--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My books standing there on the shelf do…" description: "\"My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I have written them.\" — Jorge Luis Borges" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg" --- # My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I… ![“My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I have written them.” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg) > “My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I have written them.” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The books exist independently of the author's awareness, highlighting the autonomy of art. **In simple terms:** Books exist without the author's knowledge. Key Takeaway Recognize that creations can have lives of their own. Themes creativity autonomy art existence Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - publishing - library organization - literary analysis Key Concepts metafiction authorial distance Questions to Reflect On - How does a work change when the creator is unaware? - What responsibilities arise from unintended influence? A Different Perspective The author may still influence interpretation despite ignorance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Having books standing on a shelf in a room is like having completely different worlds at the ready, waiting to be explored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-f-hermann/having-books-standing-on-a-shelf-in-a-room-is-like-having-completely/) J.F Hermann > [One of my 'Secrets of Adulthood' is: Somewhere, keep an empty shelf. I know where my empty shelf is, and I treasure it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/one-of-my-secrets-of-adulthood-is-somewhere-keep-an-empty-shelf-i/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [“So I stood around that big square of books. Standing around books, even books in a foreign language, you feel a kind of electricity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aravind-adiga/so-i-stood-around-that-big-square-of-books-standing-around-books-even/) [Aravind Adiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aravind-adiga/) > [Man what's the point of living if I'm living for myself Lord empty out my life before I put you on the shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/man-what-s-the-point-of-living-if-i-m-living-for-myself-lord-empty/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [I cannot live with you, It would be life, And life is over there Behind the shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/i-cannot-live-with-you-it-would-be-life-and-life-is-over-there-behind/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [At the end of the day, it's all about what's on the shelf at the end of the year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coppell/at-the-end-of-the-day-it-s-all-about-what-s-on-the-shelf-at-the-end/) [Steve Coppell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coppell/) > [There's a Bible on that shelf there. But I keep it next to Voltaire - poison and antidote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/there-s-a-bible-on-that-shelf-there-but-i-keep-it-next-to-voltaire/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There is space in the supermarket shelf for all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-grant/there-is-space-in-the-supermarket-shelf-for-all-of-us/) [Hugh Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-grant/) > [My books are often shelved around those of Chinua Achebe and Margaret Atwood, or Chimamanda Adichie and Monica Ali. All of this depends, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-books-are-often-shelved-around-those-of-chinua-achebe-and-margaret/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [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/) > [She's a rare vase, out of a cat's reach, on its shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/she-s-a-rare-vase-out-of-a-cat-s-reach-on-its-shelf/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Everything in God's store is on the bottom shelf...you have to get on your knees to get it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-collier/everything-in-god-s-store-is-on-the-bottom-shelf-you-have-to-get-on/) [Robert Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-collier/) > [Don't ask me to put up a shelf, but I love engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-dickinson/don-t-ask-me-to-put-up-a-shelf-but-i-love-engineering/) [Bruce Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-dickinson/) > [Let's put the jam on the lower shelf so the little people can reach it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-yarborough/let-s-put-the-jam-on-the-lower-shelf-so-the-little-people-can-reach-it/) Ralph Yarborough > [People are best on records and books because you can turn them off or put them back on the shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/people-are-best-on-records-and-books-because-you-can-turn-them-off-or/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Loneliness does not worry me; life is difficult enough, putting up with yourself and with your own habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/loneliness-does-not-worry-me-life-is-difficult-enough-putting-up-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## 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. 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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. 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. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I have written them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jorge Luis Borges" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do-not-know-that-i-have-written/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do-not-know-that-i-have-written/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/015/jorge-luis-borges-275_book_my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do_1297154.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My books standing there on the shelf do not know that I have written them.” — Jorge Luis Borges", "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": "Jorge Luis Borges", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My books standing there on the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do-not-know-that-i-have-written/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-books-standing-there-on-the-shelf-do-not-know-that-i-have-written/#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 } } ] } ```