--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Age about 30, I stopped looking up my…" description: "\"Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores. Paying attention to the marketplace isn't a healthy thing for me.\" — Mary Karr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png" --- # Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores… ![“Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores. Paying attention to the marketplace isn't a healthy thing for me.” quote by Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png) > “Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores. Paying attention to the marketplace isn't a healthy thing for me.” [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. At age 30, she stopped browsing books in stores, finding marketplace focus unhealthy, indicating a shift toward personal focus. **In simple terms:** She avoids marketplace distractions. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth, not market trends. Themes literature self‑care marketplace personal development Mood reflective calm Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - reading habits - mental health - career focus - digital detox Key Concepts mindfulness consumerism Questions to Reflect On - How does disengaging from commerce affect creativity? - What alternatives support your growth? A Different Perspective Avoiding market trends may limit exposure to new ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bookstores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bookstores/) [Marketplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marketplace/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) ## Related quotes > [“ALL THE BOOKS IN BOOKSTORES ARE NOTHING UNLESS YOU WORK.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-santi/all-the-books-in-bookstores-are-nothing-unless-you-work/) [DAVE SANTI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-santi/) > [Sometimes, looking at the many books I have at home, I feel I shall die before I come to the end of them, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/sometimes-looking-at-the-many-books-i-have-at-home-i-feel-i-shall-die/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I teach at Columbia, and I'm always looking for books I can lose myself in during the 45 minutes I'm on the train.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/i-teach-at-columbia-and-i-m-always-looking-for-books-i-can-lose/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [I know I'm old-fashioned, but there's just something about the act of looking at books versus taking in information on a screen, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabelle-selldorf/i-know-i-m-old-fashioned-but-there-s-just-something-about-the-act-of/) [Annabelle Selldorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabelle-selldorf/) > [“I'm still looking for books about them, as well as I am used to feed food every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pet-torres/i-m-still-looking-for-books-about-them-as-well-as-i-am-used-to-feed/) [Pet Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pet-torres/) > [“In a sense, we can tell a lot about anyone by looking at what books, if any, he reads, at what books are on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-v-schall/in-a-sense-we-can-tell-a-lot-about-anyone-by-looking-at-what-books-if/) [James V. Schall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-v-schall/) > [I remember looking at books when I was in high school, but I don't think I really stood in front of a genuine painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-remember-looking-at-books-when-i-was-in-high-school-but-i-don-t/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [“Books," he said, "are like mushrooms. They grow when you are not looking. Books increase by rule of compound interest: one interest leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/books-he-said-are-like-mushrooms-they-grow-when-you-are-not-looking/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I shall be so glad if you will tell me what to read. I have been looking into all the books in the library…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/i-shall-be-so-glad-if-you-will-tell-me-what-to-read-i-have-been/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [There is nothing on earth more exquisite than a bonny book, with well-placed columns of rich black writing in beautiful borders, and illuminated pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/there-is-nothing-on-earth-more-exquisite-than-a-bonny-book-with-well/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [People who didn't live pre-Internet can't grasp how devoid of ideas life in my hometown was. The only bookstores sold Bibles the size of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/people-who-didn-t-live-pre-internet-can-t-grasp-how-devoid-of-ideas-2/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“When she fired, he stopped, looking round wildly. He had no cover to drop to. She fired again…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/when-she-fired-he-stopped-looking-round-wildly-he-had-no-cover-to/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [Actually, I stopped looking at myself in the mirror years ago. I wasn't making it to work on time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/actually-i-stopped-looking-at-myself-in-the-mirror-years-ago-i-wasn-t/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [I stopped looking at people's opinions. It's easy to get caught up in what other people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhene-aiko/i-stopped-looking-at-people-s-opinions-it-s-easy-to-get-caught-up-in/) [Jhene Aiko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhene-aiko/) > [I knew from that moment on that all the fairy tale bullshit I was fed by Disney and everyone else was nonexistent. I stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhiess-krieg/i-knew-from-that-moment-on-that-all-the-fairy-tale-bullshit-i-was-fed/) [Jhiess Krieg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhiess-krieg/) ## More by Mary Karr > [I do have a really good memory. I mean, like, I can remember all the phone numbers of everybody on the street I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-do-have-a-really-good-memory-i-mean-like-i-can-remember-all-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Ninety percent of what's wrong with you could be cured with a hot bath, says God from the bowels of the subway. but we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/ninety-percent-of-what-s-wrong-with-you-could-be-cured-with-a-hot/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [I always say that a poet loves the world, and the prose writer needs to create an alternative world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-always-say-that-a-poet-loves-the-world-and-the-prose-writer-needs/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Even the best of us are at least part-time bastards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/even-the-best-of-us-are-at-least-part-time-bastards/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“And Meredith says that reminds her of a Camus novel, the one about the plague, and she tells the story of it, the tale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/and-meredith-says-that-reminds-her-of-a-camus-novel-the-one-about-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [When people suffer, their relationships usually suffer as well. Period. And we all suffer because, as the Buddha says, that's the nature of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/when-people-suffer-their-relationships-usually-suffer-as-well-period/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [I'm not nearly smart enough or imaginative enough to tackle the novel form. Never happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-m-not-nearly-smart-enough-or-imaginative-enough-to-tackle-the-novel/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“Then it hits me. I’m actually kneeling before a toilet. The throne, as other drunks call it. How many drunken nights and slungover mornings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/then-it-hits-me-i-m-actually-kneeling-before-a-toilet-the-throne-as/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“I think about the story of Job I heard in Carol Sharp's Sunday school. How he sort of learned to lean into feeling hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-think-about-the-story-of-job-i-heard-in-carol-sharp-s-sunday-school/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [I believe in God, but even if you don't, you can believe in a self, the person who is innately who you are. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-believe-in-god-but-even-if-you-don-t-you-can-believe-in-a-self-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [Love is the only passion which includes in its dreams the happiness of someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/love-is-the-only-passion-which-includes-in-its-dreams-the-happiness/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [It strikes me that whatever advantages there are to being a boy--getting to stay out late and having other people wash your clothes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/it-strikes-me-that-whatever-advantages-there-are-to-being-a-boy/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“I liked to call myself a poet and had affected a habit of reading classical texts (in translation, of course – I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-liked-to-call-myself-a-poet-and-had-affected-a-habit-of-reading/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [It turned out to be impossible for me to 'run away' in the sense other American teenagers did. Any movement at all was taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/it-turned-out-to-be-impossible-for-me-to-run-away-in-the-sense-other/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“What hurts so bad about youth isn't the actual butt whippings the world delivers. It's the stupid hopes playacting like certainties.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/what-hurts-so-bad-about-youth-isn-t-the-actual-butt-whippings-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) [Explore all 133 Mary Karr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) Browse all 26,122 About quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores. Paying attention to the marketplace isn't a healthy thing for me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Karr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-books-in-bookstores-paying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-books-in-bookstores-paying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/05d/mary-karr-3335_about_age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-boo_2462573.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Age about 30, I stopped looking up my books in bookstores. Paying attention to the marketplace isn't a…” — Mary Karr", "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": "Mary Karr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Age about 30, I stopped looking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-books-in-bookstores-paying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/age-about-30-i-stopped-looking-up-my-books-in-bookstores-paying/#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 } } ] } ```