--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is sad until one recalls how many…" description: "\"That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world may yet be spared because of the busyness of writers.\" — Gore Vidal" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg" --- # That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world… ![“That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world may yet be spared because of the busyness of writers.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg) > “That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world may yet be spared because of the busyness of writers.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Busy writers unintentionally prevent many bad books from being written, sparing readers. **In simple terms:** Busy writers stop bad books from existing. Key Takeaway Busy creators protect readers from low quality. Themes creativity quality literature Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - publishing industry - writing habits - reading choices Key Concepts censorship productivity Questions to Reflect On - How does writer productivity affect literary quality? - Can busyness be both protective and restrictive? A Different Perspective May limit diverse voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Busyness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busyness/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Yes. They're bringing in books from all over the world and burning them here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-suke-natsukawa/yes-they-re-bringing-in-books-from-all-over-the-world-and-burning/) Sōsuke Natsukawa > [ “\[Books\] were the world I could lose myself in when the one I was actually in became too lonely or harsh or difficult to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/books-were-the-world-i-could-lose-myself-in-when-the-one-i-was/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Francie thought that all the books in the world were in that library and she had a plan about reading all the books in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/francie-thought-that-all-the-books-in-the-world-were-in-that-library/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Books has its own world and I am one of those people captivated to enter its magical door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermilyn-inot/books-has-its-own-world-and-i-am-one-of-those-people-captivated-to/) Jermilyn Inot > [“Books go out into the world, travel mysteriously from hand to hand, and somehow find their way to the people who need them at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/books-go-out-into-the-world-travel-mysteriously-from-hand-to-hand-and/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Books were in the world; the world was in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-buzbee/books-were-in-the-world-the-world-was-in-books/) [Lewis Buzbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-buzbee/) > [“She had always been different, even when she tried not to be, unable to curb her curiosity which led her to read a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-power/she-had-always-been-different-even-when-she-tried-not-to-be-unable-to/) [Susan Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-power/) > [There are more books in the world than hours in which to read them. 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Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## 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! 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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": "That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world may yet be spared because of the busyness of writers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-bad-books-the-world-may-yet-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-bad-books-the-world-may-yet-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/gore-vidal-466_books_that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-b_1158265.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is sad until one recalls how many bad books the world may yet be spared because of the busyness of…” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is sad until one recalls...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-bad-books-the-world-may-yet-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/that-is-sad-until-one-recalls-how-many-bad-books-the-world-may-yet-be/#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 } } ] } ```