--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books are the key. A book cannot be…" description: "\"Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.\" — Ben Elton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png" --- # Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar… ![“Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.” quote by Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png) > “Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.” [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books require physical interaction; they must be held and read, emphasizing tactile engagement over distant access. **In simple terms:** Books need to be held and read. Key Takeaway Prioritize reading physical books for deeper connection. Themes reading tactile experience literature Mood contemplative nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - library visits - book clubs - travel reading - education Key Concepts embodied cognition sensory engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does holding a book change your reading experience? - What value do you find in digital reading? A Different Perspective Digital formats offer convenience; not everyone can access physical books. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accessed Afar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accessed-afar-3717414/) [Afar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afar/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Accessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-accessed-3717411/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-key-2225981/) [Hold Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-read-3717412/) [Key Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/key-book-3717413/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keys/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-purchasable-at-low-cost-permit-us-to-interrogate-the-past-with/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [It is books that are a key to the wide world; if you can't do anything else, read all that you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hamilton/it-is-books-that-are-a-key-to-the-wide-world-if-you-can-t-do-anything/) [Jane Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hamilton/) > [Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-are-key-to-understanding-the-world-and-participating-in-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The internet was supposed to liberate knowledge, but in fact it buried it, first under a vast sewer of ignorance, laziness, bigotry, superstition and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/the-internet-was-supposed-to-liberate-knowledge-but-in-fact-it-buried/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-is-good-government-when-those-who-are-near-are-made-happy-and/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [There is so much more to the things that we think we know from afar. The close you get the more complex it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-meiselas/there-is-so-much-more-to-the-things-that-we-think-we-know-from-afar/) [Susan Meiselas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-meiselas/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre till afar An eightfold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/kindle-the-taper-like-the-steadfast-star-ablaze-on-evening-s-forehead/) [Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/) > [I wasn't a 'Battlestar' fan, but I had a lot of respect for the show. I had a lot of friends who worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-roiz/i-wasn-t-a-battlestar-fan-but-i-had-a-lot-of-respect-for-the-show-i/) [Sasha Roiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-roiz/) > [Last but not least my family. My brother Tony, I love you. Thank you for beating me up when I was a kid. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/last-but-not-least-my-family-my-brother-tony-i-love-you-thank-you-for/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blessed-is-the-servant-who-loves-his-brother-as-much-when-he-is-sick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ah, my brother, it is a far harder thing, and it is afar higher proof of a thorough-going, persistent, Christian principle woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/ah-my-brother-it-is-a-far-harder-thing-and-it-is-afar-higher-proof-of/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Religion exalts mystery as an unknowable secret that must be sealed in glass like the corpse of an enchanted princess and fearfully worshipped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-milo-duquette/religion-exalts-mystery-as-an-unknowable-secret-that-must-be-sealed/) [Lon Milo DuQuette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lon-milo-duquette/) > [“Can I like you from afar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bernardino/can-i-like-you-from-afar/) [Bianca Bernardino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bernardino/) > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) ## More by Ben Elton > [ “\[H\]e was damned if he was going to water down his arguments simply to satisfy the preference of the mob for dogma and ignorance.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/h-e-was-damned-if-he-was-going-to-water-down-his-arguments-simply-to/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [“People in that crowd want to make poverty history, but NOT if they have to pay for it themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/people-in-that-crowd-want-to-make-poverty-history-but-not-if-they/) [ben elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [We've all got to look at ourselves, start with yourself, that's all you can do. I believe that we can act responsibly as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/we-ve-all-got-to-look-at-ourselves-start-with-yourself-that-s-all-you/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [“We've just lost our way, that's all. But what if you could give us a chance to do better? Just one chance? One single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/we-ve-just-lost-our-way-that-s-all-but-what-if-you-could-give-us-a/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [I try hard not to preach, but I get carried away, which is a mistake, but it's a risk worth running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/i-try-hard-not-to-preach-but-i-get-carried-away-which-is-a-mistake/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [Artists don't create society, they reflect it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/artists-don-t-create-society-they-reflect-it/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [The earth only has so much bounty to offer and inventing ever larger and more notional prices for that bounty does not change its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/the-earth-only-has-so-much-bounty-to-offer-and-inventing-ever-larger/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [My advice to anyone adapting a novel is that once they've read it and learnt to understand it, then they must throw it away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/my-advice-to-anyone-adapting-a-novel-is-that-once-they-ve-read-it-and/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [My parents were