought, I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/he-passed-his-hands-over-some-of-the-fine-embossed-bindings-as-he/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Just as you cannot wave your hands and reappear in your simple life before coming here, so you cannot merely clap them to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/just-as-you-cannot-wave-your-hands-and-reappear-in-your-simple-life/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“He just couldn’t be with people. There were a few kids he sometimes spoke with at school—at lunch, or walking home—but months ago even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/he-just-couldn-t-be-with-people-there-were-a-few-kids-he-sometimes/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“What is it about traveling by night that makes even a short journey strange and a little wonderful? Momentary lights appear and pass across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/what-is-it-about-traveling-by-night-that-makes-even-a-short-journey/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“Here, in this house, her recollections glowed like embers on the hearth, and each night, in their warmth, she’d take a memory or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/here-in-this-house-her-recollections-glowed-like-embers-on-the-hearth/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“To get ahead, sometimes you had to retrace your steps.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/to-get-ahead-sometimes-you-had-to-retrace-your-steps/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“The more he thought about his mother, the more he could see that while they were on different roads, they were each just plain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/the-more-he-thought-about-his-mother-the-more-he-could-see-that-while/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) > [“He had plans, but his hopes for higher education, like all his others, were built on “mights.” He might go hang out somewhere, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/he-had-plans-but-his-hopes-for-higher-education-like-all-his-others/) [Ari Berk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) [Explore all 65 Ari Berk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held together by flesh. We open and close ourselves to the world. We are read by others or put away by them. We wait to be seen, sitting quietly on shelves for someone to bother having a look inside us.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ari Berk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and-stories-held-together-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and-stories-held-together-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ed/ari-berk-10468_book_i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and_1017907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am a book also, words and thoughts and stories held together by flesh. We open and close ourselves to the…” — Ari Berk", "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": "Ari Berk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-berk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am a book also, words...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and-stories-held-together-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-berk/i-am-a-book-also-words-and-thoughts-and-stories-held-together-by/#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 } } ] } ```