--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I grew up around books. When I first held…" description: "\"I grew up around books. When I first held the book and it was a substantive, tangible thing, and I thought of all the work that went into it, not just ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbf/paul-allen-2295_book_i-grew-up-around-books-when-i-first-held_2602788.jpg" --- # I grew up around books. When I first held the book and it… ![“I grew up around books. When I first held the book and it was a substantive, tangible thing, and I thought of all the work that went into it, not just my work but everybody else's and the research and so forth, there's a sense of really have done something worthwhile.” quote by Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbf/paul-allen-2295_book_i-grew-up-around-books-when-i-first-held_2602788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbf/paul-allen-2295_book_i-grew-up-around-books-when-i-first-held_2602788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbf/paul-allen-2295_book_i-grew-up-around-books-when-i-first-held_2602788.jpg) > “I grew up around books. When I first held the book and it was a substantive, tangible thing, and I thought of all the work that went into it, not just my work but everybody else's and the research and so forth, there's a sense of really have done something worthwhile.” [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Holding a physical book connects us to the collective effort behind knowledge, giving a sense of purpose. **In simple terms:** Books embody collective work and meaning. Key Takeaway Appreciate the effort behind ideas. Themes reading knowledge purpose collective effort Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - studying - teaching - library curation - personal growth Key Concepts literature humanism education Questions to Reflect On - How does digital reading affect our sense of contribution? - What rituals can honor the work behind ideas? A Different Perspective Physical books are less common now. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I had been opposed to the practice of dedicating books; I had held that a book is addressed to any reader who proves worthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/i-had-been-opposed-to-the-practice-of-dedicating-books-i-had-held/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I'm from a family of educators. 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My father was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-grew-up-around-books-my-grandmother-s-house-where-i-lived-as-a/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I'm trying to make a case for those people who don't have a sense of belonging that they should have, that there is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/i-m-trying-to-make-a-case-for-those-people-who-don-t-have-a-sense-of/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [Let us not forget that the value of this great system does not lie primarily in its extent or even in its efficiency. 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Some books held up wobbly tables, others were literally swept under the rug.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/the-library-spilled-onto-the-floor-and-into-the-other-rooms-some/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) > [I'm not interested in creating a book that is read once and then placed on the shelf and forgotten. I am very happy when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/i-m-not-interested-in-creating-a-book-that-is-read-once-and-then/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [“The Arcade, and now Peabody's, combined to tell me that there was life in objects, in books. It was all about having eyes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/the-arcade-and-now-peabody-s-combined-to-tell-me-that-there-was-life/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [I am very happy when people write that they have worn out my books, or that they are held together by Scotch tape. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/i-am-very-happy-when-people-write-that-they-have-worn-out-my-books-or/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [When I was a boy, my parents were writers and they owned a bookstore, 'The Complete Traveler in New York,' so writing and books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-greenberg/when-i-was-a-boy-my-parents-were-writers-and-they-owned-a-bookstore/) [Mike Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-greenberg/) ## More by Paul Allen > [I just try to find things that either need to be done, should be done, or where I can make a difference in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/i-just-try-to-find-things-that-either-need-to-be-done-should-be-done/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [I'm not a video-game player at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/i-m-not-a-video-game-player-at-all/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [AI2 was born from a desire to create a system that could truly reason about knowledge, rather than just offer up what had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/ai2-was-born-from-a-desire-to-create-a-system-that-could-truly-reason/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [Some people can vent their anger, take a breath, and let it go, but I wasn't one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/some-people-can-vent-their-anger-take-a-breath-and-let-it-go-but-i/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [Any time you get to compete for the championship in a professional spot, it's just a magic thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/any-time-you-get-to-compete-for-the-championship-in-a-professional/) [Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/) > [Art fairs bring attention to up and coming artists and some amazing new works. 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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 grew up around books. 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