--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Learning to decipher words had only added…" description: "\"Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a thumb-riffle, p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/john-crowley-7544_book_learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-adde_86935.jpg" --- # Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures… ![“Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a thumb-riffle, poring over frontispieces. Books! Opening with a crackle of old glue, releasing perfume; closing with a solid thump.” quote by John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/john-crowley-7544_book_learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-adde_86935.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/john-crowley-7544_book_learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-adde_86935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/202/john-crowley-7544_book_learning-to-decipher-words-had-only-adde_86935.jpg) > “Learning to decipher words had only added to the pleasures of holding spines and turning pages, measuring the journey to the end with a thumb-riffle, poring over frontispieces. Books! Opening with a crackle of old glue, releasing perfume; closing with a solid thump.” [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes the tactile pleasure of reading physical books—the smell, sound, and feel of pages—as a sensory ritual that deepens engagement with the text. **In simple terms:** Physical books engage multiple senses. Key Takeaway Reading is a multisensory experience. Themes sensory experience reading books nostalgia ritual Mood nostalgic joyful Type descriptive reflective When to use this quote - bookstores - libraries - personal reading Key Concepts tactile pleasure literary appreciation Practical Applications - marketing for print books - literary essays Questions to Reflect On - What does the physicality of a book add to comprehension? - How does digital reading compare in sensory richness? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“inability to decipher words came from neglect, but Eve knew better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/inability-to-decipher-words-came-from-neglect-but-eve-knew-better/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [“Shelves full of books are all around me. 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Her lush, lyrical way with words will draw you in and keep you turning the pages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/jax-cassidy-is-delightful-her-lush-lyrical-way-with-words-will-draw/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [“Turning the pages patiently in search of meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/turning-the-pages-patiently-in-search-of-meanings/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) > [“..reading a book doesn’t mean just turning the pages. 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Jolly Jumper: By turning the pages just like everyone else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris/lucky-luke-i-wonder-how-you-manage-to-read-with-everything-that-s/) Morris ## More by John Crowley > [“The Crows of the region could have told them that there are almost always more Crows around them than they can see; but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/the-crows-of-the-region-could-have-told-them-that-there-are-almost/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [It occurred to him that seeing a woman's child is like seeing a woman naked, in the way it changes how her face looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/it-occurred-to-him-that-seeing-a-woman-s-child-is-like-seeing-a-woman/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“He learned, though slowly, what all great harrowed lovers learn: that love is what most surely compels love -- is perhaps, except for brute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/he-learned-though-slowly-what-all-great-harrowed-lovers-learn-that/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [“...only think a moment that we are here now, and that that was then, and it has come to this, and how odd, odd,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-crowley/only-think-a-moment-that-we-are-here-now-and-that-that-was-then-and/) [John Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-crowley/) > [Love is a myth.' 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