---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Good books leave an impression. Great…"
description: "\"Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter the way you think about what it means to be alive. You Disappear is not just a well-told stor..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg"
---

#  Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter…

![“Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter the way you think about what it means to be alive. You Disappear is not just a well-told story, but a dramatic recalibrating of what it means to have a mind-and a soul.” quote by Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg)

> “Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter the way you think about what it means to be alive. You Disappear is not just a well-told story, but a dramatic recalibrating of what it means to have a mind-and a soul.”

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

## About This Quote

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

Great books reshape our perception of life, mind, and soul, leaving lasting impact.

**In simple terms:** Great books change how we view life.

Key Takeaway

Read to transform your worldview.

Themes

literature philosophy identity

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal growth
- creative writing

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- Which book changed your life?
- How does literature affect self‑understanding?

A Different Perspective

Interpretation varies across readers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Dramatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dramatic/) [Good book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-book/) [Good books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-books/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [If you read books forever and ever, they will never replace what really counts - that's practical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-needham/if-you-read-books-forever-and-ever-they-will-never-replace-what/)

[Hal Needham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-needham/)

> [I'd like to be born the son of a duke with 90,000 pounds a year, on an enormous estate… And I'd like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-francis-burton/i-d-like-to-be-born-the-son-of-a-duke-with-90-000-pounds-a-year-on-an/)

[Richard Francis Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-francis-burton/)

> [All politicians know that every 'temporary' political initiative promised as a short-term poultice stays on the books forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/all-politicians-know-that-every-temporary-political-initiative/)

[Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/)

> [“I know that as long as my book is out there—and books are forever—what happened in Prijedor is not going to be forgotten, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanela-ramic-jurich/i-know-that-as-long-as-my-book-is-out-there-and-books-are-forever/)

Sanela Ramic Jurich

> [“Films are for Fridays, books are forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piyush-jha/films-are-for-fridays-books-are-forever/)

Piyush Jha

> [If there is one thing I hope my books do always and forever, it's that they honor working people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/if-there-is-one-thing-i-hope-my-books-do-always-and-forever-it-s-that/)

[Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/)

> [Maybe the best thing to do with favorite books is to leave them be: to achieve such exalted position means that they entered your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/maybe-the-best-thing-to-do-with-favorite-books-is-to-leave-them-be-to/)

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

> [Some books leave us free and some books make us free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/some-books-leave-us-free-and-some-books-make-us-free/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [When books leave you physically and emotionally drained, you know it was a good one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-books-leave-you-physically-and-emotionally-drained-you-know-it/)

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

> [In water, like in books—you can leave your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/in-water-like-in-books-you-can-leave-your-life/)

[Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/)

> [“To put an end to the spirit of inquiry that has characterized the West it is not necessary to burn the books. All we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/to-put-an-end-to-the-spirit-of-inquiry-that-has-characterized-the/)

[Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/)

> [Books leave gestures in the body; a certain way of moving, of turning, a certain closing of the eyes, a way of leaving, hesitations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dionne-brand/books-leave-gestures-in-the-body-a-certain-way-of-moving-of-turning-a/)

[Dionne Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dionne-brand/)

> [I cannot write long books; I leave that for those who have nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-green/i-cannot-write-long-books-i-leave-that-for-those-who-have-nothing-to/)

[Celia Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-green/)

> [A good book ... leaves you wanting to reread the book. A great book compels you to reread your own soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/a-good-book-leaves-you-wanting-to-reread-the-book-a-great-book/)

[Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/)

> [“There are so many good books waiting to be read, I’ll never go back and read one twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-baker/there-are-so-many-good-books-waiting-to-be-read-i-ll-never-go-back/)

[Deb Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-baker/)

## More by Dara Horn

> [The wicked will run to the iron bridge, but it will collapse under their weight. The righteous will cross the paper bridge, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/the-wicked-will-run-to-the-iron-bridge-but-it-will-collapse-under/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“I believe that when people die, they go to the same place as all the people who haven’t yet been born. That’s why it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/i-believe-that-when-people-die-they-go-to-the-same-place-as-all-the/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“Ben, everything is going to get better," he heard her say in the void. "Really. It has to get better, because it can't get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/ben-everything-is-going-to-get-better-he-heard-her-say-in-the-void/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [Love your fellow, and not just those who agree with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/love-your-fellow-and-not-just-those-who-agree-with-you/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [And the reward when good people die - her mother paused, swallowed, paused again - the reward when good people die is that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/and-the-reward-when-good-people-die-her-mother-paused-swallowed/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [Time itself is created through deeds of true kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/time-itself-is-created-through-deeds-of-true-kindness/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“There is a moment that has happened over and over again, in every place children have ever slept, on every dark night for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/there-is-a-moment-that-has-happened-over-and-over-again-in-every/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“Hair in darkness doesn’t feel the way it does in light. In light, you can touch a person’s hair and not feel it at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/hair-in-darkness-doesn-t-feel-the-way-it-does-in-light-in-light-you/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“School is a terrible place, I have decided. There is nothing good about it except for math class. Everything else is a total waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/school-is-a-terrible-place-i-have-decided-there-is-nothing-good-about/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [Children are often envied for their supposed imaginations, but the truth is that adults imagine things far more than children do. Most adults wander…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/children-are-often-envied-for-their-supposed-imaginations-but-the/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“She didn’t know exactly when she had first felt the sensation of regret. It was a physical sensation, a shudder that began deep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/she-didn-t-know-exactly-when-she-had-first-felt-the-sensation-of/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“But there is also something inherently shameful in the rescuer-rescued relationship - the humiliation of being reduced to depending on another person for survival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/but-there-is-also-something-inherently-shameful-in-the-rescuer/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“...she smiled - and time was created.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/she-smiled-and-time-was-created/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“Do you think I'm deaf?" the deaf beggar asked. "I'm not deaf at all. It's just that it isn't worth hearing a whole world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/do-you-think-i-m-deaf-the-deaf-beggar-asked-i-m-not-deaf-at-all-it-s/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

> [“His dreams contained no stories at all, but only the hard stones of thoughts: the unimaginably unlikely coincidence of being alive at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/his-dreams-contained-no-stories-at-all-but-only-the-hard-stones-of/)

[Dara Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

[Explore all 18 Dara Horn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/)

## More Alive quotes

> [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/)

Adam Ant

> [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/)

[David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/)

> [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/)

[Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/)

> [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/)

[Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/)

> [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/)

[David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/)

> [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/)

[James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/)

> [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/)

[Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/)

> [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/)

[Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/)

> [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/)

[Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/)

> [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/)

[Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/)

> [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/)

[William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/)

[Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter the way you think about what it means to be alive. You Disappear is not just a well-told story, but a dramatic recalibrating of what it means to have a mind-and a soul.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Dara Horn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/good-books-leave-an-impression-great-books-forever-alter-the-way-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alive"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/good-books-leave-an-impression-great-books-forever-alter-the-way-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cec/dara-horn-27319_alive_good-books-leave-an-impression-great-boo_2618572.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Good books leave an impression. Great books forever alter the way you think about what it means to be alive…” — Dara Horn",
                "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": "Dara Horn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dara-horn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Good books leave an impression. Great...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/good-books-leave-an-impression-great-books-forever-alter-the-way-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dara-horn/good-books-leave-an-impression-great-books-forever-alter-the-way-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
