--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have now and again tried to imagine the…" description: "\"I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night? A hammock in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/michael-dirda-3414_armchairs_i-have-now-and-again-tried-to-imagine-th_916761.png" --- # I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect… ![“I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night? A hammock in a freshly mown backyard? A verandah overlooking the summer sea? Good choices, every one. But I have no doubt that they are all merely…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/michael-dirda-3414_armchairs_i-have-now-and-again-tried-to-imagine-th_916761.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/michael-dirda-3414_armchairs_i-have-now-and-again-tried-to-imagine-th_916761.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ad/michael-dirda-3414_armchairs_i-have-now-and-again-tried-to-imagine-th_916761.png) > “I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night? A hammock in a freshly mown backyard? A verandah overlooking the summer sea? Good choices, every one. But I have no doubt that they are all merely displacements, sentimental attempts to replicate the warmth and snugness of my mother's lap.” [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. The ideal reading setting is a nostalgic longing for comfort, but true immersion comes from internal memory of maternal warmth, not external scenery. **In simple terms:** Reading comfort is an inner feeling, not a perfect place. Key Takeaway Seek the feeling of safety inside yourself. Themes nostalgia comfort reading memory Mood reflective warm contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing a novel - studying - meditating - reading in a café Key Concepts psychology environmental influence memory personal growth creative writing relaxation Questions to Reflect On - How can you recreate that inner warmth without a specific setting? - What internal cues bring you comfort? A Different Perspective The setting can still distract; external factors matter too. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Good choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-choices/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Rainy night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainy-night/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sentimental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentimental/) [Summer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer/) [Warmth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/warmth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I am easily moved to tears and rarely survive a visit to the cinema without shedding them, racked, as I am, by the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-am-easily-moved-to-tears-and-rarely-survive-a-visit-to-the-cinema/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“Jordan used to say that the perfect environment for a game is a closed space, be it in the seven cars in The Last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-moran/jordan-used-to-say-that-the-perfect-environment-for-a-game-is-a/) Mark Moran > [“The more skilful you are in creating the perfect environment for yourself, the more you will enjoy life!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/the-more-skilful-you-are-in-creating-the-perfect-environment-for/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [To make a decision you need to be in a perfect environment: you have to be motivated and surrounded by the right people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niki-lauda/to-make-a-decision-you-need-to-be-in-a-perfect-environment-you-have/) [Niki Lauda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niki-lauda/) > [We can no more create the perfect environment for our children than we can create perfect children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-rosin/we-can-no-more-create-the-perfect-environment-for-our-children-than/) [Hanna Rosin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-rosin/) > [I don't thrive in a word-perfect environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/i-don-t-thrive-in-a-word-perfect-environment/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [“Elena rushed forward, screaming, and the lizards fled into the darkness. 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Rainy nights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/my-bed-was-pushed-up-hard-against-the-wall-just-below-the-window-i/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [A lot of people kind of perceive me as some kind of pop act because in the early '80s 'I Love A Rainy Night'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rabbitt/a-lot-of-people-kind-of-perceive-me-as-some-kind-of-pop-act-because/) [Eddie Rabbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rabbitt/) > [“Our friend Ian, an Episcopal priest, taught us something I’d never heard, something that shaped all of us: on a rainy night, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/our-friend-ian-an-episcopal-priest-taught-us-something-i-d-never/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) ## 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'. 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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. 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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 Armchairs quotes > [She sits in her usual ample armchair, with piles of books and unopened magazines around her. She sips cautiously from the mug of weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/she-sits-in-her-usual-ample-armchair-with-piles-of-books-and-unopened/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [Here, as in so many other cases, however, it turns out that a very commonsensical idea looks far less attractive when one examines some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/here-as-in-so-many-other-cases-however-it-turns-out-that-a-very/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [I once sang 'Summer Nights,' from 'Grease,' at a bar in Melbourne with John Travolta, who's a good friend of mine. He looked cool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-once-sang-summer-nights-from-grease-at-a-bar-in-melbourne-with-john/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [The kind of approach I take is different from much of experimental philosophy. Although the experimental philosophers and I are certainly in agreement about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-kind-of-approach-i-take-is-different-from-much-of-experimental/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/my-apartment-is-basically-a-couch-an-armchair-and-about-four-thousand/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [Joe Calzaghe is next. If he gets himself out that armchair, gets himself back in the gym, let's have a fight for the British…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-froch/joe-calzaghe-is-next-if-he-gets-himself-out-that-armchair-gets/) [Carl Froch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-froch/) > [Internalist approaches to epistemology, I believe, have a great deal of intuitive appeal. Internalists believe that the features in virtue of which a belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/internalist-approaches-to-epistemology-i-believe-have-a-great-deal-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [It is my dream to create an art which is filled with balance, purity and calmness, freed from a subject matter that is disconcerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/it-is-my-dream-to-create-an-art-which-is-filled-with-balance-purity/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [I'm an armchair psychologist, I suppose, and I like to kind of sit around and guess and pretend I know what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hardy/i-m-an-armchair-psychologist-i-suppose-and-i-like-to-kind-of-sit/) [Tom Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hardy/) > [That makes sense, I suppose. But for me, reading is an adventure. 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I was rather hoping you'd stay and be a ministering angel, but if you must go, you must." "I'll stay," Will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-you-go-i-was-rather-hoping-you-d-stay-and-be-a-ministering-angel/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“I said that he was my superior in observation and deduction. If the art of the detective began and ended in reasoning from an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/i-said-that-he-was-my-superior-in-observation-and-deduction-if-the/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) Browse all 71 Armchairs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have now and again tried to imagine the perfect environment, the ideal conditions for reading: A worn leather armchair on a rainy night? A hammock in a freshly mown backyard? A verandah overlooking the summer sea? Good choices, every one. 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