--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The library smells like old books-a…" description: "\"“The library smells like old books-a thousand leather doorways into other worlds.\" \"Dear sir, I was called away and couldn't bring you, but now I feel ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/laura-whitcomb-15649_haunted_the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thou_1101866.png" --- # The library smells like old books-a thousand leather… ![“The library smells like old books-a thousand leather doorways into other worlds." "Dear sir, I was called away and couldn't bring you, but now I feel haunted. I know that sometimes you felt I was a part of you and that losing me would leave a hole in your heart, but that's not true... Please…” quote by Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/laura-whitcomb-15649_haunted_the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thou_1101866.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/laura-whitcomb-15649_haunted_the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thou_1101866.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e3/laura-whitcomb-15649_haunted_the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thou_1101866.png) > ““The library smells like old books-a thousand leather doorways into other worlds." "Dear sir, I was called away and couldn't bring you, but now I feel haunted. I know that sometimes you felt I was a part of you and that losing me would leave a hole in your heart, but that's not true... Please forgive me... I am sorry that I didn't say goodbye.”” [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books evoke sensory memories, opening portals to imagined realms and emotional connections. **In simple terms:** Books feel like doors to other worlds. Key Takeaway Cherish and share stories. Themes imagination nostalgia connection Mood reflective melancholic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - reading - writing - teaching - personal reflection Key Concepts sensory perception literary metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How do you let stories shape your identity? - What does a book mean to you? A Different Perspective May idealize books, ignoring practical limits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-love/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Say goodbye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-goodbye/) ## Related quotes > [The library smells like old books — a thousand leather doorways into other worlds. I hear silence, like the mind of God. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thousand-leather-doorways-into/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“About the library," he whispered. He took out the pencil stub from his pocket and poised it over the page. "Will you write like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/about-the-library-he-whispered-he-took-out-the-pencil-stub-from-his/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“A Letter from a Muse to Her Poet: Dear sir, I was called away and couldn’t bring you, but now I feel haunted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/a-letter-from-a-muse-to-her-poet-dear-sir-i-was-called-away-and/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“When we feel haunted, it is the pull of our own home we're experiencing, but a more upsetting possibility is that the past has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/when-we-feel-haunted-it-is-the-pull-of-our-own-home-we-re/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > ['Galpo Holeo Sotti' had been made some time ago. But even today, I feel haunted. I still get scared to be all alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mimi-chakraborty/galpo-holeo-sotti-had-been-made-some-time-ago-but-even-today-i-feel/) [Mimi Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mimi-chakraborty/) > [“I don't want to stay here without you,' said Dolly. 'This place is you. You've made it. It is soaked in you. I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-don-t-want-to-stay-here-without-you-said-dolly-this-place-is-you/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [It was the night before Christmas and all I wanted was to no longer feel haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-riccitello/it-was-the-night-before-christmas-and-all-i-wanted-was-to-no-longer/) [Dominic Riccitello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-riccitello/) > [“The pain I felt when I lost my glove was nothing compared to the pain I felt losing my hand as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-pain-i-felt-when-i-lost-my-glove-was-nothing-compared-to-the-pain/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [But when Anthony kissed her, she felt as if she were losing her mind. And when he kissed her twice, she wasn't even sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/but-when-anthony-kissed-her-she-felt-as-if-she-were-losing-her-mind/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [I do feel haunted by some of the letters and the suffering people have endured. But I keep in mind that the people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-yoffe/i-do-feel-haunted-by-some-of-the-letters-and-the-suffering-people/) [Emily Yoffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-yoffe/) > [“This, I found, was what happened so often to me in Turkey: You’re learning about a country, you have read books, and so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-hansen/this-i-found-was-what-happened-so-often-to-me-in-turkey-you-re/) [Suzy Hansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-hansen/) > [“When I arrived home from Boston, I realized there were no pictures on my mantel. I set down my suitcase and walked into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/when-i-arrived-home-from-boston-i-realized-there-were-no-pictures-on/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [I don't like haunted houses or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-burrow/i-don-t-like-haunted-houses-or-anything-like-that/) [Joe Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-burrow/) > [“...the haunted always take refuge in stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/the-haunted-always-take-refuge-in-stillness/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) ## More by Laura Whitcomb > [“A Letter from a Muse to Her Poet: Dear sir, I was called away and couldn’t bring you, but now I feel haunted. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/a-letter-from-a-muse-to-her-poet-dear-sir-i-was-called-away-and/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [To desperately hope," I whispered James let out a breath. "To gratefully believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/to-desperately-hope-i-whispered-james-let-out-a-breath-to-gratefully/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“The fear of being noticed after a hundred years disappears as I look into a pair of autumn-colored eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/the-fear-of-being-noticed-after-a-hundred-years-disappears-as-i-look/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“Be a sparrow, I told myself. Be silent and fly away. No one will bother you if you disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/be-a-sparrow-i-told-myself-be-silent-and-fly-away-no-one-will-bother/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [The library smells like old books — a thousand leather doorways into other worlds. I hear silence, like the mind of God. