Argument Quote by Pat Conroy
“Her library would have been valuable to a bibliophile except she treated her books execrably. I would rarely open a volume that she had not desecrated by underlining her favorite sections with a ball-point pen. Once I had told her that I would rather see a museum bombed than a book underlined, but she dismissed my argument as mere sentimentality. She marked her books so that stunning images and ideas would not be lost to her.”
About This Quote
The narrator condemns a partner’s habit of marking books, seeing it as disrespectful to ideas and knowledge.
In simple terms: Marking books shows disrespect for ideas.
Key Takeaway
Respect how others engage with texts.
Themes
respect
literature
personal habits
Mood
critical
reflective
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- library use
- study habits
- gifted books
Key Concepts
cultural norms
intellectual property
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do people annotate?
- Can marking be a form of appreciation?
A Different Perspective
Some view annotation as personal interaction, not harm.
![“There was another reason [she] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar voices, friends that never quarreled with her, clever, powerful friends -- daring and knowledgeable, tried and tested adventurers who had traveled far and…” quote by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/639/cornelia-funke-908_adventurer_there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-bo_3074.jpg)
