--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People sometimes act as though owning…" description: "\"“People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me, there's a lovely mystery and pregnancy abo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg" --- # People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't… ![“People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me, there's a lovely mystery and pregnancy about a book that hasn't given itself over to you yet--sometimes I'm the most inspired by imagining what the contents of an unread book might be. ~…” quote by Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg) > ““People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me, there's a lovely mystery and pregnancy about a book that hasn't given itself over to you yet--sometimes I'm the most inspired by imagining what the contents of an unread book might be. ~ Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude”” [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The allure of unread books lies in the imagination they spark, allowing readers to anticipate narratives and possibilities before engaging with the text. **In simple terms:** Unread books inspire imagination about their stories. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity about unknown books. Themes imagination anticipation literary curiosity mystery inspiration Mood thoughtful intrigued Type reflective philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - library visits - personal reading lists - creative writing prompts Key Concepts psychology of reading anticipatory pleasure literary theory Questions to Reflect On - What intrigues you most about a book you haven’t read? - Do you ever feel pressure to read before judging? A Different Perspective Not all readers enjoy speculation; some prefer concrete knowledge before reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [After owning books, almost the next best thing is talking about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-nodier/after-owning-books-almost-the-next-best-thing-is-talking-about-them/) [Charles Nodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-nodier/) > [I've done 80 books and if anyone has entertained the idea of owning one of my books, I think this is the book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-wolfe/i-ve-done-80-books-and-if-anyone-has-entertained-the-idea-of-owning/) [Art Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-wolfe/) > [It's really cool to get these guests on the show BoJack Horseman: not just actors, but, "Can I get Jonathan Lethem on my weird…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/it-s-really-cool-to-get-these-guests-on-the-show-bojack-horseman-not/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [Jonathan Lethem's 10th novel, 'The Blot,' is engaging, entertaining, and sharp for its first two-thirds. Then it goes to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/jonathan-lethem-s-10th-novel-the-blot-is-engaging-entertaining-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-writer-jonathan-lethem-has-said-that-when-people-call-something/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [How would Jonathan Lethem have obtained such a stellar endorsement for 'The Fortress of Solitude' from Michael Chabon, if not for the years they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-itzkoff/how-would-jonathan-lethem-have-obtained-such-a-stellar-endorsement/) [Dave Itzkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-itzkoff/) > [“No matter how valuable these books, it seems a bit sad to let them go unread,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isuna-hasekura/no-matter-how-valuable-these-books-it-seems-a-bit-sad-to-let-them-go/) [Isuna Hasekura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isuna-hasekura/) > [“Nora wasn't a football fan. Who had time to watch football when there were so many fantastic books in the world yet unread?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becky-wade/nora-wasn-t-a-football-fan-who-had-time-to-watch-football-when-there/) [Becky Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becky-wade/) > [“A library of mostly unread books is far more inspiring than a library of books already read. There’s nothing more exciting than finishing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabe-habash/a-library-of-mostly-unread-books-is-far-more-inspiring-than-a-library/) [Gabe Habash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabe-habash/) > [Read books are far less valuable than unread ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/read-books-are-far-less-valuable-than-unread-ones/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Flora had also learned the degraded art of 'tasting' unread books, and now, whenever her skimming eye lit on a phrase about heavy shapes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-gibbons/flora-had-also-learned-the-degraded-art-of-tasting-unread-books-and/) [Stella Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-gibbons/) > [“Nothing is more important than an unread library.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/nothing-is-more-important-than-an-unread-library/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [The unread is always better than the unreadable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-unread-is-always-better-than-the-unreadable/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Destroying species is like tearing pages out of an unread book, written in a language humans hardly know how to read, about the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holmes-rolston-iii/destroying-species-is-like-tearing-pages-out-of-an-unread-book/) [Holmes Rolston III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holmes-rolston-iii/) > [He is too illiterate, unread, unlearned for his station and reputation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/he-is-too-illiterate-unread-unlearned-for-his-station-and-reputation/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Leah Price > [“I feel that my tendency to acquire books is rather like someone smoking two packs a day: it's a terrible vice that I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/i-feel-that-my-tendency-to-acquire-books-is-rather-like-someone/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“There is a simple rule: practice a kind of generous selfishness. Give a book to a friend, but don't lend it, because you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/there-is-a-simple-rule-practice-a-kind-of-generous-selfishness-give-a/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“When you stand inside somebody's library, you get a powerful sense of who they are, and not just who they are now but who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/when-you-stand-inside-somebody-s-library-you-get-a-powerful-sense-of/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [A self without a shelf remains cryptic; a home without books naked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/a-self-without-a-shelf-remains-cryptic-a-home-without-books-naked/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [Paper remains the standard to which digital media can only aspire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/paper-remains-the-standard-to-which-digital-media-can-only-aspire/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“I do lend my books, but I have to be a bit selective because my marginalia are so incriminating.” --Alison Bechdel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/i-do-lend-my-books-but-i-have-to-be-a-bit-selective-because-my/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“Just as television didn't put an end to radio or the movies (to say nothing of books), I don't think e-books will put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/just-as-television-didn-t-put-an-end-to-radio-or-the-movies-to-say/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“Correction of Earlier Entry: 8/01/12 We read over the shoulders of giants; books place us in dialogue not just with an author but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/correction-of-earlier-entry-8-01-12-we-read-over-the-shoulders-of/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“RE: Kindle, iPad, et cetera: For a researcher, these new ways of accessing information are just extraordinary. I thing it introduces the possibility of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/re-kindle-ipad-et-cetera-for-a-researcher-these-new-ways-of-accessing/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [I felt the breath of God go cold on my skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/i-felt-the-breath-of-god-go-cold-on-my-skin/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [Correction of Earlier Entry: 8/01/12We read over the shoulders of giants; books place us in dialogue not just with an author but with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/correction-of-earlier-entry-8-01-12we-read-over-the-shoulders-of/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) > [“I hate lending, or borrowing—if you want me to read a book, tell me about it, or buy me a copy outright. Your loaned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/i-hate-lending-or-borrowing-if-you-want-me-to-read-a-book-tell-me/) [Leah Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) [Explore all 13 Leah Price quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/) ## 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": "“People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me, there's a lovely mystery and pregnancy about a book that hasn't given itself over to you yet--sometimes I'm the most inspired by imagining what the contents of an unread book might be. ~ Jonathan Lethem, author of The Fortress of Solitude”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Leah Price" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-books-you-haven-t-read/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-books-you-haven-t-read/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b6/leah-price-36354_book_people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-bo_758240.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People sometimes act as though owning books you haven't read constitutes a charade or pretense, but for me…” — Leah Price", "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": "Leah Price", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-price/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“People sometimes act as though owning...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-books-you-haven-t-read/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-price/people-sometimes-act-as-though-owning-books-you-haven-t-read/#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 } } ] } ```