--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An aging writer has the not insignificant…" description: "\"An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png" --- # An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of… ![“An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will outlast him for a while.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png) > “An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will outlast him for a while.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An older author finds comfort in knowing his books will continue to be discovered and outlive him, offering lasting impact beyond his lifetime. **In simple terms:** Books can outlast their author, offering lasting impact. Key Takeaway Create work that endures beyond you. Themes legacy longevity literature Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - publishing - archiving - library collections - literary estates Key Concepts posthumous influence reader discovery Questions to Reflect On - What steps can ensure your work reaches future readers? - How does knowing your work may outlive you affect your writing? A Different Perspective Readers may never find the books without promotion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Aging Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging-writer-4003497/) [Behind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behind/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-wait-3945556/) [Discover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discover/) [Him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/him/) [Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal/) [Insignificant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insignificant/) [Outlast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlast/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Readers Discover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-discover-4003499/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) [Satisfaction Shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction-shelf-4003498/) [Shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf/) [Shelf Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf-books-1033316/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait/) [While](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/while/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Authors frequently say things they are unaware of; only after they have gotten the reactions of their readers do they discover what they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/authors-frequently-say-things-they-are-unaware-of-only-after-they/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“I love books where I can't wait to turn every page, songs that grab me the first time I hear them, and films that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grooters/i-love-books-where-i-can-t-wait-to-turn-every-page-songs-that-grab-me/) [John Grooters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grooters/) > [“can think of three other books which are comparable avalanches: Tolstoy’s Resurrection, Victor Serge’s Years Without Pity and Andrei Platanov’s Chevengur. Such great books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/can-think-of-three-other-books-which-are-comparable-avalanches/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“i am so excited about these books i cant wait to read these books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-so-excited-about-these-books-i-cant-wait-to-read-these-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Each of us will make his own shelf of books. The book for me is the book that delights, attracts, soothes, or uplifts me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-francis-egan/each-of-us-will-make-his-own-shelf-of-books-the-book-for-me-is-the/) [Maurice Francis Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-francis-egan/) > [There were two sets of double doors leading out of the antechamber, one marked STACKS and the other TOMES. Not knowing the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-were-two-sets-of-double-doors-leading-out-of-the-antechamber/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [One could get a first-class education from a shelf of books five feet long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-william-eliot/one-could-get-a-first-class-education-from-a-shelf-of-books-five-feet/) [Charles William Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-william-eliot/) > [ “\[I\] threw open the door to find Rob sit­ting on the low stool in front of my book­case, sur­round­ed by card­board box­es. He was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-barrows/i-threw-open-the-door-to-find-rob-sit-ting-on-the-low-stool-in-front/) [Annie Barrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-barrows/) > [You are a shelf of books without the pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-aplin/you-are-a-shelf-of-books-without-the-pages/) [Gabrielle Aplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-aplin/) > [“It should be possible to exist with only a short shelf of books, to read and give away. After all - we may not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/it-should-be-possible-to-exist-with-only-a-short-shelf-of-books-to/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Always have a dream that will outlast your lifetime,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-layton/always-have-a-dream-that-will-outlast-your-lifetime/) [Jack Layton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-layton/) > [“love will always outlast fear.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-crownover/love-will-always-outlast-fear-he/) [Jay Crownover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-crownover/) > [Wikipedians believe (and I do, too) that bits, being abstract, will outlast paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/wikipedians-believe-and-i-do-too-that-bits-being-abstract-will/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [I got one named Ashley. Swear she can outlast me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarion/i-got-one-named-ashley-swear-she-can-outlast-me/) [Omarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarion/) > [One of the trademarks of a champion is that he can outlast you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-trademarks-of-a-champion-is-that-he-can-outlast-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Aging quotes > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [In the past 40 years, the United States lost more than a million farmers and ranchers. Many of our farmers are aging. Today, only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-vilsack/in-the-past-40-years-the-united-states-lost-more-than-a-million/) [Tom Vilsack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-vilsack/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess: Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prayer-of-an-anonymous-abbess-lord-thou-knowest-better-than-myself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [All the dangers in our world are like a blessed wake up call. They tell us to live life NOW... not tomorrow, not when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/all-the-dangers-in-our-world-are-like-a-blessed-wake-up-call-they/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“You could see the signs of female aging as diseased, especially if you had a vested interest in making women too see them your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-wolf/you-could-see-the-signs-of-female-aging-as-diseased-especially-if-you/) [Naomi Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-wolf/) > [“It takes maturity to be able to laugh like a child again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moffat-machingura/it-takes-maturity-to-be-able-to-laugh-like-a-child-again/) [Moffat Machingura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moffat-machingura/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [Growing old-it's not nice, but it's interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/growing-old-it-s-not-nice-but-it-s-interesting/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Anything is possible in the life of a man if he lives long enough. Even maturity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howell-raines/anything-is-possible-in-the-life-of-a-man-if-he-lives-long-enough/) [Howell Raines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howell-raines/) > [I just want to be Patty McCormack. I want to spend every year aging the way she has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-varney/i-just-want-to-be-patty-mccormack-i-want-to-spend-every-year-aging/) [Janet Varney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-varney/) > [Maturity is reached the day we don't need to be lied to about anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yerby/maturity-is-reached-the-day-we-don-t-need-to-be-lied-to-about-anything/) [Frank Yerby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-yerby/) [Browse all 2,792 Aging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for their ideal readers to discover them, will outlast him for a while.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Updike" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignificant-satisfaction-of-a-shelf-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Aging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignificant-satisfaction-of-a-shelf-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ee/john-updike-396_aging_an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignifican_460763.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An aging writer has the not insignificant satisfaction of a shelf of books behind him that, as they wait for…” — John Updike", "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": "John Updike", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "An aging writer has the not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignificant-satisfaction-of-a-shelf-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/an-aging-writer-has-the-not-insignificant-satisfaction-of-a-shelf-of/#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 } } ] } ```