--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We possess books we read, animating the…" description: "\"We possess books we read, animating the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us with thoughts and observations, askin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/david-l-ulin-57829_asking_we-possess-books-we-read-animating-the-w_1238316.jpg" --- # We possess books we read, animating the waiting stillness… ![“We possess books we read, animating the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us with thoughts and observations, asking us to make them part of ourselves.” quote by David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/david-l-ulin-57829_asking_we-possess-books-we-read-animating-the-w_1238316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/david-l-ulin-57829_asking_we-possess-books-we-read-animating-the-w_1238316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0db/david-l-ulin-57829_asking_we-possess-books-we-read-animating-the-w_1238316.jpg) > “We possess books we read, animating the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us with thoughts and observations, asking us to make them part of ourselves.” [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading shapes us as much as we shape the text, creating a two‑way exchange of ideas and identity. **In simple terms:** Books change us while we change them. Key Takeaway Recognize and integrate the ideas you encounter. Themes literature self‑development identity exchange Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal growth - creative projects - education - writing Key Concepts cognitive resonance reflective reading Questions to Reflect On - How do you let a book influence your actions? - What parts of a story become part of you? A Different Perspective If you ignore a book’s impact, you miss personal growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [To have another language is to possess a second soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlemagne/to-have-another-language-is-to-possess-a-second-soul/) [Charlemagne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlemagne/) > [To possess another language is to possess another soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/to-possess-another-language-is-to-possess-another-soul/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“The hours tick by as I lie in bed. Memories keep surfacing, tormenting me into unbelievable sadness. I can't bring myself to move. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-earley/the-hours-tick-by-as-i-lie-in-bed-memories-keep-surfacing-tormenting/) Ashley Earley > [There is poetry as soon as we realize that we possess nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/there-is-poetry-as-soon-as-we-realize-that-we-possess-nothing/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [I don't believe that if you love somebody you have to possess him, live with him or marry him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-dutta/i-don-t-believe-that-if-you-love-somebody-you-have-to-possess-him/) [Lara Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-dutta/) > [When we consider the fact that nearly three-quarters of the surface of the globe is covered by oceanic water, we begin to realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-v-raman/when-we-consider-the-fact-that-nearly-three-quarters-of-the-surface/) [C. V. Raman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-v-raman/) > [There is absolutely no man in the whole world who can possess one among you unless he first die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-of-assisi/there-is-absolutely-no-man-in-the-whole-world-who-can-possess-one/) [Francis of Assisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-of-assisi/) > [There is one quality which one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/there-is-one-quality-which-one-must-possess-to-win-and-that-is/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“to possess one single thing (it is Louis now) must waver, like the light in and out of the beech leaves; and then words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-possess-one-single-thing-it-is-louis-now-must-waver-like-the-light/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [How could this world be so unlike the world that I believed I was living in? I can't describe it. Do I not want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/how-could-this-world-be-so-unlike-the-world-that-i-believed-i-was/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [You cannot impart what you do not possess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-g-hendricks/you-cannot-impart-what-you-do-not-possess/) [Howard G. Hendricks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-g-hendricks/) > [Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/nothing-will-ever-please-me-no-matter-how-excellent-or-beneficial-if/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [“We all possess, like it or not, the people we know, and are possessed by them in turn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-boyd/we-all-possess-like-it-or-not-the-people-we-know-and-are-possessed-by/) [William Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-boyd/) > [“All the knowledge I possess every one else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/all-the-knowledge-i-possess-every-one-else-can-acquire-but-my-heart/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [You can only possess beauty through understanding it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-only-possess-beauty-through-understanding-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David L. Ulin > [“Reading is an act of contemplation, perhaps the only act in which we allow ourselves to merge with the consciousness of another human being.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-ulin/reading-is-an-act-of-contemplation-perhaps-the-only-act-in-which-we/) [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) > [Reading is an act of resistance in a landscape of distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-ulin/reading-is-an-act-of-resistance-in-a-landscape-of-distraction/) [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) > [Just in time for the renewal of the war debate in Congress, the University of Chicago Press has released The U.S. Army / Marine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-ulin/just-in-time-for-the-renewal-of-the-war-debate-in-congress-the/) [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) > [For new media reactionaries...the problem is technology, the endless distractions of the Internet, the breakdown of authority in an age of blogs and Twitter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-ulin/for-new-media-reactionaries-the-problem-is-technology-the-endless/) [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) > [“What does it mean, this notion of...reading? ...it returns us to a reckoning with time. In the midst of a book, we have no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-ulin/what-does-it-mean-this-notion-of-reading-it-returns-us-to-a-reckoning/) [David L. Ulin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) [Explore all 6 David L. Ulin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-ulin/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We possess books we read, animating the waiting stillness of their language, but they possess us also, filling us with thoughts and observations, asking us to make them part of ourselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David L. 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