---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No season lives here. This space has…"
description: "\"“No season lives here. This space has quite successfully shut out any such interference. The cunning designer saw to it that there is not even a mirror..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg"
---

#  No season lives here. This space has quite successfully…

![“No season lives here. This space has quite successfully shut out any such interference. The cunning designer saw to it that there is not even a mirror in which the reader might contemplate his own appearance or anxiously search for the marks of age. The climate is grammatical. Nothing here but…” quote by Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg)

> ““No season lives here. This space has quite successfully shut out any such interference. The cunning designer saw to it that there is not even a mirror in which the reader might contemplate his own appearance or anxiously search for the marks of age. The climate is grammatical. Nothing here but books, as if I were swaddled in them, as if the porous walls of books were by now almost a second skin. Or as if they provided a padding like the walls of madhouses, a cushion constructed of the language of the dead.””

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-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.

The narrator describes a space filled with books that act as a protective, immersive skin, shielding from external interference and aging.

**In simple terms:** Books become a protective layer, isolating the reader from external influences.

Key Takeaway

Use reading as a sanctuary.

Themes

literature isolation protection time language

Mood

contemplative melancholic

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal retreat
- academic study
- creative writing
- mental health therapy

Key Concepts

metaphor psychology environmental design

Questions to Reflect On

- How do books shape your perception of self?
- When does reading become escapism?

A Different Perspective

Over‑immersion in books can detach from reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [The average reader can contemplate with considerable fortitude the sorrows and disappointments of someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-l-mcclung/the-average-reader-can-contemplate-with-considerable-fortitude-the/)

[Nellie L. McClung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-l-mcclung/)

> [“Indeed, and crucially so, the serial form took the control of the novel away from the reader and left him in an imagined space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregor/indeed-and-crucially-so-the-serial-form-took-the-control-of-the-novel/)

[Ian Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gregor/)

> [The walls of books around him, dense with the past, formed a kind of insulation against the present world of disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-macdonald/the-walls-of-books-around-him-dense-with-the-past-formed-a-kind-of/)

[Ross Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-macdonald/)

> [Some on commission, some for the love of learning, Some because they have nothing better to do Or because they hope these walls of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/some-on-commission-some-for-the-love-of-learning-some-because-they/)

[Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/)

> [“The walls of books around him, dense with the past, formed a kind of insulation against the present world and its disasters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-mcdonald/the-walls-of-books-around-him-dense-with-the-past-formed-a-kind-of-2/)

Ross McDonald

> [Friends are like walls. Sometimes you lean on them and sometimes its good just knowing they are there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/friends-are-like-walls-sometimes-you-lean-on-them-and-sometimes-its/)

[Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/)

> [“Like all walls it was ambiguous, two faced. What was inside it and what was outside it depended upon which side you were on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/like-all-walls-it-was-ambiguous-two-faced-what-was-inside-it-and-what/)

[Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/)

> [“Wow." Lisa motioned for Keith to stop for a moment. "Look at this place. It's like the perfect family house. The porch and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kingsbury/wow-lisa-motioned-for-keith-to-stop-for-a-moment-look-at-this-place/)

[Karen Kingsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kingsbury/)

> [FRIENDS ARE LIKE WALLS SOMETIMES YOU LEAN ON THEM AND SOMETIMES IT'S JUST ENOUGH TO KNOW THEY'RE THERE.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-clark/friends-are-like-walls-sometimes-you-lean-on-them-and-sometimes-it-s/)

[Denise Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-clark/)

> [A few years ago, Bill Gates was boasting that we'll soon have sensors which will turn on the music that we like or show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-dutton/a-few-years-ago-bill-gates-was-boasting-that-we-ll-soon-have-sensors/)

[Denis Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-dutton/)

> [When people - everyday people who watch the coverage on CNN of Anita Sarkeesian having to cancel a speaking engagement due to death threats - think of “gamers,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kluwe/when-people-everyday-people-who-watch-the-coverage-on-cnn-of-anita/)

[Chris Kluwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kluwe/)

> [All of a sudden, I don't have a leg. I'm in a wheelchair. I have half a foot; I can't even walk to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-wasser/all-of-a-sudden-i-don-t-have-a-leg-i-m-in-a-wheelchair-i-have-half-a/)

[Lauren Wasser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-wasser/)

> [“Detonations crash in from nearby like walls she's a void at the center of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/detonations-crash-in-from-nearby-like-walls-she-s-a-void-at-the/)

[Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/)

> [Seldom do these words ring true when I'm constantly failing you. Like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rise-against/seldom-do-these-words-ring-true-when-i-m-constantly-failing-you-like/)

[Rise Against](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rise-against/)

> [“No matter how good things are, there will always be solitary nights you spend in your bedroom or car or in a party full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-campbell/no-matter-how-good-things-are-there-will-always-be-solitary-nights/)

Dan Campbell

## More by Geoffrey O'Brien

> [“Scattered among these things are reminders that sound once existed: a metronome, a drumming pad, a guitar pick, a trumpet mouthpiece, a music stand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/scattered-among-these-things-are-reminders-that-sound-once-existed-a/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“To attempt to describe how music pervades and flavors a life feels a little like an invasion of privacy, even if the privacy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/to-attempt-to-describe-how-music-pervades-and-flavors-a-life-feels-a/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“Christmas is the marriage of chaos and design. The real sound of life, for once, can burst out because a formal place has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/christmas-is-the-marriage-of-chaos-and-design-the-real-sound-of-life/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“The question of what exactly we remember when we listen to old recordings, or whether it can be called remembering at all, becomes less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/the-question-of-what-exactly-we-remember-when-we-listen-to-old/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“The age of recording is necessarily an age of nostalgia--when was the past so hauntingly accessible?--but its bitterest insight is the incapacity of even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/the-age-of-recording-is-necessarily-an-age-of-nostalgia-when-was-the/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“Yet the laboriously sought musical epiphany rarely compares to the unsought, even unwanted tune whose ambush is violent and sudden: the song the cab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/yet-the-laboriously-sought-musical-epiphany-rarely-compares-to-the/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“I learned that the day "The Viper's Drag" slipped from between my fingers. But whatever might be lost or broken or forgotten is nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/i-learned-that-the-day-the-viper-s-drag-slipped-from-between-my/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

> [“Sound is the most absorbent medium of all, soaking up histories and philosophical systems and physical surroundings and encoding them in something so slight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/sound-is-the-most-absorbent-medium-of-all-soaking-up-histories-and/)

[Geoffrey O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

[Explore all 9 Geoffrey O'Brien quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/)

## 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

> [“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

> [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": "“No season lives here. This space has quite successfully shut out any such interference. The cunning designer saw to it that there is not even a mirror in which the reader might contemplate his own appearance or anxiously search for the marks of age. The climate is grammatical. Nothing here but books, as if I were swaddled in them, as if the porous walls of books were by now almost a second skin. Or as if they provided a padding like the walls of madhouses, a cushion constructed of the language of the dead.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Geoffrey O'Brien"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quite-successfully-shut-out-any/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quite-successfully-shut-out-any/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b1c/geoffrey-o-brien-43278_books_no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quit_2526725.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No season lives here. This space has quite successfully shut out any such interference. The cunning designer…” — Geoffrey O'Brien",
                "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": "Geoffrey O'Brien",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-o-brien/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“No season lives here. This space...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quite-successfully-shut-out-any/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-o-brien/no-season-lives-here-this-space-has-quite-successfully-shut-out-any/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
