--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Often, when I have been feeling lonely…" description: "\"“Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as been thrust aside in boredom [...] I have lain back and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/beverley-nichols-23529_books_often-when-i-have-been-feeling-lonely-wh_3015190.jpg" --- # Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as… ![“Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as been thrust aside in boredom [...] I have lain back and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, wondering what life is all about [...] and then, suddenly, there is the echo of the swinging door, and across the carpet, walking with the utmost…” quote by Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/beverley-nichols-23529_books_often-when-i-have-been-feeling-lonely-wh_3015190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/beverley-nichols-23529_books_often-when-i-have-been-feeling-lonely-wh_3015190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a7/beverley-nichols-23529_books_often-when-i-have-been-feeling-lonely-wh_3015190.jpg) > ““Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as been thrust aside in boredom \[...\] I have lain back and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, wondering what life is all about \[...\] and then, suddenly, there is the echo of the swinging door, and across the carpet, walking with the utmost delicacy and precision, stalks Four or Five or Oscar. He sits down on the floor beside me, regarding my long legs, my old jumper, and my floppy arms, with a purely practical interest. Which part of this large male body will form the most appropriate lap? Usually he settles for the chest. Whereupon he springs up and there is a feeling of cold fur \[...\] and the tip of an icy nose, thrust against my wrist and a positive tattoo of purrs. And I no longer wonder what life is all about.”” [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loneliness can be eased by unexpected companionship, turning mundane moments into comfort. **In simple terms:** A cat’s presence eases existential doubt. Key Takeaway Seek simple comforts in solitude. Themes loneliness companionship comfort Mood contemplative warm Type personal observational When to use this quote - reading alone - late‑night thoughts - pet therapy - creative writing Key Concepts psychology everyday magic human‑animal bond Questions to Reflect On - What small comforts help you in lonely times? - How does an animal’s presence shift your mood? A Different Perspective May not replace deeper social connections. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling/) [Feeling lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-lonely/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Long legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-legs/) [Male Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/male-body-1835529/) [Meaning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meaning-of-life/) [Oscar Sits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oscar-sits-814003/) [Sits Floor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sits-floor-4499869/) [Tattoo Purrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tattoo-purrs-4852833/) ## Related quotes > [“Tsukiko sits on the floor in the center of the room, wearing a red kimono. A beating crimson heart in the pale chamber.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/tsukiko-sits-on-the-floor-in-the-center-of-the-room-wearing-a-red/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [The Oscar sits on some shelf above my desk. If there was an earthquake, I could actually be killed by my own Academy Award.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt/the-oscar-sits-on-some-shelf-above-my-desk-if-there-was-an-earthquake/) [Helen Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt/) > [Anytime I am around a male body part it is kind of exiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/anytime-i-am-around-a-male-body-part-it-is-kind-of-exiting/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [“There are only two times in this world when I am happy and selfless and pure,” he said. “One is when I jack off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lahr/there-are-only-two-times-in-this-world-when-i-am-happy-and-selfless/) [John Lahr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lahr/) > [The way my body is viewed in the world is different than a male body. People are going to write about the performance, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-cosmos/the-way-my-body-is-viewed-in-the-world-is-different-than-a-male-body/) [Frankie Cosmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-cosmos/) > [Anytime I am around a male body part it is kind of exciting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/anytime-i-am-around-a-male-body-part-it-is-kind-of-exciting/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [I love the male body, it's better designed than the male mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-newman/i-love-the-male-body-it-s-better-designed-than-the-male-mind/) [Andrea Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-newman/) > [“In a spornographic age it’s no longer enough for the male body to be presented to us by consumerism as merely attractive, or desiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-simpson/in-a-spornographic-age-it-s-no-longer-enough-for-the-male-body-to-be/) [Mark Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-simpson/) > [I really try towork with an artist who is trying to create a long legacy of quality rather than trying to jump aboard a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/i-really-try-towork-with-an-artist-who-is-trying-to-create-a-long/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Not to be vain, but I have nice long legs, so I like to accentuate them. Find what part of your body you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khloe-kardashian/not-to-be-vain-but-i-have-nice-long-legs-so-i-like-to-accentuate-them/) [Khloe Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khloe-kardashian/) > [“And then there she was, a girl of elegant height, perhaps eighteen or nineteen years of age—gawky and coltish, all long legs and arms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/and-then-there-she-was-a-girl-of-elegant-height-perhaps-eighteen-or/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [“Where, then, is any particular gene—say, the gene for long legs in humans? This is a little like asking where is Beethoven’s Piano Sonata…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/where-then-is-any-particular-gene-say-the-gene-for-long-legs-in/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Studying the young woman’s long thin legs, Tessa wondered how different her life would have been if she had had legs like that. