--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you look at my personal library, you…" description: "\"If you look at my personal library, you will notice that it ranges from Henry James to Steig Larsson, from Margaret Atwood to Max Hastings. There's Jan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_austen_if-you-look-at-my-personal-library-you-w_802493.jpg" --- # If you look at my personal library, you will notice that… ![“If you look at my personal library, you will notice that it ranges from Henry James to Steig Larsson, from Margaret Atwood to Max Hastings. There's Jane Austen and Tom Perrotta and volumes of letters from Civil War privates. It's pretty eclectic.” quote by Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_austen_if-you-look-at-my-personal-library-you-w_802493.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_austen_if-you-look-at-my-personal-library-you-w_802493.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b7/chris-bohjalian-8312_austen_if-you-look-at-my-personal-library-you-w_802493.jpg) > “If you look at my personal library, you will notice that it ranges from Henry James to Steig Larsson, from Margaret Atwood to Max Hastings. There's Jane Austen and Tom Perrotta and volumes of letters from Civil War privates. It's pretty eclectic.” [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker highlights a diverse personal book collection spanning classic and contemporary authors, showing broad literary taste. **In simple terms:** A wide range of books reflects varied interests. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse reading to broaden perspective. Themes literature diversity curiosity Mood reflective enthusiastic Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - building a personal library - gift recommendations - literary discussions - academic research Key Concepts eclecticism cultural literacy personal identity Questions to Reflect On - Which author has influenced you most? - How does eclectic reading shape your worldview? A Different Perspective A broad collection may lack depth in any single area. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Personal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Margaret Atwood was the author who took me out of children's literature and guided me towards adult literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/margaret-atwood-was-the-author-who-took-me-out-of-children-s/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [I think women do write politically all the time. Margaret Atwood does; Doris Lessing does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-think-women-do-write-politically-all-the-time-margaret-atwood-does/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [My books are often shelved around those of Chinua Achebe and Margaret Atwood, or Chimamanda Adichie and Monica Ali. All of this depends, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-books-are-often-shelved-around-those-of-chinua-achebe-and-margaret/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [I got four volumes of the letters and speeches of Oliver Cromwell. He is prominent among the great unread, and treated so oddly by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-got-four-volumes-of-the-letters-and-speeches-of-oliver-cromwell-he/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“A personal library is an X-ray of the owner’s soul. It offers keys to a particular temperament, an intellectual disposition, a way of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-parini/a-personal-library-is-an-x-ray-of-the-owner-s-soul-it-offers-keys-to/) [Jay Parini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-parini/) > [I have a couple of thousand books in my personal library. Choosing a favorite is next to impossible. But I do love the written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/i-have-a-couple-of-thousand-books-in-my-personal-library-choosing-a/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [My personal style is pretty eclectic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-port/my-personal-style-is-pretty-eclectic/) [Whitney Port](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-port/) > [I feel like I have a pretty eclectic taste in music and art, so for every song I can see a different kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-deradoorian/i-feel-like-i-have-a-pretty-eclectic-taste-in-music-and-art-so-for/) Angel Deradoorian > [A personal library is a reflection of who you are and who you want to be, of what you value and what you desire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-personal-library-is-a-reflection-of-who-you-are-and-who-you-want-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I have a pretty eclectic taste in the movies that I like to watch, and also in the movies that I'm inspired to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-have-a-pretty-eclectic-taste-in-the-movies-that-i-like-to-watch-and/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [“Getting rid of most of my personal library comported nicely with my longheld fantasy of traveling light, existing with minimal encumbrances, living simply. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-epstein/getting-rid-of-most-of-my-personal-library-comported-nicely-with-my/) [Joseph Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-epstein/) > [I think one thing you could probably say for all my albums is that they're all pretty eclectic pop. There's always a little bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-clarkson/i-think-one-thing-you-could-probably-say-for-all-my-albums-is-that/) [Kelly Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-clarkson/) > [Margaret Atwood, the Canadian novelist, once asked a group of women at a university why they felt threatened by men. The women said they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/margaret-atwood-the-canadian-novelist-once-asked-a-group-of-women-at/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > ['The Handmaid's Tale' takes place in the near future, a dystopian future, and is based on the book by Margaret Atwood. It takes place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-bledel/the-handmaid-s-tale-takes-place-in-the-near-future-a-dystopian-future/) [Alexis Bledel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-bledel/) > [I don't think it's any fun, even if you are one of the most respected authors in the world like Margaret Atwood, to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/i-don-t-think-it-s-any-fun-even-if-you-are-one-of-the-most-respected/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) ## More by Chris Bohjalian > [I think the most important lesson isn't necessarily to try and write a different book every time, or to try and brand yourself and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/i-think-the-most-important-lesson-isn-t-necessarily-to-try-and-write/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [The honest answer is more complex. On some level I was sent. Or inspired. Or called. But my calling, such as it was, wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/the-honest-answer-is-more-complex-on-some-level-i-was-sent-or/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“A term came to her that they used on occasion at the shelter: the double bind...They used the expression in much the same way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/a-term-came-to-her-that-they-used-on-occasion-at-the-shelter-the/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“But history does matter. There are lines connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Serbs and the Rwandans. