--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many books have mattered enormously to my…" description: "\"Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work. 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens would be one of several contenders for 'most influentia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cheryl-mendelson-30246_books_many-books-have-mattered-enormously-to-m_3041395.jpg" --- # Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work… ![“Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work. 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens would be one of several contenders for 'most influential.' I first read it at 13 and have reread it dozens of times since.” quote by Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cheryl-mendelson-30246_books_many-books-have-mattered-enormously-to-m_3041395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cheryl-mendelson-30246_books_many-books-have-mattered-enormously-to-m_3041395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fa9/cheryl-mendelson-30246_books_many-books-have-mattered-enormously-to-m_3041395.jpg) > “Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work. 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens would be one of several contenders for 'most influential.' I first read it at 13 and have reread it dozens of times since.” [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature can profoundly shape personal and professional identity, offering lasting influence. **In simple terms:** Books shape who we become. Key Takeaway Read works that challenge and inspire you. Themes literature influence growth Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - career development - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative identity cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - Which book changed your path? - How do you apply literary lessons to work? A Different Perspective Influence varies by individual experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Actually the contents of these books mattered little. What did matter was what they first felt when they went into the library, where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/actually-the-contents-of-these-books-mattered-little-what-did-matter/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [As a schoolboy, I loved Charles Dickens. His 'David Copperfield' has had the strongest influence on me - I looked up to David Copperfield…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/as-a-schoolboy-i-loved-charles-dickens-his-david-copperfield-has-had/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [“(from his random observations after reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens) In the Old Curiosity Shop I discovered that in the character of Dick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/from-his-random-observations-after-reading-david-copperfield-by/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Almost none of them understood Great Expectations or David Copperfield, anyway. They were not only too young for the Dickensian language, they were also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/almost-none-of-them-understood-great-expectations-or-david/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [An adaptation I was working on of Trollope's 'The Pallisers' has been axed by the BBC... I was also going to do Dickens' 'Dombey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/an-adaptation-i-was-working-on-of-trollope-s-the-pallisers-has-been/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“David Copperfield has no magic in him. I'm talking about Santa flying around the world in one night kind of magic. Pumpkins transformed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-strand/david-copperfield-has-no-magic-in-him-i-m-talking-about-santa-flying/) Sydney Strand > [“This is where the pivotal events of my childhood unfolded, while I ate banana and root beer Popsicles, two by two, tucking the sticks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-ann-beard/this-is-where-the-pivotal-events-of-my-childhood-unfolded-while-i-ate/) [Jo Ann Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-ann-beard/) > [“Why a widow should raise an attractive or pathetic image in one’s mind, or at the worst something rather bold and dashing, while widower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-thirkell/why-a-widow-should-raise-an-attractive-or-pathetic-image-in-one-s/) [Angela Thirkell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-thirkell/) > ['Bleak House' remains a great novel for me, and I love 'David Copperfield.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-perkins/bleak-house-remains-a-great-novel-for-me-and-i-love-david-copperfield/) [Sue Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-perkins/) > [Boy George has been charged with falsely imprisoning a man who'd gone to his apartment to pose for photographs. Going to Boy George's house…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/boy-george-has-been-charged-with-falsely-imprisoning-a-man-who-d-gone/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [“Homer Wells was in Wally’s room, reading David Copperfield and thinking about Heaven – ‘…that sky above me, where, in the mystery to come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/homer-wells-was-in-wally-s-room-reading-david-copperfield-and/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ It's so funny, all the similarities that we have \[with David Copperfield\] of being obsessed young people and finding a way to be around… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/it-s-so-funny-all-the-similarities-that-we-have-with-david/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [“My Dear Mrs Winter. (I had half a mind when I dipped my pen in the ink, to address you by your old natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-dear-mrs-winter-i-had-half-a-mind-when-i-dipped-my-pen-in-the-ink/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [ I remember realizing, when I did Little Women \[1994\], that that was the only time girls that age were being written about. It was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-ryder/i-remember-realizing-when-i-did-little-women-1994-that-that-was-the/) [Winona Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-ryder/) > [A federal grand jury is investigating allegations that David Copperfield raped, assaulted and threatened a woman he took to his private island in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/a-federal-grand-jury-is-investigating-allegations-that-david/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) ## More by Cheryl Mendelson > [“Being perceived as excessively domestic can get you socially ostracized. When I made hand-rolled pasta for a dinner, I learned the hard way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/being-perceived-as-excessively-domestic-can-get-you-socially/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“To taste its best, wine, especially red wine, must be uncorked and exposed to the air for a period of time before it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/to-taste-its-best-wine-especially-red-wine-must-be-uncorked-and/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [Yet housekeeping actually offers more opportunities for savoring achievement than almost any other work I can think of. Each of its regular routines brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/yet-housekeeping-actually-offers-more-opportunities-for-savoring/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [I am a working woman with a secret life: I keep house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/i-am-a-working-woman-with-a-secret-life-i-keep-house/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“What really does work to increase the feeling of having a home and its comforts is housekeeping. Housekeeping creates cleanliness, order, regularity, beauty, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/what-really-does-work-to-increase-the-feeling-of-having-a-home-and/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“I managed to persevere partly because not everyone responded with that stare; there was enthusiasm as well. And I was struck that no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/i-managed-to-persevere-partly-because-not-everyone-responded-with/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“Hair burns very quickly. If you have long hair, tie it back securely when you are cooking, building a fire in the fireplace, lighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/hair-burns-very-quickly-if-you-have-long-hair-tie-it-back-securely/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“The part of me that enjoys housekeeping and the comforts it provides is central to my character. Until now, I have almost entirely concealed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/the-part-of-me-that-enjoys-housekeeping-and-the-comforts-it-provides/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [I myself love getting cookbooks and novels that some congenial person has already tried and liked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/i-myself-love-getting-cookbooks-and-novels-that-some-congenial-person/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“What really does work to increase the feeling of having a home and its comforts is housekeeping. Housekeeping creates cleanliness, order, regularity, beauty, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/what-really-does-work-to-increase-the-feeling-of-having-a-home-and-2/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“He was a man whose calmness reflected his confidence that he meant whatever he did-- which is different... from confidence that whatever he did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/he-was-a-man-whose-calmness-reflected-his-confidence-that-he-meant/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [“Brew black tea for three to five minutes; oolong for about five minutes; and green teas for only a minute or two.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/brew-black-tea-for-three-to-five-minutes-oolong-for-about-five/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [I listen to lots of music, especially Bach, opera (all periods), German lieder, chamber music, and rock, old and new. I can't listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/i-listen-to-lots-of-music-especially-bach-opera-all-periods-german/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [We have, instead (of soot and dirt), disorganization. We have this proliferation of goods. It's the disease of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/we-have-instead-of-soot-and-dirt-disorganization-we-have-this/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) > [So many people imagine housekeeping to be boring, frustrating, repetitive, unintelligent drudgery. I cannot agree. In fact, having kept house, practiced law, taught, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-mendelson/so-many-people-imagine-housekeeping-to-be-boring-frustrating/) [Cheryl Mendelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) [Explore all 17 Cheryl Mendelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-mendelson/) ## 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": "Many books have mattered enormously to my life and work. 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens would be one of several contenders for 'most influential.' 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