--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't know what a book is about until…" description: "\"You can't know what a book is about until the very end. This is true of a book we're reading or writing.\" — Lynda Barry" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/lynda-barry-3343_book_you-can-t-know-what-a-book-is-about-unti_929861.jpg" --- # You can't know what a book is about until the very end… ![“You can't know what a book is about until the very end. This is true of a book we're reading or writing.” quote by Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/lynda-barry-3343_book_you-can-t-know-what-a-book-is-about-unti_929861.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/lynda-barry-3343_book_you-can-t-know-what-a-book-is-about-unti_929861.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/917/lynda-barry-3343_book_you-can-t-know-what-a-book-is-about-unti_929861.jpg) > “You can't know what a book is about until the very end. This is true of a book we're reading or writing.” [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A story’s true meaning only reveals itself after completion. **In simple terms:** Understanding comes at the end. Key Takeaway Finish to grasp the whole. Themes storytelling uncertainty process completion Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing a novel - reading a complex text - developing a project - personal memoir Key Concepts narrative theory self‑reflection creative writing Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions change after you finish? - How does the ending reshape earlier scenes? A Different Perspective Premature judgments can mislead interpretation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There is always room and occasion enough for a true book on any subject; as there is room for more light the brightest day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-is-always-room-and-occasion-enough-for-a-true-book-on-any/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [How do you know that you are not part of a book? That someone's not reading your story right now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/how-do-you-know-that-you-are-not-part-of-a-book-that-someone-s-not/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [If you spend enough time reading or writing, you find a voice, but you also find certain tastes. You find certain writers who when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-spend-enough-time-reading-or-writing-you-find-a-voice-but-you-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/alcohol-makes-other-people-less-tedious-and-food-less-bland-and-can-3/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [At eleven I was at the peak of my creative powers: I was writing stories and playlets, putting together poetryprojects. I was absorbed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-solondz/at-eleven-i-was-at-the-peak-of-my-creative-powers-i-was-writing/) [Todd Solondz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-solondz/) > [Alcohol makes other people less tedious, and food less bland, and can help provide what the Greeks called entheos, or the slight buzz of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/alcohol-makes-other-people-less-tedious-and-food-less-bland-and-can-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[This\] is very important to remember when reading or writing or talking or whatever: You are never, ever choosing whether to use symbols. You… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/this-is-very-important-to-remember-when-reading-or-writing-or-talking/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [My mother used to do all the things that were important to her after midnight. ... Sometimes I'd sneak downstairs and see her knitting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marita-golden/my-mother-used-to-do-all-the-things-that-were-important-to-her-after/) [Marita Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marita-golden/) > [In terms of brain development, musical performance is every bit as important educationally as reading or writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/in-terms-of-brain-development-musical-performance-is-every-bit-as/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [It's probably true that everyone has a book in them, although it may not be a very good one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/it-s-probably-true-that-everyone-has-a-book-in-them-although-it-may/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [“It's true that this is not a book you stick on a shelf. This is a story you will instead always carry in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/it-s-true-that-this-is-not-a-book-you-stick-on-a-shelf-this-is-a/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [What is true for book publishing is true for civilization: the books that survive the test of time are humanity's backlist, our collective memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-epstein/what-is-true-for-book-publishing-is-true-for-civilization-the-books/) [Jason Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-epstein/) > [All good and true book-lovers practice the pleasing and improving avocation of reading in bed ... No book can be appreciated until it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-field/all-good-and-true-book-lovers-practice-the-pleasing-and-improving/) [Eugene Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-field/) > [It is a relief to read some true book, wherein all are equally dead,--equally alive. I think the best parts of Shakespeare would only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/it-is-a-relief-to-read-some-true-book-wherein-all-are-equally-dead/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More by Lynda Barry > [ “i believe \[images\] are the soul's immune system and transit system.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-believe-images-are-the-soul-s-immune-system-and-transit-system/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [The happy ending is hardly important, though we may be glad its there. The real joy is knowing that if you felt the trouble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-happy-ending-is-hardly-important-though-we-may-be-glad-its-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I found myself compelled - like this weird, shameful compulsion - to draw cute animals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/i-found-myself-compelled-like-this-weird-shameful-compulsion-to-draw/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“As I enter the small intestine I get squeezed by muscles. Its dark and the walls look like slimey crushed velvet theres pancreas juice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/as-i-enter-the-small-intestine-i-get-squeezed-by-muscles-its-dark-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [I look crazy. I know I do. 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It's like eating from the tree of knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-minute-you-understand-racism-you-re-responsible-for-being-racist/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Same circus, different clowns, and without a doubt I'm one of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/same-circus-different-clowns-and-without-a-doubt-i-m-one-of-them/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Above me soft footsteps, the sound through the ceiling of a teenager haunted by a door to the night. My cousin Maybonne lights up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/above-me-soft-footsteps-the-sound-through-the-ceiling-of-a-teenager/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Dear Anyone Who Finds This, Do not blame the drugs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/dear-anyone-who-finds-this-do-not-blame-the-drugs/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [There was a beautiful time in the beginning when I just did it and didn't analyze the consequences, but I think that time ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/there-was-a-beautiful-time-in-the-beginning-when-i-just-did-it-and/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [The library was open for one hour after school let out. I hid there, looking at art books and reading poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/the-library-was-open-for-one-hour-after-school-let-out-i-hid-there/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [“Mr. Harmong is the cheapest chinztiest most pig-lipped tightwad skanked-out lardo king landlord of all time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/mr-harmong-is-the-cheapest-chinztiest-most-pig-lipped-tightwad/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) > [Love will make a way out of no way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-barry/love-will-make-a-way-out-of-no-way/) [Lynda Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) [Explore all 133 Lynda Barry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-barry/) ## 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. 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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": "You can't know what a book is about until the very end. 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