--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want to keep my life as unfettered as…" description: "\"I want to keep my life as unfettered as possible. So maybe I'll just pretend to get rare books from my catalogue, and not really get them.\" — Patti Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/patti-smith-394_book_i-want-to-keep-my-life-as-unfettered-as_3115074.jpg" --- # I want to keep my life as unfettered as possible. So maybe… ![“I want to keep my life as unfettered as possible. So maybe I'll just pretend to get rare books from my catalogue, and not really get them.” quote by Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/patti-smith-394_book_i-want-to-keep-my-life-as-unfettered-as_3115074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/patti-smith-394_book_i-want-to-keep-my-life-as-unfettered-as_3115074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74e/patti-smith-394_book_i-want-to-keep-my-life-as-unfettered-as_3115074.jpg) > “I want to keep my life as unfettered as possible. So maybe I'll just pretend to get rare books from my catalogue, and not really get them.” [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She values freedom and chooses to imagine acquiring rare books without actually doing so, reflecting a desire for unburdened imagination. **In simple terms:** She prefers imagined freedom over material constraints. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination while balancing reality. Themes freedom imagination literature minimalism self‑reflection Mood contemplative reflective Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - reading habits - creative writing - budgeting - personal decluttering - artistic inspiration Key Concepts philosophical minimalism creative longing personal autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What does this imagined collection represent for you? - How can you translate this desire into attainable goals? A Different Perspective Avoiding action can lead to stagnation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Catalogue Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catalogue-really-5450911/) [Catalogues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catalogues/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Pretend Rare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretend-rare-5450910/) [Rare Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-books-881953/) [Unfettered Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfettered-possible-5450912/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Every advance in information technology involves choosing what you want to preserve and what you want to ditch. Scanning rare books on to microfilm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-twigger/every-advance-in-information-technology-involves-choosing-what-you/) [Robert Twigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-twigger/) > [My collection of rare books concerns only books that don't tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/my-collection-of-rare-books-concerns-only-books-that-don-t-tell-the/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-love-rare-books-not-that-i-own-a-lot-of-them-mind-you-you-couldn-t/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [People order clothes out of a catalogue, put it on an actor and everything is generic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/people-order-clothes-out-of-a-catalogue-put-it-on-an-actor-and/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [I've always been a fan of reading art catalogues from exhibitions, and plays, and I've worked with a surrealist German playwright, Heiner Müller.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-reading-art-catalogues-from-exhibitions-and/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [When you have made a catalogue of your friend's faults it is only fair to supply him with a duplicate, so that he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/when-you-have-made-a-catalogue-of-your-friend-s-faults-it-is-only/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library; for who can see the wall crowded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/no-place-affords-a-more-striking-conviction-of-the-vanity-of-human-2/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Let the Common School be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine tenths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/let-the-common-school-be-expanded-to-its-capabilities-let-it-be/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [Skeptic that I was as an adolescent, I had recently come to believe in a Supreme Being after thumbing through a Victoria's Secret catalogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/skeptic-that-i-was-as-an-adolescent-i-had-recently-come-to-believe-in/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [I try to write songs. 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But there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-had-a-really-happy-childhood-my-siblings-were-great-my-mother-was/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [As a citizen, hopefully I'm humanist. As an artist, I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/as-a-citizen-hopefully-i-m-humanist-as-an-artist-i-m-free/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [ Sometimes \[people\] seem to think I came out of the womb, you know, cursing, with an electric guitar. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/sometimes-people-seem-to-think-i-came-out-of-the-womb-you-know/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“Inside it he inscribed a few lines of poetry, portraying us as the gypsy and the fool, one creating silence; one listening closely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/inside-it-he-inscribed-a-few-lines-of-poetry-portraying-us-as-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/who-can-know-the-heart-of-youth-but-youth-itself/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [“I clawed through a thick web of the culture’s consciousness that I hadn’t known existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-clawed-through-a-thick-web-of-the-culture-s-consciousness-that-i/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Ultimately, we are not seeking others to bow to, but to reinforce our individual natures, to help us suffer our own choices, to guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/ultimately-we-are-not-seeking-others-to-bow-to-but-to-reinforce-our/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/if-i-m-taking-a-picture-of-brancusi-s-grave-i-know-that-there-s/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm certain, as we filled down the great staircase, that I appeared the same as ever, a moping twelve years-old, all arms and legs.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-certain-as-we-filled-down-the-great-staircase-that-i-appeared-the/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/in-art-and-dream-may-you-proceed-with-abandon-in-life-may-you-proceed/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [New York is the thing that seduced me. New York is the thing that formed me. New York is the thing that deformed me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/new-york-is-the-thing-that-seduced-me-new-york-is-the-thing-that/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I don't wanna be equal with anybody. I wanna be above equal. I don't think most people are equal to me. I'd like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-don-t-wanna-be-equal-with-anybody-i-wanna-be-above-equal-i-don-t/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-think-i-m-constantly-in-a-state-of-adjustment/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [Somehow I started introducing writing into my drawings, and after a time, the language took over and I started getting very involved with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/somehow-i-started-introducing-writing-into-my-drawings-and-after-a/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. 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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. 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