--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is nothing more wonderful than a…" description: "\"“There is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a message to us from the dead, from human souls we never saw who lived perhaps thousands of mil..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/charles-kingsley-1896_book_there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-b_3224006.jpg" --- # There is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a… ![“There is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a message to us from the dead, from human souls we never saw who lived perhaps thousands of miles away, and yet these little sheets of paper speak to us, arouse us, teach us, open our hearts and in turn open their hearts to us like brothers…” quote by Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/charles-kingsley-1896_book_there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-b_3224006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/charles-kingsley-1896_book_there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-b_3224006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/charles-kingsley-1896_book_there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-b_3224006.jpg) > ““There is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a message to us from the dead, from human souls we never saw who lived perhaps thousands of miles away, and yet these little sheets of paper speak to us, arouse us, teach us, open our hearts and in turn open their hearts to us like brothers. Without books, God is silent, justice dormant, philosophy lame.”” [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books connect readers across time, sharing souls and ideas, making humanity’s voice audible and alive. **In simple terms:** Books link people across time. Key Takeaway Read to hear distant voices. Themes literature connection humanity spirituality Mood inspired reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - cultural exchange Key Concepts philosophy empathy communication Questions to Reflect On - What does a book teach you about strangers? - How does reading shape your values? A Different Perspective Reading may not replace lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-message-1399841/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-god-1113519/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Lame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-lame-4313857/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Without books, God is silent, justice dormant, natural science at a stand, philosophy lame, letters dumb, and all things involved in darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-books-god-is-silent-justice-dormant-natural-science-at-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-book-a/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“It is always difficult to make the transition to a modern world. I moved from the world of faith to the world of reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/it-is-always-difficult-to-make-the-transition-to-a-modern-world-i/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [To me a book is a message from the gods to mankind; or, if not, should never be published at all. A message from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/to-me-a-book-is-a-message-from-the-gods-to-mankind-or-if-not-should/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [I can't blame anyone for being pessimistic when they look around, after all the blood spilled and energy spent to gain ground for working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-vance/i-can-t-blame-anyone-for-being-pessimistic-when-they-look-around/) [James Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-vance/) > [“The library knows that it is a temporary fix. We have a stamp for the inside front cover: BROKEN SPINE NOTED. It is like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-borchert/the-library-knows-that-it-is-a-temporary-fix-we-have-a-stamp-for-the/) [Don Borchert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-borchert/) > [To me a book is a message from the gods to mankind; or, if not, should never be published at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/to-me-a-book-is-a-message-from-the-gods-to-mankind-or-if-not-should-2/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [“Having found the book which has a message for us, let us not be guilty of the folly of saying we have read it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/having-found-the-book-which-has-a-message-for-us-let-us-not-be-guilty/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) > [The greatest book is not the one whose message engraves itself on the brain, as a telegraphic message engraves itself on the ticker-tape, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-rolland/the-greatest-book-is-not-the-one-whose-message-engraves-itself-on-the/) [Romain Rolland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-rolland/) > [I'm constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/i-m-constantly-reading-books-on-god-or-the-absence-of-god-and-atheism/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [“He pulled out a thick black volume. "You've never read this, for example." The Savage took it. "The Holy Bible, containing the Old and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/he-pulled-out-a-thick-black-volume-you-ve-never-read-this-for-example/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Do not suppose, however, that I intend to urge a diet of classics on anybody. I have seen such diets at work. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/do-not-suppose-however-that-i-intend-to-urge-a-diet-of-classics-on/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [We should always choose our books as God chooses our friends, just a bit beyond us, so that we have to do our level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-should-always-choose-our-books-as-god-chooses-our-friends-just-a/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“But if you know about God, why don’t you tell them?' asked the Savage indignantly. 'Why don’t you give them these books about God?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/but-if-you-know-about-god-why-don-t-you-tell-them-asked-the-savage/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [O God, let me write books! Please, God, let me write books!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/o-god-let-me-write-books-please-god-let-me-write-books/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) ## More by Charles Kingsley > [A fine lady; by which term I wish to express the result of that perfect education in taste and manner, down to every gesture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/a-fine-lady-by-which-term-i-wish-to-express-the-result-of-that/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [If I am ever obscure in my expressions, do not fancy that therefore I am deep. If I were really deep, all the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/if-i-am-ever-obscure-in-my-expressions-do-not-fancy-that-therefore-i/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Those clouds are angels' robes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/those-clouds-are-angels-robes/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-one-of-those-men-who-possess-almost-every-gift-except-the-gift/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Do you feel that you have lost your way in life? Then God Himself will show you your way. Are you utterly helpless, worn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/do-you-feel-that-you-have-lost-your-way-in-life-then-god-himself-will/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [My friends, let us try to follow the Saviour's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/my-friends-let-us-try-to-follow-the-saviour-s-steps-let-us-remember/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [We have used the Bible as if it was a mere special constable's handbook — an opium-dose for keeping beasts of burden patient while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/we-have-used-the-bible-as-if-it-was-a-mere-special-constable-s/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [He was not only, I soon discovered, a water drinker, but a strict vegetarian, to which, perhaps, he owed a great deal of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/he-was-not-only-i-soon-discovered-a-water-drinker-but-a-strict/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Look at the bow in the cloud, in the very rain itself. That is a sign that the sun, though you cannot see it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/look-at-the-bow-in-the-cloud-in-the-very-rain-itself-that-is-a-sign/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Beauty is God's handwriting — a wayside sacrament; welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank for it Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/beauty-is-god-s-handwriting-a-wayside-sacrament-welcome-it-in-every/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Men must work, and women must weep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/men-must-work-and-women-must-weep/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [... the heroism of the average mother. Ah! When I think of that broad fact, I gather hope again for poor humanity; and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/the-heroism-of-the-average-mother-ah-when-i-think-of-that-broad-fact/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [“Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book. A message to us from the dead - from human souls we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/except-a-living-man-there-is-nothing-more-wonderful-than-a-book-a/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/be-good-sweet-maid-and-let-who-will-be-clever/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) > [Music has been called the speech of the angels; I will go farther and call it the speech of God Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kingsley/music-has-been-called-the-speech-of-the-angels-i-will-go-farther-and/) [Charles Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) [Explore all 199 Charles Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kingsley/) ## 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": "“There is nothing more wonderful than a book. 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