--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She thought of the library, so shining…" description: "\"She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of unhurried sojourns there and of going out to a re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg" --- # She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the… ![“She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of unhurried sojourns there and of going out to a restaurant, alone, to eat.” quote by Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg) > “She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of unhurried sojourns there and of going out to a restaurant, alone, to eat.” [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The library symbolizes a sanctuary of endless possibilities and solitary comfort. **In simple terms:** Library as a peaceful sanctuary. Key Takeaway Seek quiet exploration. Themes solitude learning comfort Mood calm nostalgic Type fictional reflective When to use this quote - reading retreats - solo dining - mindful walks Key Concepts literary escape personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude foster creativity? A Different Perspective Isolation can become loneliness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Shining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shining/) [Unread books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unread-books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/the-truly-cultured-are-capable-of-owning-thousands-of-unread-books/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [There was that special smell made up of paper, ink, and dust; the busy hush; the endless luxury of thousands of unread books. Best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zilpha-keatley-snyder/there-was-that-special-smell-made-up-of-paper-ink-and-dust-the-busy/) [Zilpha Keatley Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zilpha-keatley-snyder/) > [“The library sucked up sound like a vacuum. All of those thousands and thousands of unread books sucking up secrets for the last hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sears/the-library-sucked-up-sound-like-a-vacuum-all-of-those-thousands-and/) Michael Sears > [It sounds like a brag but I've got a separate room in my flat just for unread books; I don't let my read books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-pascoe/it-sounds-like-a-brag-but-i-ve-got-a-separate-room-in-my-flat-just/) [Sara Pascoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-pascoe/) > [Blockbusting fiction is bought as furniture. Unread, it maintains its value. Read, it looks like money wasted. Cunningly, Americans know that books contain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/blockbusting-fiction-is-bought-as-furniture-unread-it-maintains-its/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“How many books do you have here?” Corliss asked. “Two million, one hundred thousand, and eleven,” the librarian said proudly, but Corliss was frightened.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/how-many-books-do-you-have-here-corliss-asked-two-million-one-hundred/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“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/) > [A bizarrerie of fires, cunabulum of light, it moved with a deft, almost dainty deliberation, phasing into and out of existence like a storm-shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/a-bizarrerie-of-fires-cunabulum-of-light-it-moved-with-a-deft-almost/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [“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/) > [“Zaid's finest moment, however, comes in his second paragraph, when he says that "the truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/zaid-s-finest-moment-however-comes-in-his-second-paragraph-when-he/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Every year, more than 120,000 new books are published in Britain, creating millions of volumes that will never be opened, let alone read. Many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-year-more-than-120-000-new-books-are-published-in-britain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are two kinds of people in the world, those who re-read and those who don’t. No, don’t be silly, there are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-re-read-and/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [It takes me about a week and a half to read the typical book. I don't know how many ten-day spans I have left.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kalfus/it-takes-me-about-a-week-and-a-half-to-read-the-typical-book-i-don-t/) [Ken Kalfus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kalfus/) > [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 wondered what percentage of the world's art was actually kept in bank vaults and the like. Like unread books and unplayed music, did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/he-wondered-what-percentage-of-the-world-s-art-was-actually-kept-in/) [Ian Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) ## More by Maud Hart Lovelace > [Then he kissed her. Betsy didn't believe in letting boys kiss you. She thought it was silly to be letting first this boy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/then-he-kissed-her-betsy-didn-t-believe-in-letting-boys-kiss-you-she/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on Uncle Keith's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to-be-alone-she-went-upstairs/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [The silence in the room had width, height, depth, mass and substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/the-silence-in-the-room-had-width-height-depth-mass-and-substance/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [Was life always like that? she wondered. A game of hide and seek in which you only occasionally found the person you wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/was-life-always-like-that-she-wondered-a-game-of-hide-and-seek-in/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [Isn't it mysterious to begin a new journal like this? I can run my fingers through the fresh clean pages but I cannot guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/isn-t-it-mysterious-to-begin-a-new-journal-like-this-i-can-run-my/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“A house with nothing old in it seems - unseasoned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/a-house-with-nothing-old-in-it-seems-unseasoned/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“...the poorest guide you can have in life is what people will say - Mr. Ray, Heaven to Betsy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/the-poorest-guide-you-can-have-in-life-is-what-people-will-say-mr-ray/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“This was Betsy and Tacy's private corner. Betsy's mother was a great believer in people having private corners, and the piano