--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I learned that there are books and there…" description: "\"“I learned that there are books and there are readers; given even the worst of circumstances, they get together. In the privacy of their own homes or o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/elizabeth-mccracken-10336_books_i-learned-that-there-are-books-and-there_3175173.png" --- # I learned that there are books and there are readers… ![“I learned that there are books and there are readers; given even the worst of circumstances, they get together. In the privacy of their own homes or on park benches or on public buses, in the corner of the reference room, at the end of an aisle of fiction, in the middle of the alphabet, they club…” quote by Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/elizabeth-mccracken-10336_books_i-learned-that-there-are-books-and-there_3175173.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/elizabeth-mccracken-10336_books_i-learned-that-there-are-books-and-there_3175173.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/elizabeth-mccracken-10336_books_i-learned-that-there-are-books-and-there_3175173.png) > ““I learned that there are books and there are readers; given even the worst of circumstances, they get together. In the privacy of their own homes or on park benches or on public buses, in the corner of the reference room, at the end of an aisle of fiction, in the middle of the alphabet, they club up and conspire.”” [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers create informal communities, sharing stories in everyday places, fostering connection despite circumstances. **In simple terms:** People gather to read together wherever they are. Key Takeaway Seek out reading groups wherever you go. Themes community reading solitude connection Mood inspirational thoughtful Type motivational social When to use this quote - public transport - parks - libraries - online forums - book clubs Key Concepts social bonding literature sharing Questions to Reflect On - What barriers prevent you from joining a reading group? - How can you create a reading community in your area? A Different Perspective Not everyone has access to books or safe spaces to read. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aisle Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aisle-fiction-5795803/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-readers-970964/) [Learned Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-books-880566/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Readers Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-given-5795802/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“What was it like to be the person who chose books readers would fall in love with, buy for their mothers, and remember forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-egan/what-was-it-like-to-be-the-person-who-chose-books-readers-would-fall/) [Elisabeth Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-egan/) > [The association of books with their readers is unlike any other between objects and their users.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-association-of-books-with-their-readers-is-unlike-any-other/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I really try to focus on my books and readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-really-try-to-focus-on-my-books-and-readers/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“If you write without reading, you will certainly have too many books without readers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-write-without-reading-you-will-certainly-have-too-many-books/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“Authors do not own books, readers do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/authors-do-not-own-books-readers-do/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [If writers learn more from their books than do readers, perhaps I may have begun to learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-alexander/if-writers-learn-more-from-their-books-than-do-readers-perhaps-i-may/) [Lloyd Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-alexander/) > [Students will read if we give them the books, the time, and the enthusiastic encouragement to do so. If we make them wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/students-will-read-if-we-give-them-the-books-the-time-and-the/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [What one knows best is ... what one has learned not from books but as a result of books, through the reflections to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/what-one-knows-best-is-what-one-has-learned-not-from-books-but-as-a/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [All I have learned, I learned from books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-i-have-learned-i-learned-from-books/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I imagine that no art has ever been learned from books. fly-fishing is no exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-e-m-skues/i-imagine-that-no-art-has-ever-been-learned-from-books-fly-fishing-is/) [G. E. M. Skues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-e-m-skues/) > [Do not be guilty of possessing a library of learned books while lacking learning yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/do-not-be-guilty-of-possessing-a-library-of-learned-books-while/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [I learned little save that most of the deeds, good and bad both, incurring opprobrium or plaudits or reward either, within the scope of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-learned-little-save-that-most-of-the-deeds-good-and-bad-both/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I was painting furniture, learning to stencil, and explore all kinds of traditional techniques of decoration. I learned from books that I picked up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-was-painting-furniture-learning-to-stencil-and-explore-all-kinds-of/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [I learned from books that I picked up. That was something that just came out of nowhere but continued to be an attraction. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-learned-from-books-that-i-picked-up-that-was-something-that-just/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [We do not learn much from learned books, but from true, sincere, human books, from frank and honest biographies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-do-not-learn-much-from-learned-books-but-from-true-sincere-human/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Elizabeth McCracken > [“Aunt Helen Beck had many intentions about her death. She was about being dead the way some people are about being British - she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/aunt-helen-beck-had-many-intentions-about-her-death-she-was-about/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“But you cannot fly away from people who have flown away from you; you cannot fly into your own arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/but-you-cannot-fly-away-from-people-who-have-flown-away-from-you-you/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [Engagements - they are like a prayer before eating, best quick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/engagements-they-are-like-a-prayer-before-eating-best-quick/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“Though my love for you is infinitesimal, your eyes are as dewey as any old decimal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/though-my-love-for-you-is-infinitesimal-your-eyes-are-as-dewey-as-any/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“For us what was killing was how nothing had changed. We'd been waiting to be transformed, and now here we were, back in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/for-us-what-was-killing-was-how-nothing-had-changed-we-d-been-waiting/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [Books remember all the things you cannot contain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/books-remember-all-the-things-you-cannot-contain/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [In reference works, as in sin, omission is as bad as willful misbehavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/in-reference-works-as-in-sin-omission-is-as-bad-as-willful-misbehavior/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [After most deaths, I imagine, the awfulness lies in how everything’s changed….there’s a hole. It’s person-shaped and it follows you everywhere…. For us what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/after-most-deaths-i-imagine-the-awfulness-lies-in-how-everything-s/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“I told him that I apologised, that I understood, but really: I am not a museum, not yet, I'm a love letter, a love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/i-told-him-that-i-apologised-that-i-understood-but-really-i-am-not-a/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“When I was a teenager in Boston, a man on the subway handed me a card printed with tiny pictures of hands spelling out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/when-i-was-a-teenager-in-boston-a-man-on-the-subway-handed-me-a-card/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“I'm thinking of that Florida lady again, the one who wanted a book about the lighter side of a child's death, and I know:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/i-m-thinking-of-that-florida-lady-again-the-one-who-wanted-a-book/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“History remembers the velvet hearted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/history-remembers-the-velvet-hearted/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“Single people eat sadly--they cobble together things left from shopping trips based on dreams of all the meals they'd fix for themselves, all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/single-people-eat-sadly-they-cobble-together-things-left-from/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [Librarian like Stewardess, Certified Public Accountant, Used Car Salesman is one of those occupations that people assume attract a certain deformed personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/librarian-like-stewardess-certified-public-accountant-used-car/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [Library books were, I suddenly realized, promiscuous, ready to lie down in the arms of anyone who asked. Not like bookstore books, which married…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/library-books-were-i-suddenly-realized-promiscuous-ready-to-lie-down/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) [Explore all 66 Elizabeth McCracken quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I learned that there are books and there are readers; given even the worst of circumstances, they get together. 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