--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot remember a time when I was not…" description: "\"I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png" --- # I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with… ![“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.” quote by Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png) > “I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.” [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer expresses deep affection for physical books, valuing their tactile and sensory qualities as personal companions. **In simple terms:** Books are loved for their feel, smell, and presence. Key Takeaway Cherish the physical experience of reading. Themes literature sensory experience nostalgia attachment Mood nostalgic intimate Type descriptive personal When to use this quote - library curation - book collecting - gift giving - education Key Concepts materiality of books personal connection reading rituals Questions to Reflect On - How do physical books affect your reading? - What does a book’s scent evoke? A Different Perspective Digital formats may lack the same sensory impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Captured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captured/) [Captured Carried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captured-carried-1140323/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-books/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Printed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printed/) [Printed Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/printed-smell-4522964/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Yet regardless of where they come from, I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them - with the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/yet-regardless-of-where-they-come-from-i-cannot-remember-a-time-when/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/it-had-been-startling-and-disappointing-to-me-to-find-out-that-story-2/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [There are people already sharing eBooks out there, .. and they do it simply because they love books. You don't buy a second copy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/there-are-people-already-sharing-ebooks-out-there-and-they-do-it/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [“I love books. I really, really love them. There's something special about bringing people and books together”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-truman/i-love-books-i-really-really-love-them-there-s-something-special/) [Margaret Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-truman/) > [“Book lovers love books!" her mother announced. "There's romance about the books- even having them seems to have a kind of excitement." from Mr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-van-allsburg/book-lovers-love-books-her-mother-announced-there-s-romance-about-the/) [Chris Van Allsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-van-allsburg/) > [“On my website there's a quote from the writer Anthony Burgess: "The greatest gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cheshire/on-my-website-there-s-a-quote-from-the-writer-anthony-burgess-the/) [Simon Cheshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cheshire/) > [“What is a great love of books? It is something like a personal introduction to the great and good men of all past times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bright/what-is-a-great-love-of-books-it-is-something-like-a-personal/) [John Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bright/) > [“He does manage the bookstore, which is currently my favorite place on earth." Her eyes glazed over. "All those books. If I married him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-blake/he-does-manage-the-bookstore-which-is-currently-my-favorite-place-on/) [Heather Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-blake/) > [“I noticed that a woman on Goodreads said something like, “I was reading along in the beginning thinking, okay, a woman wrote this, there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-browning/i-noticed-that-a-woman-on-goodreads-said-something-like-i-was-reading/) [Barbara Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-browning/) > [I love my job, and I love books. I read anything, including cereal boxes. I care deeply about what people think of my books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/i-love-my-job-and-i-love-books-i-read-anything-including-cereal-boxes/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [“Avid readers are a breed of their own, and we’re often accused of being heady. I don’t care. I love books and can devour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annalisa-grant/avid-readers-are-a-breed-of-their-own-and-we-re-often-accused-of/) [AnnaLisa Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annalisa-grant/) > [“I feel that my tendency to acquire books is rather like someone smoking two packs a day: it's a terrible vice that I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/i-feel-that-my-tendency-to-acquire-books-is-rather-like-someone/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [What a blessing it is to love books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/what-a-blessing-it-is-to-love-books/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“I love books. Not just for what they contain. I love them as objects too, as ever-present reminders of what they contain, and because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/i-love-books-not-just-for-what-they-contain-i-love-them-as-objects/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) ## More by Eudora Welty > [“She (my mother) could still recite them (the poems) in full when she was lying helpless and nearly blind, in her bed, an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-could-still-recite-them-the-poems-in-full-when-she-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/long-before-i-wrote-stories-i-listened-for-stories-listening-for-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Once you're into a story everything seems to apply-what you overhear on a city bus is exactly what your character would say on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/once-you-re-into-a-story-everything-seems-to-apply-what-you-overhear/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Two by two, I read library books as fast as I could go, rushing them home in the basket of my bicycle. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/two-by-two-i-read-library-books-as-fast-as-i-could-go-rushing-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When somebody, no matter who, gives everything, it makes people feel ashamed for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-somebody-no-matter-who-gives-everything-it-makes-people-feel/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Daydreaming had started me on the way; but story writing, once I was truly in its grip, took me and shook me awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/daydreaming-had-started-me-on-the-way-but-story-writing-once-i-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“At the sting in her eyes, she remembered for him that there must be no tears in his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/at-the-sting-in-her-eyes-she-remembered-for-him-that-there-must-be-no/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“We do need to bring to our writing, over and over again, all the abundance we possess. To be able, to be ready, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/we-do-need-to-bring-to-our-writing-over-and-over-again-all-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Could she ever be, would she be, where she was going?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/could-she-ever-be-would-she-be-where-she-was-going/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When one of us (children) caught measles or whooping cough and we were isolated in bad upstairs, we wrote notes to each other perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-one-of-us-children-caught-measles-or-whooping-cough-and-we-were/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“She (my mother) stood always prepared in herself to challenge the world in our place. She did indeed tend to make the world look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-stood-always-prepared-in-herself-to-challenge-the-world/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“For there is hate as well as love, she supposed, in the coming together and continuing of our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-there-is-hate-as-well-as-love-she-supposed-in-the-coming-together/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“In children's art class we sat in a ring of kindergarten chairs and drew three daffodils that had just been picked out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/in-children-s-art-class-we-sat-in-a-ring-of-kindergarten-chairs-and/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/people-are-mostly-layers-of-violence-and-tenderness-wrapped-like/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) [Explore all 227 Eudora Welty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## More Arms quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. So if somebody asks me what time it is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-don-t-wear-a-watch-because-i-want-my-arms-to-weigh-the-same-so-if/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Comerado, this is no book,Who touches this, touches a man,(Is it night? Are we here alone?)It is I you hold, and who holds you,I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/comerado-this-is-no-book-who-touches-this-touches-a-man-is-it-night/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I separated the joints, the arm joints, the leg joints, and had to do two boilings. I think I used four boxes of Soilex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-dahmer/i-separated-the-joints-the-arm-joints-the-leg-joints-and-had-to-do/) [Jeffrey Dahmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-dahmer/) > [More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ramos-horta/more-courage-is-required-to-forgive-than-is-required-to-take-up-arms/) [Jose Ramos-Horta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ramos-horta/) > [It's been a long time since I asked anything of heaven, and my arms still haven't come down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-porchia/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-asked-anything-of-heaven-and-my-arms/) [Antonio Porchia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-porchia/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. 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"I'm beginning to look forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/another-step-had-her-backed-up-against-the-wall-and-he-braced-his/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) [Browse all 4,470 Arms quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arms/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and the paper they were printed on, with their smell and their weight and with their possession in my arms, captured and carried off to myself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eudora Welty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not-in-love-with-them-with-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arms" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not-in-love-with-them-with-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/eudora-welty-1564_arms_i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not_2151070.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I cannot remember a time when I was not in love with them--with the books themselves, cover and binding and…” — Eudora Welty", "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": "Eudora Welty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I cannot remember a time when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not-in-love-with-them-with-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/i-cannot-remember-a-time-when-i-was-not-in-love-with-them-with-the/#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 } } ] } ```