--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I pick up a book and I say…" description: "\"Sometimes I pick up a book and I say: Well, so you've written it first, have you? Good for you. O.K., then I won't have to write it.\" — Doris Lessing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/doris-lessing-501_book_sometimes-i-pick-up-a-book-and-i-say-wel_1336818.png" --- # Sometimes I pick up a book and I say: Well, so you've… ![“Sometimes I pick up a book and I say: Well, so you've written it first, have you? Good for you. O.K., then I won't have to write it.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/doris-lessing-501_book_sometimes-i-pick-up-a-book-and-i-say-wel_1336818.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/doris-lessing-501_book_sometimes-i-pick-up-a-book-and-i-say-wel_1336818.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ba/doris-lessing-501_book_sometimes-i-pick-up-a-book-and-i-say-wel_1336818.png) > “Sometimes I pick up a book and I say: Well, so you've written it first, have you? Good for you. O.K., then I won't have to write it.” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning originality, the speaker mocks the idea of copying others' work, implying that true creation requires personal effort. **In simple terms:** Mocking plagiarism highlights the value of original work. Key Takeaway Create your own ideas. Themes creativity originality authorship Mood skeptical wry Type critical humorous When to use this quote - writing - academic work - artistic projects - content creation Key Concepts intellectual honesty self-reliance Questions to Reflect On - Do you rely on others' ideas? - How does originality affect your confidence? A Different Perspective May overlook collaborative learning benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-say-1584722/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Picks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picks/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Ve Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-written/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-good-314449/) ## Related quotes > [I've written good love songs when I have been in love and I've written good love songs when I haven't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/i-ve-written-good-love-songs-when-i-have-been-in-love-and-i-ve/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [You know, looking at it objectively, I've written one or two good books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-looking-at-it-objectively-i-ve-written-one-or-two-good-books/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Anything well written with good language and clarity and honesty is worth doing. 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Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. 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I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. 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