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/the-library-smells-like-old-books-a-thousand-leather-doorways-into/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [That I am your heart's secret fills me with song. I wish I could sing of you here in my cage. You are my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/that-i-am-your-heart-s-secret-fills-me-with-song-i-wish-i-could-sing/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“I would court you with a passion, if things were different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/i-would-court-you-with-a-passion-if-things-were-different/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“I would court you with a passion, if things were different. You’d never get me off your porch swing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/i-would-court-you-with-a-passion-if-things-were-different-you-d-never/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“in the wings, as often mothers and grandmothers are, ready to catch the children should they need saving,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/in-the-wings-as-often-mothers-and-grandmothers-are-ready-to-catch-the/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [Boys and girls hid in the library stacks or behind the gym and flew at each other with no promise of love or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/boys-and-girls-hid-in-the-library-stacks-or-behind-the-gym-and-flew/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“Dear sir: twelve hours is as twelve years to me. I imagine you in your home, smiling, thinking of me. That I am your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/dear-sir-twelve-hours-is-as-twelve-years-to-me-i-imagine-you-in-your/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [Books are boring," James said as he wrote. "They line the walls like a thousand leather doorways to be opened into worlds unknown," I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/books-are-boring-james-said-as-he-wrote-they-line-the-walls-like-a/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“I knew that she was trying to save her little girl, but sometimes mothers with the best intentions kill their daughters all the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/i-knew-that-she-was-trying-to-save-her-little-girl-but-sometimes/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [“Time is a ribbon, a delicate organdy, so thin that you can see through it to the layer of time below and the layer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/time-is-a-ribbon-a-delicate-organdy-so-thin-that-you-can-see-through/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) > [Someone was looking at me, a disturbing sensation if you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-whitcomb/someone-was-looking-at-me-a-disturbing-sensation-if-you-re-dead/) [Laura Whitcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) [Explore all 42 Laura Whitcomb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-whitcomb/) ## More Haunted quotes > [I love ghost stories, I love to read them, and I love the idea of being haunted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-perks/i-love-ghost-stories-i-love-to-read-them-and-i-love-the-idea-of-being/) [Micah Perks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-perks/) > [“...the haunted always take refuge in stillness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-dodd/the-haunted-always-take-refuge-in-stillness/) [Christina Dodd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-dodd/) > [I don't like haunted houses or anything like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-burrow/i-don-t-like-haunted-houses-or-anything-like-that/) [Joe Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-burrow/) > [I keep all my clothes on in House on Haunted Hill, Mary Jane's Last Dance, and The Way of the Gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taye-diggs/i-keep-all-my-clothes-on-in-house-on-haunted-hill-mary-jane-s-last/) [Taye Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taye-diggs/) > [They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/they-call-them-the-haunted-shores-these-stretches-of-devonshire-and/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [“She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer out of the window of her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-herself-is-a-haunted-house-she-does-not-possess-herself-her/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [...you don't need ghosts to be haunted. Memory does that just fine without any supernatural help at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/you-don-t-need-ghosts-to-be-haunted-memory-does-that-just-fine/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“She haunted the makeup department until she was bored, then took a look around home furnishings. She wasn't ever going to get another dining…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/she-haunted-the-makeup-department-until-she-was-bored-then-took-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Despite the way she rallied, the haunted look in her eyes was enough to break him, as lost and lonely as an abandoned child’s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/despite-the-way-she-rallied-the-haunted-look-in-her-eyes-was-enough/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [“Every town has ‘THAT house’: the one that once held dark secrets. You know the house… the one no one will purchase? The one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/every-town-has-that-house-the-one-that-once-held-dark-secrets-you/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [“..., imagine a loamy earth that starts with genocide, then adds a mix of further disease, wars, hurricanes, murder, great fires, dueling, insurrection and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-caskey/imagine-a-loamy-earth-that-starts-with-genocide-then-adds-a-mix-of/) [James Caskey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-caskey/) > [“Darkness lingered in those blue eyes, like ghosts haunted him despite only the two of them standing in this cabin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-mcintyre/darkness-lingered-in-those-blue-eyes-like-ghosts-haunted-him-despite/) [Katherine McIntyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-mcintyre/) > [“Your eyes remained haunted. Seeing something in the world that your mirth can not dissolve.” I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/your-eyes-remained-haunted-seeing-something-in-the-world-that-your/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“The director said he's got a haunted soul and a natural sweetness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-toews/the-director-said-he-s-got-a-haunted-soul-and-a-natural-sweetness/) [Miriam Toews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-toews/) > [Hotels are really scary. There are a lot of haunted ones in L.A. that I want to check out. So many people come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-peters/hotels-are-really-scary-there-are-a-lot-of-haunted-ones-in-l-a-that-i/) [Evan Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-peters/) Browse all 398 Haunted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The library smells like old books-a thousand leather doorways into other worlds.\" \"Dear sir, I was called away and couldn't bring you, but now I feel haunted. I know that sometimes you felt I was a part of you and that losing me would leave a hole in your heart, but that's not true... Please forgive me... 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