--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I run the world, librarians will be…" description: "\"“When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. Even their smaller sorrows will last for only as long as you can take out a book.' -We A..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/karen-joy-fowler-3727_books_when-i-run-the-world-librarians-will-be_2993698.png" --- # When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from… ![“When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. Even their smaller sorrows will last for only as long as you can take out a book.' -We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” quote by Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/karen-joy-fowler-3727_books_when-i-run-the-world-librarians-will-be_2993698.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/karen-joy-fowler-3727_books_when-i-run-the-world-librarians-will-be_2993698.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09b/karen-joy-fowler-3727_books_when-i-run-the-world-librarians-will-be_2993698.png) > ““When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. Even their smaller sorrows will last for only as long as you can take out a book.' -We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves”” [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A ruler imagines a world where librarians are spared tragedy, implying books provide solace and escape from sorrow. **In simple terms:** Books offer refuge from hardship. Key Takeaway Value literature as comfort. Themes libraries tragedy solace literature imagination Mood hopeful contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading for comfort - library visits - literary festivals Key Concepts cultural preservation emotional healing storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do books help process loss? - Can literature replace real-world support? A Different Perspective Idealizing librarians may oversimplify grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Exempt Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exempt-tragedy-880338/) [Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) [Librarians Exempt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians-exempt-880334/) [Smaller Sorrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smaller-sorrows-4717902/) [World Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-librarians-880336/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. Even their smaller sorrows will last only for as long as you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/when-i-run-the-world-librarians-will-be-exempt-from-tragedy-even/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [None of us are exempt from tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-flores/none-of-us-are-exempt-from-tragedy/) [Brian Flores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-flores/) > [When people look at me outside, they think, 'She's so lucky,' but no one's exempt from tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/when-people-look-at-me-outside-they-think-she-s-so-lucky-but-no-one-s/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [When the world asks if there is any hope, we can say absolutely! No one is exempt from tragedy or disappointment- God himself was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/when-the-world-asks-if-there-is-any-hope-we-can-say-absolutely-no-one/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“To librarians, booksellers, and collectors there is nothing limited in the subject of books about books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leona-rostenberg/to-librarians-booksellers-and-collectors-there-is-nothing-limited-in/) [Leona Rostenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leona-rostenberg/) > [“I regretted my human form briefly; it would be so much easier to drag and rope information into the brain as neatly as one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-johnson/i-regretted-my-human-form-briefly-it-would-be-so-much-easier-to-drag/) [Marilyn Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-johnson/) > [Librarians have always stood up for writers and readers in every kind of community across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/librarians-have-always-stood-up-for-writers-and-readers-in-every-kind/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“To all the librarians in the world on behalf of all the kids y’all helped grow up to be writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/to-all-the-librarians-in-the-world-on-behalf-of-all-the-kids-y-all/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“Is magic common in librarians?" "Oh, yes. Anyone who touches a book has more than a little magic brush off on them. And if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-monk/is-magic-common-in-librarians-oh-yes-anyone-who-touches-a-book-has/) [Devon Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-monk/) > [“We also wish to make it absolutely clear that Librarians should not attempt to use the Library to transport dinosaur eggs. And if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genevieve-cogman/we-also-wish-to-make-it-absolutely-clear-that-librarians-should-not/) [Genevieve Cogman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genevieve-cogman/) > [The librarian of today, and it will be true still more of the librarians of tomorrow, are not fiery dragons interposed between the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-osler/the-librarian-of-today-and-it-will-be-true-still-more-of-the/) [William Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-osler/) > [“The librarian, a tiny blonde twenty-something in a Riot grrrl T-shirt, looked up from her desk and smiled. Don’t let anyone tell you that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-callaghan/the-librarian-a-tiny-blonde-twenty-something-in-a-riot-grrrl-t-shirt/) [Helen Callaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-callaghan/) > ['The Librarians' is a show that really needs to have ten days, but we shoot it in seven, so the workload is really tremendous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-wyle/the-librarians-is-a-show-that-really-needs-to-have-ten-days-but-we/) [Noah Wyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-wyle/) > [Librarians lend people books from the library. The best librarians are children's book librarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/librarians-lend-people-books-from-the-library-the-best-librarians-are/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) ## More by Karen Joy Fowler > [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [The sunset you see is always better than the one you don’t. More stars are always better than less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-sunset-you-see-is-always-better-than-the-one-you-don-t-more-stars/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“Je zou maar slecht over hem gaan denken en dat wil ik niet, want dat is mijn taak”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/je-zou-maar-slecht-over-hem-gaan-denken-en-dat-wil-ik-niet-want-dat/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I'm unclear on the definition of person the courts have been using. Something that sieves out dolphins but lets corporations slide on through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-m-unclear-on-the-definition-of-person-the-courts-have-been-using/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“The secret to a good life,” he told me once, “is to bring your A game to everything you do. Even if all you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-secret-to-a-good-life-he-told-me-once-is-to-bring-your-a-game-to/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“So many problems, however infinitely varied they first appear, turn out to be matters of money. I can't tell you how much this offends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/so-many-problems-however-infinitely-varied-they-first-appear-turn-out/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“The world runs,” Lowell said, “on the fuel of this endless, fathomless misery. People know it, but they don’t mind what they don’t see.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-world-runs-lowell-said-on-the-fuel-of-this-endless-fathomless/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“I didn't want a world in which I had to choose between blind human babies and tortured monkey ones. To be frank, that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-didn-t-want-a-world-in-which-i-had-to-choose-between-blind-human/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“They never reminisced about the time they had to drive halfway back to Indianapolis because I’d left Dexter Poindexter, my terry-cloth penguin (threadbare, ravaged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/they-never-reminisced-about-the-time-they-had-to-drive-halfway-back/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I once broke up with a boy because he wrote me an awful poem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/i-once-broke-up-with-a-boy-because-he-wrote-me-an-awful-poem/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“Here is my objection to submarines and space travel: not enough windows. What difference does it make if you're in outer space or underwater,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/here-is-my-objection-to-submarines-and-space-travel-not-enough/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [. . . strange and fantastic things really happen. During a rainstorm in Australia, fish fall from the sky; several Southern states consider legislation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/strange-and-fantastic-things-really-happen-during-a-rainstorm-in/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [Every mother can easily imagine losing a child. Motherhood is always half loss anyway. The three-year-old is lost at five, the five-year-old at nine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/every-mother-can-easily-imagine-losing-a-child-motherhood-is-always/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“...the world runs on the fuel of an endless, fathomless animal misery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/the-world-runs-on-the-fuel-of-an-endless-fathomless-animal-misery/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [“He envied the bark, which had been, in the course of one lifetime, both forest and fire. One endured; one destroyed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/he-envied-the-bark-which-had-been-in-the-course-of-one-lifetime-both/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) [Explore all 122 Karen Joy Fowler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. 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