--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I still care about physical books…" description: "\"“I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome editions and pretty dust jackets, and enjoy seeing rows of hardcovers on my shelves. Many peo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/michael-dirda-3414_book_i-still-care-about-physical-books-gravit_543870.jpg" --- # I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome… ![“I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome editions and pretty dust jackets, and enjoy seeing rows of hardcovers on my shelves. Many people simply read fiction for pleasure and nonfiction for information. I often do myself. But I also think of some books as my friends and I like to…” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/michael-dirda-3414_book_i-still-care-about-physical-books-gravit_543870.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/michael-dirda-3414_book_i-still-care-about-physical-books-gravit_543870.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/michael-dirda-3414_book_i-still-care-about-physical-books-gravit_543870.jpg) > ““I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome editions and pretty dust jackets, and enjoy seeing rows of hardcovers on my shelves. Many people simply read fiction for pleasure and nonfiction for information. I often do myself. But I also think of some books as my friends and I like to have them around. They brighten my life.”” [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 speaker values physical books for their aesthetic and emotional presence, seeing them as companions that enrich daily life. **In simple terms:** Physical books are cherished as beautiful, comforting friends. Key Takeaway Treat books as treasured companions. Themes aesthetics comfort reading companionship Mood nostalgic warm reflective Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - home library - gift giving - personal reflection - decor - literary discussion Key Concepts material culture emotional attachment bibliophilia Questions to Reflect On - How do you choose which books become friends? - What role do book designs play in your reading habit? A Different Perspective Physical books may be costly and less portable than digital alternatives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Despite the rising popularity of the downloadable e-text, I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome editions and pretty dust jackets, and enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/despite-the-rising-popularity-of-the-downloadable-e-text-i-still-care/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I find now I'm reading a lot more nonfiction, simply because every time I read fiction, I think I can write it better. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-claremont/i-find-now-i-m-reading-a-lot-more-nonfiction-simply-because-every/) [Chris Claremont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-claremont/) > [I read nonfiction almost exclusively - both for research and also for pleasure. When I read fiction, it's almost always in the thriller genre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-read-nonfiction-almost-exclusively-both-for-research-and-also-for/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I tend to read more nonfiction, really, because when I'm writing I don't like to read other fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-tend-to-read-more-nonfiction-really-because-when-i-m-writing-i-don/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It's rare for me to read any fiction. I almost only read nonfiction. I don't believe in guilty pleasures, I only believe in pleasures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/it-s-rare-for-me-to-read-any-fiction-i-almost-only-read-nonfiction-i/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I tend not to read fiction - I'll read one novel a year during the summer - but I do read a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lammy/i-tend-not-to-read-fiction-i-ll-read-one-novel-a-year-during-the/) [David Lammy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lammy/) > [I hardly read fiction; I mostly read nonfiction. I like to examine material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-miller/i-hardly-read-fiction-i-mostly-read-nonfiction-i-like-to-examine/) [Bennett Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-miller/) > [I'm all about nonfiction. I rarely read fiction. I like to read about things that really happened, facts, real life situations. That's what inspires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-keoghan/i-m-all-about-nonfiction-i-rarely-read-fiction-i-like-to-read-about/) [Phil Keoghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-keoghan/) > [It's actually as simple as this. New authors, building their customer base, need physical bookshops. Physical bookshops are lovely tactile, friendly, expert, welcoming places.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-waterstone/it-s-actually-as-simple-as-this-new-authors-building-their-customer/) [Tim Waterstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-waterstone/) > [I'm a digital reader. When I travel abroad, I don't want to pack physical books, and I even like reading on my smartphone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajeev-suri/i-m-a-digital-reader-when-i-travel-abroad-i-don-t-want-to-pack/) [Rajeev Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajeev-suri/) > [I read books, physical books. I am comfortable with it, I can carry it. It is my habit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gulzar/i-read-books-physical-books-i-am-comfortable-with-it-i-can-carry-it/) [Gulzar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gulzar/) > [I love the Web, but the basis of my work is going through the physical books. When you go to the library, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-love-the-web-but-the-basis-of-my-work-is-going-through-the-physical/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [McSweeney's as a publishing company is built on a business model that only works when we sell physical books. So we try to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/mcsweeney-s-as-a-publishing-company-is-built-on-a-business-model-that/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [I read actual physical books and have thus far avoided the electronic lure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-read-actual-physical-books-and-have-thus-far-avoided-the-electronic/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I do not believe that all books will or should migrate onto screens: as Douglas Adams once pointed out to me, more than 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-do-not-believe-that-all-books-will-or-should-migrate-onto-screens/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## 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 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. 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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. 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": "“I still care about physical books, gravitate to handsome editions and pretty dust jackets, and enjoy seeing rows of hardcovers on my shelves. 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