--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One must become a book before one can…" description: "\"“One must become a book before one can know what is inside it.”\" — Don DeLillo" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg" --- # One must become a book before one can know what is inside… ![“One must become a book before one can know what is inside it.” quote by Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg) > ““One must become a book before one can know what is inside it.”” [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding oneself requires deep introspection, like reading a book to discover its contents. **In simple terms:** Know yourself by exploring your inner layers. Key Takeaway Seek self‑knowledge. Themes self‑discovery introspection knowledge Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - education - personal growth Key Concepts identity psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself remain unread? - How can you become your own book? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be elusive and painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“What do they know anyway? You’ll read it in a book What do they know anyway? 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So I'm encouraging anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/everybody-knows-by-now-that-there-s-a-gazillion-books-on-me-either/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [“When a first date really works, it works like this: You feel the thrill of opening to the first page of a book. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/when-a-first-date-really-works-it-works-like-this-you-feel-the-thrill/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [The last thing that we find in making a book is to know what we must put first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-last-thing-that-we-find-in-making-a-book-is-to-know-what-we-must/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [But for this book we could not know right from wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/but-for-this-book-we-could-not-know-right-from-wrong/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Never go back to an old love. Because it's like reading a book over and over again when you already know how it ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-go-back-to-an-old-love-because-it-s-like-reading-a-book-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When you read a book, book also reads you! The book will know who you are from the sentences you underline!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-read-a-book-book-also-reads-you-the-book-will-know-who-you/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Tegus, I'm leaving this book behind for you, so you will know the why of it all, and maybe you'll forgive me, or maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/tegus-i-m-leaving-this-book-behind-for-you-so-you-will-know-the-why/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) > [But for that Book, we could not know right from wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/but-for-that-book-we-could-not-know-right-from-wrong/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Don DeLillo > [“We all know how the thing we secretly fear is not a secret at all but the open and eternal thing that predicts its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/we-all-know-how-the-thing-we-secretly-fear-is-not-a-secret-at-all-but/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everything is barely weeks. 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It´s a settling of grievances between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/murray-said-i-don-t-trust-anybody-s-nostalgia-but-my-own-nostalgia-is/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“She is beginning to think it is possible that all creation is a spurt of blank matter that chances to make an emerald planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/she-is-beginning-to-think-it-is-possible-that-all-creation-is-a-spurt/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Those who have abandoned belief must still believe in us. They are sure that they are right not to believe but they know belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/those-who-have-abandoned-belief-must-still-believe-in-us-they-are/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“The plane had lost power in all three engines, dropped from thirty-four thousand feet to twelve thousand feet. Something like four miles. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-plane-had-lost-power-in-all-three-engines-dropped-from-thirty/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Grass: I live in a great steel tower that reflects the blazing sun. People catch fire just walking by. The more bodies that pile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/grass-i-live-in-a-great-steel-tower-that-reflects-the-blazing-sun/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“What people discard could make a nation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/what-people-discard-could-make-a-nation/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Marriage is something we make from available materials. In this sense it’s improvised, it’s almost offhand. 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So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“There is no lie in war or preparation of war that can't be defended. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-no-lie-in-war-or-preparation-of-war-that-can-t-be-defended/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) [Explore all 699 Don DeLillo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) ## 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! 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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": "“One must become a book before one can know what is inside it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Don DeLillo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-know-what-is-inside-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-know-what-is-inside-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0d/don-delillo-294_book_one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-kn_3186011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One must become a book before one can know what is inside it.” — Don DeLillo", "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": "Don DeLillo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“One must become a book before...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-know-what-is-inside-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/one-must-become-a-book-before-one-can-know-what-is-inside-it/#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 } } ] } ```