secular. I am an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/my-parents-were-secular-i-am-an-atheist/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [“New York will always seem more real than anything Britain has to offer. It is strange that, although the majority of British people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/new-york-will-always-seem-more-real-than-anything-britain-has-to/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [Yes, OK, farty is a silly word. I wish I'd never used it. I'm 34. Perhaps it was a word for my 20s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/yes-ok-farty-is-a-silly-word-i-wish-i-d-never-used-it-i-m-34-perhaps/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [I think it is very difficult to legislate for morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/i-think-it-is-very-difficult-to-legislate-for-morality/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [If I did things for the money, I'd have done adverts in the 1980s, when I was hot enough to be offered them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/if-i-did-things-for-the-money-i-d-have-done-adverts-in-the-1980s-when/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [“To positively discriminate in favour of groups that have been negatively discriminated against in the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/to-positively-discriminate-in-favour-of-groups-that-have-been/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [You're mugging old ladies every bit as much if you pinch their pension fund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/you-re-mugging-old-ladies-every-bit-as-much-if-you-pinch-their/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) [Explore all 55 Ben Elton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) ## More Afar quotes > [The Son of God goes forth to war,A kingly crown to gain;His blood red banner streams afar:Who follows in His train?Who best can drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reginald-heber/the-son-of-god-goes-forth-to-war-a-kingly-crown-to-gain-his-blood-red/) [Reginald Heber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reginald-heber/) > [“Can I like you from afar?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-bernardino/can-i-like-you-from-afar/) [Bianca Bernardino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-bernardino/) > [Religion exalts mystery as an unknowable secret that must be sealed in glass like the corpse of an enchanted princess and fearfully worshipped from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lon-milo-duquette/religion-exalts-mystery-as-an-unknowable-secret-that-must-be-sealed/) [Lon Milo DuQuette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lon-milo-duquette/) > [Ah, my brother, it is a far harder thing, and it is afar higher proof of a thorough-going, persistent, Christian principle woven into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/ah-my-brother-it-is-a-far-harder-thing-and-it-is-afar-higher-proof-of/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Blessed is the servant who loves his brother as much when he is sick and useless as when he is well and an be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/blessed-is-the-servant-who-loves-his-brother-as-much-when-he-is-sick/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Last but not least my family. My brother Tony, I love you. Thank you for beating me up when I was a kid. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/last-but-not-least-my-family-my-brother-tony-i-love-you-thank-you-for/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [I wasn't a 'Battlestar' fan, but I had a lot of respect for the show. I had a lot of friends who worked on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-roiz/i-wasn-t-a-battlestar-fan-but-i-had-a-lot-of-respect-for-the-show-i/) [Sasha Roiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-roiz/) > [Kindle the taper like the steadfast star Ablaze on evening's forehead o'er the earth, And add each night a lustre till afar An eightfold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-lazarus/kindle-the-taper-like-the-steadfast-star-ablaze-on-evening-s-forehead/) [Emma Lazarus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-lazarus/) > [Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting; The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/our-birth-is-but-a-sleep-and-a-forgetting-the-soul-that-rises-with-us-2/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [There is so much more to the things that we think we know from afar. The close you get the more complex it is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-meiselas/there-is-so-much-more-to-the-things-that-we-think-we-know-from-afar/) [Susan Meiselas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-meiselas/) > [There is good government when those who are near are made happy, and when those who are afar are attracted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/there-is-good-government-when-those-who-are-near-are-made-happy-and/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I like Stella McCartney, Chloe, Alexander McQueen, Aaron Featherstone, normal Chanel if I can ever afford it, I'd be wearing that all the time!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-snow/i-like-stella-mccartney-chloe-alexander-mcqueen-aaron-featherstone/) [Brittany Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-snow/) > [The New England Patriots have always been a special organization and I've always watched from afar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-moss/the-new-england-patriots-have-always-been-a-special-organization-and/) [Randy Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-moss/) > [Time past, present, and to come, as also depth and height, near and afar off, are all one in God, one comprehensibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-bohme/time-past-present-and-to-come-as-also-depth-and-height-near-and-afar/) [Jakob Bohme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-bohme/) > [In the glory which overhangs Palestine afar off, we imagine emotions which never come, when we tread the soil and walk over the hallowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/in-the-glory-which-overhangs-palestine-afar-off-we-imagine-emotions/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) [Browse all 212 Afar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Elton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-accessed-from-afar-you-have-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-accessed-from-afar-you-have-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/951/ben-elton-12329_afar_books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-acces_1217829.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books are the key. A book cannot be accessed from afar. You have to hold it, you have to read it.” — Ben Elton", "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": "Ben Elton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books are the key. A book...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-accessed-from-afar-you-have-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/books-are-the-key-a-book-cannot-be-accessed-from-afar-you-have-to/#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 } } ] } ```