--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think, especially when you're in…" description: "\"I think, especially when you're in college, each book that you're reading tends to tell you who you are.\" — Jeffrey Eugenides" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/jeffrey-eugenides-462_book_i-think-especially-when-you-re-in-colleg_1508365.png" --- # I think, especially when you're in college, each book that… ![“I think, especially when you're in college, each book that you're reading tends to tell you who you are.” quote by Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/jeffrey-eugenides-462_book_i-think-especially-when-you-re-in-colleg_1508365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/jeffrey-eugenides-462_book_i-think-especially-when-you-re-in-colleg_1508365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/528/jeffrey-eugenides-462_book_i-think-especially-when-you-re-in-colleg_1508365.png) > “I think, especially when you're in college, each book that you're reading tends to tell you who you are.” [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading shapes self-identity, especially during formative college years. **In simple terms:** Books help you discover yourself. Key Takeaway Reflect on what you read. Themes identity education literature Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - college courses - book clubs - personal journals - career planning Key Concepts psychology development culture Questions to Reflect On - Which book changed your self-view? - How does literature influence personal growth? A Different Perspective Not all books offer clear self-insight; some may mislead. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-book-1612534/) [Especially College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/especially-college-1052795/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Tends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-tends-4196843/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Who you are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who-you-are/) ## Related quotes > [“I have a household of good books, and reading tends to take for me the place of experience—or rather to become itself experience concentrated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-have-a-household-of-good-books-and-reading-tends-to-take-for-me-the/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [“As long as reading is for us the instigator whose magic keys have opened the door to those dwelling-places deep within us that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/as-long-as-reading-is-for-us-the-instigator-whose-magic-keys-have/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [ It was very interesting \[book Fast Food Nation\] because all my friends who were in college, \[and\] this book became almost mandatory for them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilmer-valderrama/it-was-very-interesting-book-fast-food-nation-because-all-my-friends/) [Wilmer Valderrama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilmer-valderrama/) > [Everybody had to go to some college or other. 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"Remember that play we saw ("The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-don-t-approve-of-women-driving-mind-you-and-now-they-get-to-vote-he/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Her face was calm, but inside she was tense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/her-face-was-calm-but-inside-she-was-tense/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I know that attaching memories to books may be going out of the world, but while it lasts, it's a strong record of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-know-that-attaching-memories-to-books-may-be-going-out-of-the-world/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I spend most of every day writing. I like to write every day if I can. I don't start extremely early.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-spend-most-of-every-day-writing-i-like-to-write-every-day-if-i-can/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Maybe the best proof that the language is patriarchal is that it oversimplifies feeling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/maybe-the-best-proof-that-the-language-is-patriarchal-is-that-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [We knew that Cecilia had killed herself because she was a misfit, because the beyond called to her, and we knew that her sisters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/we-knew-that-cecilia-had-killed-herself-because-she-was-a-misfit/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [You can tell when something's not moving forward anymore. When the doubts you have about it don't go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/you-can-tell-when-something-s-not-moving-forward-anymore-when-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Normality wasn't normal. It couldn't be. If normality were normal, everybody could leave it alone. 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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. 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