Beautiful Quote by Lionel Barrymore
“To my mind there is nothing so beautiful or so provocative as a secondhand book store...To me it is astonishing and miraculous to think that any one of us can poke among the stalls for something to read overnight--and that this something may be the sum of a lifetime of sweat, tears, and genius that some poor, struggling, blessed fellow expended trying to teach us the truth.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The New Yorker, 1935
Secondhand bookstores hold the collective labor and genius of countless lives, offering readers a miraculous connection to history.
In simple terms: Used bookstores are treasure troves of collective effort.
Key Takeaway
Explore and cherish used books.
Themes
history
community
literature
Mood
nostalgic
inspired
Type
cultural
reflective
When to use this quote
- reading habit
- library visits
- book collecting
- educational research
Key Concepts
cultural memory
collective labor
Questions to Reflect On
- How does a used book reflect its previous owners?
- What responsibilities do readers have toward preserving literary heritage?
A Different Perspective
Such stores may also perpetuate material waste and uneven access.
![“If you go into a comic book store, there are tons of Star Wars stories on the stand. There are lots of different stories to tell. Maybe George [Lucas] won't tell them. Maybe some kid, who's a Star Wars fan that's planning to go to film school, will call Lucas and say, 'I'd like to make a Star Wars…” quote by Samuel L. Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c1a/samuel-l-jackson-3595_book_if-you-go-into-a-comic-book-store-there_857673.jpg)
![“Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three [great teachers] did not tell - they catalyzed a burning desire to know. Under their influence, the horizons sprung wide and fear went away and the unknown became knowable. But most important of…” quote by John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/84c/john-steinbeck-71_art_teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-t_1738.jpg)