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/studying-the-young-woman-s-long-thin-legs-tessa-wondered-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You don;t believe me?" He sound wounded, like the thought of me not believing him makes him incredibly sad. "No." "Then come with me,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-barnholdt/you-don-t-believe-me-he-sound-wounded-like-the-thought-of-me-not/) [Lauren Barnholdt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-barnholdt/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## More by Beverley Nichols > [“Marriage is a book in which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/marriage-is-a-book-in-which-the-first-chapter-is-written-in-poetry/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [I had never 'taken a cutting' before ... Do you realize that the whole thing is miraculous? It is exactly as though you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/i-had-never-taken-a-cutting-before-do-you-realize-that-the-whole/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [Long experience has taught me that people who do not like geraniums have something morally unsound about them. Sooner or later you will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/long-experience-has-taught-me-that-people-who-do-not-like-geraniums/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [To dig one's own spade into one's own earth! Has life anything better to offer than this?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/to-dig-one-s-own-spade-into-one-s-own-earth-has-life-anything-better/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [“Well, I love geraniums, and anybody who does not love geraniums must obviously be a depraved and loathsome person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/well-i-love-geraniums-and-anybody-who-does-not-love-geraniums-must/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [Most people, early in November, take last looks at their gardens, are are then prepared to ignore them until the spring. I am quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/most-people-early-in-november-take-last-looks-at-their-gardens-are/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [Do you ever find yourself bursting into a sort of lunatic laughter at the sheer prettiness of things?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/do-you-ever-find-yourself-bursting-into-a-sort-of-lunatic-laughter-at/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [A garden is a place for shaping a little world of your own according to your heart's desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/a-garden-is-a-place-for-shaping-a-little-world-of-your-own-according/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [Every moment of this strange and lovely life from dawn to dusk, is a miracle. Somewhere, always a rose is opening its petals to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/every-moment-of-this-strange-and-lovely-life-from-dawn-to-dusk-is-a/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [“On and on we wander in these pages--and we never reach the point because, happily, there is no point to reach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/on-and-on-we-wander-in-these-pages-and-we-never-reach-the-point/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [A gardener is never shut out from his garden, wherever he may be. Its comfort never fails. Though the city may close about him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/a-gardener-is-never-shut-out-from-his-garden-wherever-he-may-be-its/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [We both know, you and I, that if all men were gardeners, the world at last would be at peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/we-both-know-you-and-i-that-if-all-men-were-gardeners-the-world-at/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [“One of the many reasons why gardens are increasingly precious to us in this day and age is that they help us to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/one-of-the-many-reasons-why-gardens-are-increasingly-precious-to-us/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [“Why do insurance companies, when they want to describe an act of God, invariably pick on something which sounds much more like an act…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/why-do-insurance-companies-when-they-want-to-describe-an-act-of-god/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) > [A garden without cats, it will be generally agreed, can scarcely deserve to be called a garden at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-nichols/a-garden-without-cats-it-will-be-generally-agreed-can-scarcely/) [Beverley Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) [Explore all 25 Beverley Nichols quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-nichols/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“Often, when I have been feeling lonely, when a book as been thrust aside in boredom [...] I have lain back and stared at the shadows on the ceiling, wondering what life is all about [...] and then, suddenly, there is the echo of the swinging door, and across the carpet, walking with the utmost delicacy and precision, stalks Four or Five or Oscar. He sits down on the floor beside me, regarding my long legs, my old jumper, and my floppy arms, with a purely practical interest. Which part of this large male body will form the most appropriate lap? Usually he settles for the chest. Whereupon he springs up and there is a feeling of cold fur [...] and the tip of an icy nose, thrust against my wrist and a positive tattoo of purrs. 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