--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love inscriptions on flyleaves and…" description: "\"I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone lo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg" --- # I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I… ![“I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone long gone has called my attention to.” quote by Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg) > “I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone long gone has called my attention to.” [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding joy in shared literary discoveries and marginal notes that connect readers across time. **In simple terms:** Enjoy the communal feel of reading notes. Key Takeaway Seek out marginalia and shared book experiences. Themes literature community curiosity Mood nostalgic inquisitive Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - personal libraries - academic research - creative writing Key Concepts intertextuality nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - Do you leave notes for future readers? - How do marginalia affect your reading? A Different Perspective Not everyone values marginal notes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Inscriptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inscriptions/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I wish you hadn't been so over-courteous about putting the inscription on a card instead of on the flyleaf. It's the bookseller coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous-about-putting-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“...there is more to life than the main story. Check out the notes in the margins because maybe they're even more important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-rowan/there-is-more-to-life-than-the-main-story-check-out-the-notes-in-the/) [Isabelle Rowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-rowan/) > [“All I'm saying is that there is more to life than the main story. Check out the notes in the margins because maybe they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabelle-rowan/all-i-m-saying-is-that-there-is-more-to-life-than-the-main-story/) [Isabelle Rowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabelle-rowan/) > [“Rip her dress off!” Bob shouted. Bob the Skull takes paperback romances very seriously. The next page turned so quickly that he tore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/rip-her-dress-off-bob-shouted-bob-the-skull-takes-paperback-romances/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [I smiled at the stacks, inhaling again. Hundreds of thousands of pages that had never been turned, waiting for me. The shelves were a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-smiled-at-the-stacks-inhaling-again-hundreds-of-thousands-of-pages/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [“It is always good – is it not? – when all that hard work of writing pages is turned into a solid book which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-swinfen/it-is-always-good-is-it-not-when-all-that-hard-work-of-writing-pages/) Ann Swinfen > [Some pages turned, some bridges burned, but there were lessons learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-pages-turned-some-bridges-burned-but-there-were-lessons-learned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Our lives will only be just a book on the shelf... it's up to you to decide whether the pages get turned or just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raina-spencer/our-lives-will-only-be-just-a-book-on-the-shelf-it-s-up-to-you-to/) Raina Spencer > [We have had the time of our lifes, now the pages are turned, leaving these memories behind , its hard to say goodbye. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-had-the-time-of-our-lifes-now-the-pages-are-turned-leaving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The silence. End of all poetry, all romances. Earlier, frightened, you began to have some intimation of it: so many pages had been turned,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-samatar/the-silence-end-of-all-poetry-all-romances-earlier-frightened-you/) [Sofia Samatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-samatar/) > [Don't just tell me a mystery; give me a world. Suzanne Myers delivers a hurricane-ravaged island shimmering with atmosphere and dense with secrets. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blundell/don-t-just-tell-me-a-mystery-give-me-a-world-suzanne-myers-delivers-a/) [Judy Blundell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blundell/) > [We at the Christian Writers Guild couldn't be more proud of Brandy Vallance. Let her debut novel transport you to an entirely fresh time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/we-at-the-christian-writers-guild-couldn-t-be-more-proud-of-brandy/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [I am very lucky that I get to tell stories for a living. I love being able to grab people's attention, to keep them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-am-very-lucky-that-i-get-to-tell-stories-for-a-living-i-love-being/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“Lucky Luke: I wonder how you manage to read with everything that's going on. Jolly Jumper: By turning the pages just like everyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris/lucky-luke-i-wonder-how-you-manage-to-read-with-everything-that-s/) Morris > [Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-added-to-the-pleasures-of-holding/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## More by Helene Hanff > [“Somewhere along the way I came upon a mews with a small sign on the entrance gate addressed to the passing world. The sign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/somewhere-along-the-way-i-came-upon-a-mews-with-a-small-sign-on-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [My problem is that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times. I only stop when at the bottom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/my-problem-is-that-while-other-people-are-reading-fifty-books-i-m/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I do love secondhand books that open to the page some previous owner read oftenest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-do-love-secondhand-books-that-open-to-the-page-some-previous-owner/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“I houseclean my books every spring and throw out those I'm never going to read again like I throw out clothes I'm never going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-houseclean-my-books-every-spring-and-throw-out-those-i-m-never/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [It's against my principles to buy a book I haven't read, it's like buying a dress you haven't tried on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/it-s-against-my-principles-to-buy-a-book-i-haven-t-read-it-s-like/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I wish you hadn't been so over-courteous about putting the inscription on a card instead of on the flyleaf. It's the bookseller coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous-about-putting-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I have these guilts about never having read Chaucer but I was talked out of learning Early Anglo-Saxon / Middle English by a friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-have-these-guilts-about-never-having-read-chaucer-but-i-was-talked/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I personally can't think of anything less sacrosanct than a bad book or even a mediocre book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-personally-can-t-think-of-anything-less-sacrosanct-than-a-bad-book/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [What fortune teller would ever have had the nerve to predict that the best years of my life would turn out to be my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/what-fortune-teller-would-ever-have-had-the-nerve-to-predict-that-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [“Please write and tell me about London, I live for the day when I step off the boat-train and feel its dirty sidewalks under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/please-write-and-tell-me-about-london-i-live-for-the-day-when-i-step/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I despair of ever getting it through anybody's head I am not interested in bookshops, I am interested in what's written in the books.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-despair-of-ever-getting-it-through-anybody-s-head-i-am-not/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [I liked reading about the nun who ate so dainty with her fingers she never dripped any grease on herself. I've never been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-liked-reading-about-the-nun-who-ate-so-dainty-with-her-fingers-she/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [If you happen to pass by 84 Charing Cross Road, kiss it for me? I owe it so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/if-you-happen-to-pass-by-84-charing-cross-road-kiss-it-for-me-i-owe/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [Talent is the infinite capacity for taking pains. Genius is the infinite capacity for achievement without taking any pains at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/talent-is-the-infinite-capacity-for-taking-pains-genius-is-the/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) > [Why is it that people who wouldn't dream of stealing anything else think it's perfectly all right to steal books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/why-is-it-that-people-who-wouldn-t-dream-of-stealing-anything-else/) [Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) [Explore all 37 Helene Hanff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone long gone has called my attention to.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Helene Hanff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/343/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-not_641193.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone…” — Helene Hanff", "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": "Helene Hanff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helene-hanff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I love inscriptions on flyleaves and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-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 } } ] } ```