---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We visit bookshops not so often to buy…"
description: "\"We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to rediscover, in the happier and more expressive words of others, our own encu..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png"
---

#  We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special…

![“We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to rediscover, in the happier and more expressive words of others, our own encumbered soul.” quote by Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png)

> “We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to rediscover, in the happier and more expressive words of others, our own encumbered soul.”

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

We go to bookstores to find reflections of ourselves in others' expressive writing, not just for a specific title.

**In simple terms:** Bookstores help us understand ourselves through others' words.

Key Takeaway

Seek personal insight in shared literature.

Themes

self‑discovery literature reflection

Mood

contemplative nostalgic

Type

reflective inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal growth
- reading for insight
- creative writing
- therapy

Key Concepts

psychology literary analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- How do others' words reveal your hidden feelings?
- What does rediscovering yourself through reading mean?

A Different Perspective

May overlook practical needs for books.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bookshops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookshops/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [I didn't go to bookshops to buy. That's a little bourgeois. I went because they were civilized places. It made me happy there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pinto/i-didn-t-go-to-bookshops-to-buy-that-s-a-little-bourgeois-i-went/)

[Jerry Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pinto/)

> [Living in a bookshop is like living in a warehouse of explosives. Those shelves are ranked with the most furious combustibles in the world--the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/living-in-a-bookshop-is-like-living-in-a-warehouse-of-explosives/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [When my first novel was published, I went in great excitement round bookshops in central London to see if they had stocked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/when-my-first-novel-was-published-i-went-in-great-excitement-round/)

[Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/)

> [“It's the same with books, you see mounds of them in bookshops and you want to read them all, or at least to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-s-neuman/it-s-the-same-with-books-you-see-mounds-of-them-in-bookshops-and-you/)

[Andrés Neuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-s-neuman/)

> [I was brought up in a home where I saw my parents read and I was taken to bookshops and libraries, so I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/i-was-brought-up-in-a-home-where-i-saw-my-parents-read-and-i-was/)

[Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/)

> [I travel a lot, so when I arrive in a city, I like to go to good local bookshops and make a selection based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/i-travel-a-lot-so-when-i-arrive-in-a-city-i-like-to-go-to-good-local/)

[Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/)

> [In a town like London there are always plenty of not quite certifiable lunatics walking the streets, and they tend to gravitate towards bookshops,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-a-town-like-london-there-are-always-plenty-of-not-quite/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [I am very happy in second-hand bookshops; would a gardener not be happy in a garden?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/i-am-very-happy-in-second-hand-bookshops-would-a-gardener-not-be/)

[Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/)

> [So often, a visit to a bookshop has cheered me, and reminded me that there are good things in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/so-often-a-visit-to-a-bookshop-has-cheered-me-and-reminded-me-that/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

> [My husband claims I have an unhealthy obsession with secondhand bookshops. That I spend too much time daydreaming altogether. But either you intrinsically understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-tessaro/my-husband-claims-i-have-an-unhealthy-obsession-with-secondhand/)

[Kathleen Tessaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-tessaro/)

> [A good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-good-bookshop-is-just-a-genteel-black-hole-that-knows-how-to-read/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [Well, this is a story about books." About books?" About accursed books, about a man who wrote them, about a character who broke out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/well-this-is-a-story-about-books-about-books-about-accursed-books/)

[Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/)

> [Quite often I can be in a bookshop, standing beneath a great big picture of myself and paying for a book with a credit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/quite-often-i-can-be-in-a-bookshop-standing-beneath-a-great-big/)

[John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/)

> [If your memory was OK you could descend upon on a bookshop – a big enough one so that the staff wouldn’t hassle a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/if-your-memory-was-ok-you-could-descend-upon-on-a-bookshop-a-big/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [“A bookshop is a peaceful sanctuary of silent voices waiting to heard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mala-naidoo/a-bookshop-is-a-peaceful-sanctuary-of-silent-voices-waiting-to-heard/)

[Mala Naidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mala-naidoo/)

## More by Christopher Morley

> [Beware of the conversationalist who adds "in other words." He is merely starting afresh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/beware-of-the-conversationalist-who-adds-in-other-words-he-is-merely/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [That's what this country needs -- more books!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/that-s-what-this-country-needs-more-books/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [Between ourselves, there is no such thing, abstractly, as a 'good' book. A book is 'good' only when it meets some human hunger or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/between-ourselves-there-is-no-such-thing-abstractly-as-a-good-book-a/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [All cities are mad: but the madness is gallant. All cities are beautiful: but the beauty is grim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/all-cities-are-mad-but-the-madness-is-gallant-all-cities-are/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [People like to imagine that because all our mechanical equipment moves so much faster, that we are thinking faster, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/people-like-to-imagine-that-because-all-our-mechanical-equipment/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [“There are three ingredients in the good life: learning, earning, and yearning. A man should be learning as he goes; and he should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/there-are-three-ingredients-in-the-good-life-learning-earning-and/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [A critic is a gong at a railroad crossing clanging loudly and vainly as the train goes by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/a-critic-is-a-gong-at-a-railroad-crossing-clanging-loudly-and-vainly/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [Friendships do not grow up in any carefully tended and contemplated fashion… They begin haphazard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/friendships-do-not-grow-up-in-any-carefully-tended-and-contemplated/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/the-real-purpose-of-books-is-to-trap-the-mind-into-doing-its-own/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/if-we-discovered-that-we-had-only-five-minutes-left-to-say-all-that/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [The censure of a dog is something no man can stand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/the-censure-of-a-dog-is-something-no-man-can-stand/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [High heels were invented by a woman who had been kissed on the forehead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/high-heels-were-invented-by-a-woman-who-had-been-kissed-on-the/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [The courage of the poet is to keep ajar the door that leads into madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/the-courage-of-the-poet-is-to-keep-ajar-the-door-that-leads-into/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [“Calling us men doesn't make us men. No creature on earth has a right to think himself a human being if he doesn't know at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/calling-us-men-doesn-t-make-us-men-no-creature-on-earth-has-a-right/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [A human being: an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/a-human-being-an-ingenious-assembly-of-portable-plumbing/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

[Explore all 150 Christopher Morley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

## 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": "We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to rediscover, in the happier and more expressive words of others, our own encumbered soul.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Morley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-any-one-special-book-but/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-any-one-special-book-but/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f38/christopher-morley-2772_book_we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-a_2041979.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We visit bookshops not so often to buy any one special book, but rather to rediscover, in the happier and…” — Christopher Morley",
                "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": "Christopher Morley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We visit bookshops not so often...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-any-one-special-book-but/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/we-visit-bookshops-not-so-often-to-buy-any-one-special-book-but/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
