--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You could get a book then. There was a…" description: "\"“You could get a book then. There was a book in the library about Holland. There were lovely foreign names in it and pictures of strangelooking cities ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg" --- # You could get a book then. There was a book in the library… ![“You could get a book then. There was a book in the library about Holland. There were lovely foreign names in it and pictures of strangelooking cities and ships. It made you feel so happy.” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg) > ““You could get a book then. There was a book in the library about Holland. There were lovely foreign names in it and pictures of strangelooking cities and ships. It made you feel so happy.”” [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading about distant places can evoke joy and wonder, transporting the mind beyond everyday surroundings. **In simple terms:** Books about foreign lands bring happiness. Key Takeaway Seek stories that broaden your horizons. Themes joy imagination travel Mood nostalgic inspired Type literary reflective When to use this quote - library visits - travel planning - cultural exploration - creative writing Key Concepts literature escapism nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What foreign culture excites you most? - How can you recreate that joy locally? A Different Perspective Happiness may be fleeting and tied to idealized images. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-library-1174242/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feel Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-happy/) [Holland Lovely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holland-lovely-1174241/) [Library Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-holland-1174240/) [Lovely Foreign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovely-foreign-1174243/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I remember, as a kid, I couldn't wait to get my library card, get my first book. There was a sphinx on the cover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-hernandez/i-remember-as-a-kid-i-couldn-t-wait-to-get-my-library-card-get-my/) [Keith Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-hernandez/) > [If you have a question about anything, the answer can be found in a book somewhere in the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/if-you-have-a-question-about-anything-the-answer-can-be-found-in-a/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [That you can go anywhere in America and get a book from a library is just the most amazing thing in the world. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/that-you-can-go-anywhere-in-america-and-get-a-book-from-a-library-is/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Some men have only one book in them, others a library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-men-have-only-one-book-in-them-others-a-library/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Which book you cannot find in a library? Cheque-books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/which-book-you-cannot-find-in-a-library-cheque-books/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [It's one thing looking up your own book in a library, but imagine being able to look up your own word in the dictionary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-horne/it-s-one-thing-looking-up-your-own-book-in-a-library-but-imagine/) [Alex Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-horne/) > [When I was twelve, I decided to become a chef. I stole a book from the library about the greatest restaurants in France. I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-ripert/when-i-was-twelve-i-decided-to-become-a-chef-i-stole-a-book-from-the/) [Eric Ripert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-ripert/) > [When someone tell me they illegally downloaded one of my audiobooks I think, Thanks a lot, Pal. When someone tells me they checked my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/when-someone-tell-me-they-illegally-downloaded-one-of-my-audiobooks-i/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [It is like having a book out from the library. It is like constantly having a book out from the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/it-is-like-having-a-book-out-from-the-library-it-is-like-constantly/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Just be a cool grandpa who's creative, and hang out and tell stories and read a book in the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/just-be-a-cool-grandpa-who-s-creative-and-hang-out-and-tell-stories/) [Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I'm so happy I met you, you make my life complete and I feel happy all the time. I love you!! xxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bevan-riddiford/i-m-so-happy-i-met-you-you-make-my-life-complete-and-i-feel-happy-all/) [James Bevan-Riddiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bevan-riddiford/) > [I just love, love going around and traveling and bringing the music to people. They just make you feel so happy that you came.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-just-love-love-going-around-and-traveling-and-bringing-the-music-to/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [Good skin makes me feel pretty, and it makes me feel healthy, and it makes me feel happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cara-santa-maria/good-skin-makes-me-feel-pretty-and-it-makes-me-feel-healthy-and-it/) [Cara Santa Maria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cara-santa-maria/) > [You want your kids to feel happy and good about themselves. The rest they'll work out on their own. You never know what your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-brannaman/you-want-your-kids-to-feel-happy-and-good-about-themselves-the-rest/) [Buck Brannaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-brannaman/) ## More by James Joyce > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody's body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ah-poor-dogsbody-here-lies-poor-dogsbody-s-body/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/two-cronies-drank-to-the-memory-of-their-past-an-abyss-of-fortune-or/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington but in the convex mirror grin unstruck the bonham eyes and fatchuck cheekchops of Jollypoldy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-passes-struck-by-the-stare-of-truculent-wellington-but-in-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“-Qui vous a mis dans cette fichue position?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/qui-vous-a-mis-dans-cette-fichue-position/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppled masonry, and time one livid final flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-hear-the-ruin-of-all-space-shattered-glass-and-toppled-masonry-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/in-woman-s-womb-word-is-made-flesh-but-in-the-spirit-of-the-maker-all/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-flows-purling-widely-flowing-floating-foampool-flower-unfurling/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Explore all 707 James Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## 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": "“You could get a book then. There was a book in the library about Holland. There were lovely foreign names in it and pictures of strangelooking cities and ships. It made you feel so happy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-book-in-the-library-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-book-in-the-library-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf5/james-joyce-281_books_you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-bo_1703580.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You could get a book then. There was a book in the library about Holland. There were lovely foreign names in…” — James Joyce", "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": "James Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You could get a book then....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-book-in-the-library-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/you-could-get-a-book-then-there-was-a-book-in-the-library-about/#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 } } ] } ```