--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was I, devouring books and yet…" description: "\"There was I, devouring books and yet allowing a man who had never read a book to walk me home for a bit of harmless fumbling on the front steps.\" — Edn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/edna-o-brien-2155_book_there-was-i-devouring-books-and-yet-allo_1142589.jpg" --- # There was I, devouring books and yet allowing a man who… ![“There was I, devouring books and yet allowing a man who had never read a book to walk me home for a bit of harmless fumbling on the front steps.” quote by Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/edna-o-brien-2155_book_there-was-i-devouring-books-and-yet-allo_1142589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/edna-o-brien-2155_book_there-was-i-devouring-books-and-yet-allo_1142589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/048/edna-o-brien-2155_book_there-was-i-devouring-books-and-yet-allo_1142589.jpg) > “There was I, devouring books and yet allowing a man who had never read a book to walk me home for a bit of harmless fumbling on the front steps.” [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She juxtaposes her love of reading with the humility of accepting help from someone uneducated, showing compassion transcends intellect. **In simple terms:** Compassion matters more than knowledge. Key Takeaway Offer kindness regardless of background. Themes humility compassion class literature Mood thoughtful empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - daily interactions - community service - teaching moments Key Concepts empathy social barriers human connection Questions to Reflect On - When have you helped someone despite differences? - How does humility enrich relationships? A Different Perspective May romanticizing intellect obscure genuine human connection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-walk-1924406/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Devouring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devouring/) [Devouring Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devouring-books-3192400/) [Fumbling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumbling-497099/) [Fumbling Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fumbling-steps-3192401/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Man Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-read-575938/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Read A Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-a-book/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Walks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walks/) ## Related quotes > [“There is a book for every walk of life. No matter the age, race, or gender there is something that will appeal to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmela-dutra/there-is-a-book-for-every-walk-of-life-no-matter-the-age-race-or/) [Carmela Dutra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmela-dutra/) > [“book and happened to strike a wonderful passage I would close the book then and there and go for a walk. I hated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalyn-d-mello/book-and-happened-to-strike-a-wonderful-passage-i-would-close-the/) [Rosalyn D'Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalyn-d-mello/) > [“fumbling up her”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/fumbling-up-her/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [But I'm not any better at relationships than you are. 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I know that, man - ever since pee wee. If you're fumbling, you're not going to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/if-you-fumble-you-can-t-play-i-know-that-man-ever-since-pee-wee-if/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [The moment is never perfect. It's like that right now - in my head I'm being super lucid, but you never are. You're always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cooke/the-moment-is-never-perfect-it-s-like-that-right-now-in-my-head-i-m/) [Nigel Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-cooke/) > [“fumbling around like a bear cub playing with his dick”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl/fumbling-around-like-a-bear-cub-playing-with-his-dick/) [Karl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl/) > [We're fumbling in the dark, but at least we're in motion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-marion/we-re-fumbling-in-the-dark-but-at-least-we-re-in-motion/) [Isaac Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-marion/) > [“The history of man is a must read poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-history-of-man-is-a-must-read-poetry/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-man-who-does-not-read-has-no-advantage-over-the-man-who-cannot/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man, to read, must read alone. 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Fiction, by contrast, is largely the work of injured bystanders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/history-is-said-to-be-written-by-the-victors-fiction-by-contrast-is/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“A healer! The beauty of the word a balm. In a mounting astonishment she hears how this man heals with his own blood, pricks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/a-healer-the-beauty-of-the-word-a-balm-in-a-mounting-astonishment-she/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“If I could feel like myself I’d thank God but I don’t feel and never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/if-i-could-feel-like-myself-i-d-thank-god-but-i-don-t-feel-and-never/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [...people liking you or not liking you is an accident and is to do with them and not you. That goes for love too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/people-liking-you-or-not-liking-you-is-an-accident-and-is-to-do-with/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“tears running down her cheeks and her nose, tears from the cold and the prospect of being absent for weeks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/tears-running-down-her-cheeks-and-her-nose-tears-from-the-cold-and/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“laughter filling that end of the ward, overflowing, one bringing a chair for Eleanora, another a cup of coffee, marveling that at long last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/laughter-filling-that-end-of-the-ward-overflowing-one-bringing-a/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“Dilly reckons it would be difficult to thread those needles, the eyes so small, especially with her cataracts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/dilly-reckons-it-would-be-difficult-to-thread-those-needles-the-eyes/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) [Explore all 182 Edna O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) ## 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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