--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not so much want books for good…" description: "\"We do not so much want books for good people, as books which will make bad ones better.\" — Hannah More" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png" --- # We do not so much want books for good people, as books… ![“We do not so much want books for good people, as books which will make bad ones better.” quote by Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png) > “We do not so much want books for good people, as books which will make bad ones better.” [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature should aim to improve moral character, especially of those lacking virtue. **In simple terms:** Books should make bad people better. Key Takeaway Seek works that foster ethical growth. Themes education morality self-improvement Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - personal growth - community programs - rehabilitation Key Concepts ethical literature character development social reform Questions to Reflect On - What stories have transformed your values? - How can we ensure literature reaches those who need it most? A Different Perspective May ignore the need for structural change beyond individual better. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-good/) [Books Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-make/) [Good people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-books-313541/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-books-901666/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I care more about the people in books than the people I see every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/i-care-more-about-the-people-in-books-than-the-people-i-see-every-day/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/there-is-a-sort-of-theory-that-you-should-adapt-bad-books-because/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I always want my books to reach a positive point in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-always-want-my-books-to-reach-a-positive-point-in-the-end/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [I want to put out a few books throughout my lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katelyn-ohashi/i-want-to-put-out-a-few-books-throughout-my-lifetime/) [Katelyn Ohashi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katelyn-ohashi/) > [Let us secure not such books as people want, but books just above their wants, and they will reach up to take what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-mitchell/let-us-secure-not-such-books-as-people-want-but-books-just-above/) [Maria Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-mitchell/) > [“I want to see my wife and children every day, I want to see my grass and blossoms and corn ... But above all,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/i-want-to-see-my-wife-and-children-every-day-i-want-to-see-my-grass/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [I have a very big apartment in Paris but you can't really move around there anymore; piles of books everywhere. I don't want any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lindbergh/i-have-a-very-big-apartment-in-paris-but-you-can-t-really-move-around/) [Peter Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lindbergh/) > [“She herself was a victim of that lust for books which rages in the breast like a demon, and which cannot be stilled save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/she-herself-was-a-victim-of-that-lust-for-books-which-rages-in-the/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [I want books to give me insight into the way people's brains work and hearts work, and that's what engages me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-want-books-to-give-me-insight-into-the-way-people-s-brains-work-and/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I want my books to last, to stand the test of time, and to do that I focus on the forces that shape the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maraniss/i-want-my-books-to-last-to-stand-the-test-of-time-and-to-do-that-i/) [David Maraniss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maraniss/) > [Book lovers are thought by unbookish people to be gentle and unworldly, and perhaps a few of them are so. But there are others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/book-lovers-are-thought-by-unbookish-people-to-be-gentle-and/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“He acquired more and more books, books being an acknowledged extravagance he could seldom curb. (With one London bookseller he had placed a standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/he-acquired-more-and-more-books-books-being-an-acknowledged/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [What would be the good of rushing? You want these books to last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/what-would-be-the-good-of-rushing-you-want-these-books-to-last/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [“We want books that are written for those of us who doubt everything, who cry over the least little thing, who are startled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-coss/we-want-books-that-are-written-for-those-of-us-who-doubt-everything/) [Laurence Cossé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-coss/) > [The information I most want is in books not yet written by people not yet born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/the-information-i-most-want-is-in-books-not-yet-written-by-people-not/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) ## More by Hannah More > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Wisdom views with an indifferent eye all finite joys, all blessings born to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/wisdom-views-with-an-indifferent-eye-all-finite-joys-all-blessings/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Yes, thou art ever present, power divine; not circumscribed by time, nor fixed by space, confined to altars, nor to temples bound. In wealth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/yes-thou-art-ever-present-power-divine-not-circumscribed-by-time-nor/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [All reformations seem formidable before they are attempted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/all-reformations-seem-formidable-before-they-are-attempted/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [He who has once taken to drink can seldom be said to be guilty of one sin only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/he-who-has-once-taken-to-drink-can-seldom-be-said-to-be-guilty-of-one/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [We are too ready to imagine that we are religious, because we know something of religion. We appropriate to ourselves the pious sentiments we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-are-too-ready-to-imagine-that-we-are-religious-because-we-know/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A corrupt practice may be abolished, but a soiled imagination is not easily cleansed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-corrupt-practice-may-be-abolished-but-a-soiled-imagination-is-not/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [A faint endeavor ends in a sure defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/a-faint-endeavor-ends-in-a-sure-defeat/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Oh! the joy Of young ideas painted on the mind, In the warm glowing colors fancy spreads On objects not yet known, when all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/oh-the-joy-of-young-ideas-painted-on-the-mind-in-the-warm-glowing/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [The world does not require so much to be informed as to be reminded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/the-world-does-not-require-so-much-to-be-informed-as-to-be-reminded/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If we commit any crime, or do any good here, it must be in thought; for our words are few and our deeds none…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/if-we-commit-any-crime-or-do-any-good-here-it-must-be-in-thought-for/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/nothing-is-more-common-than-to-mistake-the-sign-for-the-thing-itself/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [“Forgiveness spares the expense of anger, the cost of hatred, the waste of spirits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/forgiveness-spares-the-expense-of-anger-the-cost-of-hatred-the-waste/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [How much it is to be regretted, that the British ladies should ever sit down contented to polish, when they are able to reform;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/how-much-it-is-to-be-regretted-that-the-british-ladies-should-ever/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [Who are those ever multiplying authors that with unparalleled fecundity are overstocking the world with their quick succeeding progeny? They are novel-writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/who-are-those-ever-multiplying-authors-that-with-unparalleled/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) [Explore all 154 Hannah More quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) ## 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! 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [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/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We do not so much want books for good people, as books which will make bad ones better.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hannah More" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-people-as-books-which-will-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-people-as-books-which-will-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/757/hannah-more-2695_book_we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-pe_2691898.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We do not so much want books for good people, as books which will make bad ones better.” — Hannah More", "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": "Hannah More", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We do not so much want...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-people-as-books-which-will-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-do-not-so-much-want-books-for-good-people-as-books-which-will-make/#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 } } ] } ```