---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather spend my money on books than…"
description: "\"“I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary electricity...”\" — Cornelia Funke"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png"
---

#  I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary…

![“I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary electricity...” quote by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png)

> ““I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary electricity...””

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

## About This Quote

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

Preferring to spend money on books rather than unnecessary electricity.

**In simple terms:** Spend on books, not wasteful electricity.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize reading over excess.

Themes

reading frugality values

Mood

thoughtful practical

Type

personal environmental

When to use this quote

- budget planning
- library visits
- eco‑friendly habits

Key Concepts

literature environmental ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What books inspire you?
- How can you reduce energy waste?

A Different Perspective

Electricity may be essential for some.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-unnecessary-3352339/) [Insperational-thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insperational-thoughts/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-books-1565923/) [Spend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend/) [Spend money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-money/) [Unnecessary Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unnecessary-electricity-3352338/)

## Related quotes

> [I don't want anyone writing in to point out that I spend too much money on books, many of which I will never read.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-don-t-want-anyone-writing-in-to-point-out-that-i-spend-too-much/)

[Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/)

> [Part of the problem I find with money books is that there's this whole set of money books that make you feel almost guilty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hill-harper/part-of-the-problem-i-find-with-money-books-is-that-there-s-this/)

[Hill Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hill-harper/)

> [I spend a frightening amount of money on books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccloud/i-spend-a-frightening-amount-of-money-on-books/)

[Kevin McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccloud/)

> [Publishers are in business to make money, and if your books do well they don't care if you are male, female, or an elephant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/publishers-are-in-business-to-make-money-and-if-your-books-do-well/)

[Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/)

> [“I can lend you my money not my books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-can-lend-you-my-money-not-my-books/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [First, people don't read novels off screens, and they don't have a tendency to shell out real money for books when they don't retain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-l-chalker/first-people-don-t-read-novels-off-screens-and-they-don-t-have-a/)

[Jack L. Chalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-l-chalker/)

> [“We where not put on this earth to be ordinary, we where created to be extraordinary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-owen/we-where-not-put-on-this-earth-to-be-ordinary-we-where-created-to-be/)

[Frederick Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-owen/)

> [“Life is a journey, but the best is who creates the most beautiful difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-mandez/life-is-a-journey-but-the-best-is-who-creates-the-most-beautiful/)

[Adele Mandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-mandez/)

> [“Knowledge is the greatest power and it is something no one can see. It cannot be stolen or broken, No one can take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carrick/knowledge-is-the-greatest-power-and-it-is-something-no-one-can-see-it/)

[John Carrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carrick/)

> [We need to boost each other to get to the top. It is much more effective than stepping on each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/we-need-to-boost-each-other-to-get-to-the-top-it-is-much-more/)

[Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/)

> [“I cant tell you the key to succsess, but the key to faliure is trying to please everyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-tell-you-the-key-to-succsess-but-the-key-to-faliure-is-trying/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“What you verbalize, you internalize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evinda-lepins/what-you-verbalize-you-internalize/)

[Evinda Lepins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evinda-lepins/)

> [“Before seeking the true value of things, you must first define its true meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-mandez/before-seeking-the-true-value-of-things-you-must-first-define-its/)

[Adele Mandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-mandez/)

> [“The best footprint always leaves a beautful memory in the sand of our heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele-mandez/the-best-footprint-always-leaves-a-beautful-memory-in-the-sand-of-our/)

[Adele Mandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele-mandez/)

> [Never let the opinion of another affect your opinion of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/never-let-the-opinion-of-another-affect-your-opinion-of-yourself/)

[Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/)

## More by Cornelia Funke

> [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [“A story is a labyrinth, it looks as if there were several ways to go, but only one is right, and there's a nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-story-is-a-labyrinth-it-looks-as-if-there-were-several-ways-to-go/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. When she didn't pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/he-put-his-hands-on-her-shoulders-and-kissed-her-full-on-the-mouth/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [Don't let it worry you, not being able to speak,'Dustfinger had often told her. 'People tend not to listen anyway, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/don-t-let-it-worry-you-not-being-able-to-speak-dustfinger-had-often/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [“And he will have a great aunt called Elinor who tells him there's a world not like this one. A world with neither fairies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/and-he-will-have-a-great-aunt-called-elinor-who-tells-him-there-s-a/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [“Yes, Mo would come. Meggie could think of nothing else as Fenoglio led her away with him, his arm around her as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/yes-mo-would-come-meggie-could-think-of-nothing-else-as-fenoglio-led/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [When it came to hiding, even Gwin had nothing to teach Dustfinger. A strange sense of curiosity had always driven him to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/when-it-came-to-hiding-even-gwin-had-nothing-to-teach-dustfinger-a/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [Because fear kills everything," Mo had once told her. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-fear-kills-everything-mo-had-once-told-her-your-mind-your/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [Perhaps there's another, much larger story behind the printed one, a story that changes just as our own world does. And the letters on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/perhaps-there-s-another-much-larger-story-behind-the-printed-one-a/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [Mo could paint pictures in the empty air with his voice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/mo-could-paint-pictures-in-the-empty-air-with-his-voice-alone/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [I remember the feeling. Whenever my father got so absorbed in a book that we might have been in visible I felt like taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-remember-the-feeling-whenever-my-father-got-so-absorbed-in-a-book/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [I wish you luck,' she said, kissing him on the cheek. He still had the most beautiful eyes of any boy she'd ever seen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-wish-you-luck-she-said-kissing-him-on-the-cheek-he-still-had-the/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [Because by now Elinor had understood this, too: A longing for books was nothing compared with what you could feel for human beings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-by-now-elinor-had-understood-this-too-a-longing-for-books-was/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

> [The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal. The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-night-breathed-through-the-apartment-like-a-dark-animal-the/)

[Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

[Explore all 286 Cornelia Funke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/)

## 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": "“I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary electricity...”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Cornelia Funke"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than-unnecessary-electricity/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than-unnecessary-electricity/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d23/cornelia-funke-908_books_i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than_2787076.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I'd rather spend my money on books than unnecessary electricity...” — Cornelia Funke",
                "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": "Cornelia Funke",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I'd rather spend my money on...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than-unnecessary-electricity/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-d-rather-spend-my-money-on-books-than-unnecessary-electricity/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