box was plainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/this-was-betsy-and-tacy-s-private-corner-betsy-s-mother-was-a-great/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“We have to build our lives out of what materials we have. It's as though we were given a heap of blocks and told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/we-have-to-build-our-lives-out-of-what-materials-we-have-it-s-as/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [Betsy. The great war is on but I hope ours is over. Please come home. Joe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-the-great-war-is-on-but-i-hope-ours-is-over-please-come-home-joe/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“You don't grow up, she reasoned now, until you begin to evaluate yourself, to recognize your good traits and acknowledge that you have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/you-don-t-grow-up-she-reasoned-now-until-you-begin-to-evaluate/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [I cannot remember back to a year in which I did not consider myself to be a writer, and the younger I was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/i-cannot-remember-back-to-a-year-in-which-i-did-not-consider-myself/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“Thoughts are such fleet magic things. Betsy's thoughts swept a wide arc while Uncle Keith read her poem aloud. She thought of Julia learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/thoughts-are-such-fleet-magic-things-betsy-s-thoughts-swept-a-wide/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [You might as well learn right now, you two, that the poorest guide you can have in life is what people will say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/you-might-as-well-learn-right-now-you-two-that-the-poorest-guide-you/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [“After Commencement Day, the world!" Joe said. "With Betsy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/after-commencement-day-the-world-joe-said-with-betsy/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) [Explore all 53 Maud Hart Lovelace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) ## More Bliss quotes > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. Determined ignorance is the hastiest kind of oblivion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/ignorance-is-not-bliss-it-is-oblivion-determined-ignorance-is-the/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Music is a lot more like solving an intricate puzzle with moments of pure, random creative bliss... whereas painting is much more purely random…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/music-is-a-lot-more-like-solving-an-intricate-puzzle-with-moments-of/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [“Being around her now was nine parts bliss and one part torment. And he wanted it to last as long as possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringle/being-around-her-now-was-nine-parts-bliss-and-one-part-torment-and-he/) [Molly Ringle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringle/) > [“He was still a mystery to me. And God, did I want to play Nancy Drew.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cora-carmack/he-was-still-a-mystery-to-me-and-god-did-i-want-to-play-nancy-drew/) [Cora Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cora-carmack/) > [Eating, drinking, sleeping a little laughter ! much weeping! Is that all ? Do not die here like a worm. Wake up! Attain immortal bliss!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/eating-drinking-sleeping-a-little-laughter-much-weeping-is-that-all/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [How do you find the divine power in yourself? The word enthusiasm means 'filled with a god,' so what makes you enthusiastic? Follow it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/how-do-you-find-the-divine-power-in-yourself-the-word-enthusiasm/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you follow your bliss a kind of track opens up, that's always been there, waiting for you. And the life that you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/when-you-follow-your-bliss-a-kind-of-track-opens-up-that-s-always/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [When you drop your unnecessary things, you finally can swoop and fly in vast space. It is so blue, so bright, and so nice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/when-you-drop-your-unnecessary-things-you-finally-can-swoop-and-fly/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [“Everything we perceive to be solid and static is made up of almost entirely empty space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-p-kauffman/everything-we-perceive-to-be-solid-and-static-is-made-up-of-almost/) [Joseph P. Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-p-kauffman/) > [“The smell of her hair lingered just out of reach of his memory and left him with a nervous hum resonating throughout his body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-tomblin/the-smell-of-her-hair-lingered-just-out-of-reach-of-his-memory-and/) [Erik Tomblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-tomblin/) > [“They happen only when you are distant,aloof. They happen, they cannot be brought. They happen you cannot force them to happen. They are spontaneous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/they-happen-only-when-you-are-distant-aloof-they-happen-they-cannot/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [“Ignorance was bliss. Or at least less painfull”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/ignorance-was-bliss-or-at-least-less-painfull/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) [Browse all 1,311 Bliss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of unhurried sojourns there and of going out to a restaurant, alone, to eat.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maud Hart Lovelace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-white-and-new-the-rows-and-rows/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bliss" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-white-and-new-the-rows-and-rows/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc3/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_bliss_she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-wh_1231212.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She thought of the library, so shining white and new; the rows and rows of unread books; the bliss of…” — Maud Hart Lovelace", "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": "Maud Hart Lovelace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "She thought of the library, so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-white-and-new-the-rows-and-rows/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/she-thought-of-the-library-so-shining-white-and-new-the-rows-and-rows/#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 } } ] } ```