--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great books are rare." description: "\"Great books are rare.\" — Ian Hacking" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg" --- # Great books are rare. ![“Great books are rare.” quote by Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg) > “Great books are rare.” [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excellent literature is uncommon, making it valuable and worthy of deep study. **In simple terms:** Great books are rare. Key Takeaway Seek and cherish quality reading. Themes literature rarity value education culture Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary reflective When to use this quote - academic curricula - personal libraries - book clubs - publishing decisions Key Concepts canon formation intellectual enrichment critical reading Questions to Reflect On - What makes a book great? - How to discover hidden gems? A Different Perspective Defining “great” is subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Rare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-rare-2110406/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books-242565/) [Rare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare/) ## Related quotes > [“People who still read books were a rare breed—and becoming more rare all the time. God Bless the readers of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fenton/people-who-still-read-books-were-a-rare-breed-and-becoming-more-rare/) [Richard Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-fenton/) > [“Books about books are a rare species, special tomes for writers and book lovers. More than an affirmation of taste, a book about books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/books-about-books-are-a-rare-species-special-tomes-for-writers-and/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [Books were rare,expensive, time-consuming to create and copy, and difficult to transport. That is why collections ofprint-based books developed around centers of religious belief,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/books-were-rare-expensive-time-consuming-to-create-and-copy-and/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [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/) > [“We encounter great souls by reading great books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-encounter-great-souls-by-reading-great-books/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Why are not more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books are not in everybody's reach; and though it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-are-not-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The truly great books are the few books that are over everybody's head all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truly-great-books-are-the-few-books-that-are-over-everybody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Which is so important, I mean, that's what's so great about the books, is, you know, those two worlds are sort of, the slacker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-winstead/which-is-so-important-i-mean-that-s-what-s-so-great-about-the-books/) [Mary Elizabeth Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-winstead/) > [“Great Books of the Western World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-kelly/great-books-of-the-western-world/) [Kevin Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-kelly/) > [Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [I do know great books help shape who I am and how I look at life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-kearney/i-do-know-great-books-help-shape-who-i-am-and-how-i-look-at-life/) [Mat Kearney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-kearney/) > [Great books conserve time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/great-books-conserve-time/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/every-10-years-you-re-a-different-person-and-the-really-great-books/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“Reading great books gives insight to the mind of great souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/reading-great-books-gives-insight-to-the-mind-of-great-souls/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Read the great books, gentlemen,” Mr. Monte said one day. “Just the great ones. Ignore the others. There’s not enough time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte-said-one-day-just-the-great/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) ## More by Ian Hacking > [The best reaction to a paradox is to invent a genuinely new and deep idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/the-best-reaction-to-a-paradox-is-to-invent-a-genuinely-new-and-deep/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One of the things Kuhn said about normal science is that people 'expect' things to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-of-the-things-kuhn-said-about-normal-science-is-that-people/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Probability fractions arise from our knowledge and from our ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/probability-fractions-arise-from-our-knowledge-and-from-our-ignorance/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [One ought to begin an analysis of power from the ground up, at the level of tiny local events where battles are unwittingly enacted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/one-ought-to-begin-an-analysis-of-power-from-the-ground-up-at-the/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is possible to argue that our present conception of revolution was staked out more securely in science than in political action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-possible-to-argue-that-our-present-conception-of-revolution-was/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Why should there be the method of science? There is not just one way to build a house, or even to grow tomatoes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/why-should-there-be-the-method-of-science-there-is-not-just-one-way/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Opinion is the companion of probability within the medieval epistemology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/opinion-is-the-companion-of-probability-within-the-medieval/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [Risk analysis can cater to any sort of hazard, but their profession owes its existence to a relatively narrow band of possible dangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/risk-analysis-can-cater-to-any-sort-of-hazard-but-their-profession/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [It is so hard to make important decisions that we have a great urge to reduce them to rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/it-is-so-hard-to-make-important-decisions-that-we-have-a-great-urge/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [In each case you settle on an act. Doing nothing at all counts as an act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/in-each-case-you-settle-on-an-act-doing-nothing-at-all-counts-as-an/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [I think it's unfortunate when people say that there is just one true story of science. For one thing, there are many different sciences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/i-think-it-s-unfortunate-when-people-say-that-there-is-just-one-true/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [As a political metaphor, a revolution could, in that sense, mean only a return to better times, or to the true constitution: a ridding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/as-a-political-metaphor-a-revolution-could-in-that-sense-mean-only-a/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [“Labels such as ‘‘the culture wars,’’ ‘‘the science wars,’’ or ‘‘the Freud wars’’ are now widely used to refer to some of the disagreements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/labels-such-as-the-culture-wars-the-science-wars-or-the-freud-wars/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [There are two ways in which a science develops; in response to problems which is itself creates, and in response to problems that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/there-are-two-ways-in-which-a-science-develops-in-response-to/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) > [From any vocabulary of ideas we can build other ideas by formal combinations of signs. But not any set of ideas will be instructive.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/from-any-vocabulary-of-ideas-we-can-build-other-ideas-by-formal/) [Ian Hacking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) [Explore all 75 Ian Hacking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "Great books are rare.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ian Hacking" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/great-books-are-rare/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/great-books-are-rare/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a4/ian-hacking-9085_books_great-books-are-rare-2621125_2621125.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Great books are rare.” — Ian Hacking", "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": "Ian Hacking", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-hacking/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great books are rare.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/great-books-are-rare/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-hacking/great-books-are-rare/#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 } } ] } ```