--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish you hadn't been so over-courteous…" description: "\"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 in you all, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous_667139.jpg" --- # I wish you hadn't been so over-courteous about putting the… ![“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 in you all, you were afraid you'd decrease its value. You would have increased it for the present owner. (And possibly for the future owner. I love…” quote by Helene Hanff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous_667139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous_667139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/helene-hanff-17131_attention_i-wish-you-hadn-t-been-so-over-courteous_667139.jpg) > “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 in you all, you were afraid you'd decrease its value. You would have increased it for the present owner. (And possibly for the future owner. 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. Inscribing books adds personal value, linking readers across time and space. **In simple terms:** Notes personalize books and connect people. Key Takeaway Add personal notes to cherished books. Themes literature connection legacy Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type literary personal When to use this quote - gift giving - book collecting - family heirlooms Key Concepts bibliophilia personalization history Questions to Reflect On - Do you value personal notes in books? - How do inscriptions affect a book’s worth? A Different Perspective Not everyone appreciates added inscriptions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Booksellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/booksellers/) [Coming out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-out/) [Inscriptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inscriptions/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) ## Related quotes > [I love inscriptions on flyleaves and notes in margins, I like the comradely sense of turning pages someone else turned, and reading passages someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helene-hanff/i-love-inscriptions-on-flyleaves-and-notes-in-margins-i-like-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/) > [“Like everywhere else in the world, the book stores of Britain are struggling with being pushed out of the market by online booksellers. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alana-muir/like-everywhere-else-in-the-world-the-book-stores-of-britain-are/) Alana Muir > [Overall, I'd say I was an awesome bookseller, but probably not the best book shelver. I loved recommending books and helping people find books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/overall-i-d-say-i-was-an-awesome-bookseller-but-probably-not-the-best/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [ \[Mid-list writers are now\] less greed on the part of both publishers and chain booksellers. It is easier for them to publish and sell… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-p-kinsella/mid-list-writers-are-now-less-greed-on-the-part-of-both-publishers/) [W. P. Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-p-kinsella/) > [The problem is that so many of them are not getting told. 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Genres…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hand/i-never-think-about-genre-when-i-work-i-ve-written-fantasy-science/) [Elizabeth Hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hand/) > [“Booksellers in the gross are taken for little better than a pack of knaves and atheists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dunton/booksellers-in-the-gross-are-taken-for-little-better-than-a-pack-of/) John Dunton > ["Out of Print" is bookseller speak for "We can't be hedgehogged".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/out-of-print-is-bookseller-speak-for-we-can-t-be-hedgehogged/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“To librarians, booksellers, and collectors there is nothing limited in the subject of books about books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-rostenberg/to-librarians-booksellers-and-collectors-there-is-nothing-limited-in/) Leona Rostenberg ## 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. 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