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/but-history-does-matter-there-are-lines-connecting-the-armenians-and/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/what-is-most-important-to-me-is-that-my-narrator-s-voice-is/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [He defined himself almost wholly in the negative: It was not who he was, it was who he was not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/he-defined-himself-almost-wholly-in-the-negative-it-was-not-who-he/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“A moment later, all of the men at the party, stupefied by the way the hooker had gone banshee,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/a-moment-later-all-of-the-men-at-the-party-stupefied-by-the-way-the/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“Those who participate in a genocide as well as those who merely look away rarely volunteer much in the way of anecdote or observation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/those-who-participate-in-a-genocide-as-well-as-those-who-merely-look/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“The Beatrice that obsessed Dante was a Florentine named Bice di Folco Portinari. Envision this moment (and, in all fairness, I am envisioning it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/the-beatrice-that-obsessed-dante-was-a-florentine-named-bice-di-folco/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“Boys look at us like we look at horses: color, height, eyes. tail. They can't help but have preferences.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/boys-look-at-us-like-we-look-at-horses-color-height-eyes-tail-they/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [He recalls what that first German soldier said to his major: No God-not yours or mine-approves of what you're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/he-recalls-what-that-first-german-soldier-said-to-his-major-no-god/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“But she insists the family hadn’t a choice. Not true. We always have choices. Isn’t that what Dante teaches us? I really have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/but-she-insists-the-family-hadn-t-a-choice-not-true-we-always-have/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [“I love it when the snowflakes are flying like butterflies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/i-love-it-when-the-snowflakes-are-flying-like-butterflies/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [Why a ghost story? Well, I love them. They're fun to read - and, yes, fun to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/why-a-ghost-story-well-i-love-them-they-re-fun-to-read-and-yes-fun-to/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [The reality is that most of North America knows next to nothing of the 20th centurys first genocide - the systematic slaughter of 1.5…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/the-reality-is-that-most-of-north-america-knows-next-to-nothing-of/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) [Explore all 82 Chris Bohjalian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) ## More Austen quotes > [The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/the-difficulty-with-poetry-is-that-it-doesn-t-have-the-life-that/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [Look at Jane Austen. Her characters derive in a reasonably straight line from fairy tales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davies/look-at-jane-austen-her-characters-derive-in-a-reasonably-straight/) [Andrew Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davies/) > [“The celestial brightness of Pride and Prejudice is unequalled even in Jane Austen's other work; after a life of much disappointment and grief, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jenkins/the-celestial-brightness-of-pride-and-prejudice-is-unequalled-even-in/) [Elizabeth Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jenkins/) > [It has been suggested that Tiptree is female, a theory that I find absurd, for there is to me something ineluctably masculine about Tiptree’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-silverberg/it-has-been-suggested-that-tiptree-is-female-a-theory-that-i-find/) [Robert Silverberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-silverberg/) > [Had Elizabeth Bennet known how wildly Darcy's heart beat for her, 'Pride and Prejudice' would barely have made it into a short story. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [ “\[Jane\] Austen was not a novelist for nothing: she knew that our stories are what make us human, and that listening to someone else's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-deresiewicz/jane-austen-was-not-a-novelist-for-nothing-she-knew-that-our-stories/) [William Deresiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-deresiewicz/) > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-van/you-know-somewhere-a-jane-austen-angel-just-lost-her-wings-over-you/) Nichole Van > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/gratitude-not-merely-for-having-once-loved-her-but-for-loving-her/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [I grew up on Jane Austen novels and was a massive literature fanatic when I was a kid - I read everything I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-king/i-grew-up-on-jane-austen-novels-and-was-a-massive-literature-fanatic/) [Georgia King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-king/) > [“I don't care a whit for Society. I think people should only marry someone who can offer them some bit of affection. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-st-george/i-don-t-care-a-whit-for-society-i-think-people-should-only-marry/) Harper St. George > [“Does everybody know everything in this town!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaishnavi-nair-k/does-everybody-know-everything-in-this-town/) [Vaishnavi Nair K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaishnavi-nair-k/) > [“People don't say what they mean very often. You have to read between the lines of their behavior, of what they say, to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-frank/people-don-t-say-what-they-mean-very-often-you-have-to-read-between/) [M.C. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-frank/) Browse all 292 Austen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you look at my personal library, you will notice that it ranges from Henry James to Steig Larsson, from Margaret Atwood to Max Hastings. There's Jane Austen and Tom Perrotta and volumes of letters from Civil War privates. 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