--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books can be a source of solace, but I…" description: "\"Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic.\" — Michael Dirda" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png" --- # Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as… ![“Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png) > “Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books provide comfort and pleasure, serving both emotional solace and aesthetic enjoyment. **In simple terms:** Books soothe and delight. Key Takeaway Read for comfort and joy. Themes reading comfort pleasure Mood contemplative joyful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Studying literature - relaxing with a novel - seeking inspiration Key Concepts Literary aesthetics emotional support Questions to Reflect On - How do books comfort you? - When does reading become mere entertainment? A Different Perspective Pleasure may be fleeting; comfort may not solve problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Solace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solace/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [It's always a pleasure on a personal note for me to come back to Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/it-s-always-a-pleasure-on-a-personal-note-for-me-to-come-back-to/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [If anything, I've probably tended more toward humor in my writing and veered more toward pleasure in my personal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-goad/if-anything-i-ve-probably-tended-more-toward-humor-in-my-writing-and/) [Jim Goad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-goad/) > [The great source of pleasure is variety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-great-source-of-pleasure-is-variety/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“To me, history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of our civic responsibility. To me, it's an enlargement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacid-mccullough/to-me-history-ought-to-be-a-source-of-pleasure-it-isn-t-just-part-of-3/) Dacid McCullough > [Every want that stimulates the breast becomes a source of pleasure when redressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/every-want-that-stimulates-the-breast-becomes-a-source-of-pleasure/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [To what shall the character of utility be ascribed, if not to that which is a source of pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/to-what-shall-the-character-of-utility-be-ascribed-if-not-to-that/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [“Keep on acquiring a taste for what is naturally repugnant; this is an unfailing source of pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/keep-on-acquiring-a-taste-for-what-is-naturally-repugnant-this-is-an/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [Love… we think about it,sing about it, dream about it, lose sleep worrying about it.. When we don't have it, we search or it;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-vaswani/love-we-think-about-it-sing-about-it-dream-about-it-lose-sleep-2/) [Hemant Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-vaswani/) > [My mouth is my biggest source of pleasure: singing, conversing, eating, and giving kisses to the person who deserves them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-mouth-is-my-biggest-source-of-pleasure-singing-conversing-eating/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [To me history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of our civic responsibility. To me it's an enlargement of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/to-me-history-ought-to-be-a-source-of-pleasure-it-isn-t-just-part-of-2/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“To me, history ought to be a source of pleasure. It isn't just part of our civic responsibility. 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Stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-pedrosa/in-our-springtime-there-is-no-better-there-is-no-worse-blossoming/) Cyril Pedrosa > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [“It means heart's solace. Where my heart finds peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-voinov/it-means-heart-s-solace-where-my-heart-finds-peace/) [Aleksandr Voinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-voinov/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Dirda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-see-them-mainly-as-a-source-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-see-them-mainly-as-a-source-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8a/michael-dirda-3414_books_books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-se_3229327.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books can be a source of solace, but I see them mainly as a source of pleasure, personal as well as esthetic.” — Michael Dirda", "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": "Michael Dirda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Books can be a source of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-see-them-mainly-as-a-source-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-can-be-a-source-of-solace-but-i-see-them-mainly-as-a-source-of/#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 } } ] } ```