--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some books accrete things to themselves…" description: "\"Some books accrete things to themselves like a magnet. The writer risks sterility by subjecting the mysterious power of imagination to the devices of m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/john-clellon-holmes-39016_book_some-books-accrete-things-to-themselves_1814725.jpg" --- # Some books accrete things to themselves like a magnet. The… ![“Some books accrete things to themselves like a magnet. The writer risks sterility by subjecting the mysterious power of imagination to the devices of mere comprehension.” quote by John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/john-clellon-holmes-39016_book_some-books-accrete-things-to-themselves_1814725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/john-clellon-holmes-39016_book_some-books-accrete-things-to-themselves_1814725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/john-clellon-holmes-39016_book_some-books-accrete-things-to-themselves_1814725.jpg) > “Some books accrete things to themselves like a magnet. The writer risks sterility by subjecting the mysterious power of imagination to the devices of mere comprehension.” [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing can become stagnant when imagination is forced into rigid, overly analytical frameworks. **In simple terms:** Imagination needs freedom, not forced analysis. Key Takeaway Protect creative spontaneity. Themes creativity literature imagination discipline artistic freedom Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical guiding When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - story development - editing process Key Concepts magnetism of ideas creative risk literary critique Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize analysis over imagination in your writing? - How can you balance structure with creative freedom? A Different Perspective Overanalysis may stifle originality and lead to bland work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comprehension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comprehension/) [Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devices/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Devices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-devices-2144388/) [Magnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnet/) [Magnet Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magnet-writer-2144390/) [Mere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Power of imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-imagination/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Subjecting Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjecting-mysterious-2144389/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Risks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-risks-1385912/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [A writer has to take all the risks of putting down what he sees.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/a-writer-has-to-take-all-the-risks-of-putting-down-what-he-sees/) [James A. 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Even, because of the power of imagination, man fancies a sort of immortality in everything he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bediuzzaman/included-in-human-nature-is-an-intense-love-even-because-of-the-power/) [Bediuzzaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bediuzzaman/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) ## More by John Clellon Holmes > [But all I could think of was taking some books to read in jail. I held everybody up, choosing which ones to take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/but-all-i-could-think-of-was-taking-some-books-to-read-in-jail-i-held/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [Nothing like the road to rub all the sand out of your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/nothing-like-the-road-to-rub-all-the-sand-out-of-your-soul/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [“He’d been toting it, and checking it, and packing and unpacking, all the way since fate was on the river - that’s how long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/he-d-been-toting-it-and-checking-it-and-packing-and-unpacking-all-the/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [“A joy without object or reason rose within him, but like all such joys ebbed into frustration almost immediately because he did not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/a-joy-without-object-or-reason-rose-within-him-but-like-all-such-joys/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [Jazz music hashaunted America for seventy years.It has tempted us out of our lily-white reserve with its black promise of untrammeled joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/jazz-music-hashaunted-america-for-seventy-years-it-has-tempted-us-out/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [“...simply telling the truth wasn’t half enough. It still has to be brought to fictional life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/simply-telling-the-truth-wasn-t-half-enough-it-still-has-to-be/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [The so-called Beat Generation was a whole bunch of people, of all different nationalities, who came to the conclusion that society sucked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/the-so-called-beat-generation-was-a-whole-bunch-of-people-of-all/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [The idiotic industry of an ant building his hill in the path of a glacier, and imagining that he is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/the-idiotic-industry-of-an-ant-building-his-hill-in-the-path-of-a/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [“While leaning over the toilet getting up his nerve, he thought that the moment before making yourself throw up must be very like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/while-leaning-over-the-toilet-getting-up-his-nerve-he-thought-that/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) > [Certain kinds of clichés are the narcotics of the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-clellon-holmes/certain-kinds-of-clich-s-are-the-narcotics-of-the-middle-class/) [John Clellon Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) [Explore all 11 John Clellon Holmes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-clellon-holmes/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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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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