--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a book. It is a book I found in a…" description: "\"“This is a book. It is a book I found in a box. I found the box in the attic. The box was in the attic, under the eaves. The attic was hot and still. T..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/paul-harding-11330_attic_this-is-a-book-it-is-a-book-i-found-in-a_2226655.png" --- # This is a book. It is a book I found in a box. I found the… ![“This is a book. It is a book I found in a box. I found the box in the attic. The box was in the attic, under the eaves. The attic was hot and still. The air was stale with dust. The dust was from old pictures and books. The dust in the air was made up of the book I found. I breathed the book…” quote by Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/paul-harding-11330_attic_this-is-a-book-it-is-a-book-i-found-in-a_2226655.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/paul-harding-11330_attic_this-is-a-book-it-is-a-book-i-found-in-a_2226655.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a9/paul-harding-11330_attic_this-is-a-book-it-is-a-book-i-found-in-a_2226655.png) > ““This is a book. It is a book I found in a box. I found the box in the attic. The box was in the attic, under the eaves. The attic was hot and still. The air was stale with dust. The dust was from old pictures and books. The dust in the air was made up of the book I found. I breathed the book before I saw it; tasted the book before I read it.”” [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finding a book in an attic evokes sensory immersion, blurring reading with smelling and tasting, highlighting memory’s texture. **In simple terms:** Finding a book can feel like tasting it. Key Takeaway Engage all senses when exploring stories. Themes memory sensory immersion Mood evocative poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - exploring attics - museum curation Key Concepts embodied cognition nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - How do senses shape your memory of a story? - Can taste enhance comprehension? A Different Perspective Sensory overload may distract from narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I breathed the book before I saw it; tasted the book before I read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/i-breathed-the-book-before-i-saw-it-tasted-the-book-before-i-read-it/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“I collect things that collect dust. Like dust jackets. Despite no fingerprints in the dust on these books, most of the dust jackets say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-collect-things-that-collect-dust-like-dust-jackets-despite-no/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“In a second-hand bookshop head to the back, find the old books with dust undisturbed and worn off covers for these clothe true treasures.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hall/in-a-second-hand-bookshop-head-to-the-back-find-the-old-books-with/) Rachel Hall > [Peter Hinwood found all these old pictures - Polaroids - and when I saw them, I just didn't believe that the person in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manolo-blahnik/peter-hinwood-found-all-these-old-pictures-polaroids-and-when-i-saw/) [Manolo Blahnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manolo-blahnik/) > [I love looking at old pictures and laughing at all the old memories that come flooding back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-love-looking-at-old-pictures-and-laughing-at-all-the-old-memories/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I’ve long suspected that many of my memories of childhood are actually drawn from old pictures, that they are a composite of snapshots, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-long-suspected-that-many-of-my-memories-of-childhood-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes you don't know if your memory is because you really experienced it or because you look at your old pictures. I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-corbijn/sometimes-you-don-t-know-if-your-memory-is-because-you-really/) [Anton Corbijn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-corbijn/) > [When I look at old pictures, I see my son Luciano, not me. Luciano looks identical. That's what's extraordinary, the power of a gene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-i-look-at-old-pictures-i-see-my-son-luciano-not-me-luciano-looks/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [The expectations of theory colour perception to such a degree that new notions seldom arise from facts collected under the influence of old pictures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niles-eldredge/the-expectations-of-theory-colour-perception-to-such-a-degree-that/) [Niles Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niles-eldredge/) > [“I covered his thumbprint with my thumb and considered for the first time that Papa might have been more than just old pictures -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-covered-his-thumbprint-with-my-thumb-and-considered-for-the-first/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“She fell asleep within minutes, unaware that the rain that had been falling since evening had turned to sleet, or that the roads were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-sala/she-fell-asleep-within-minutes-unaware-that-the-rain-that-had-been/) [Sharon Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-sala/) > [I was always happy with my look and with my hair, and so when I look at the old pictures, I don't like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/i-was-always-happy-with-my-look-and-with-my-hair-and-so-when-i-look/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) > [Do you ever look through old pictures and wonder, Where the hell did that shirt go?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-you-ever-look-through-old-pictures-and-wonder-where-the-hell-did/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hate all the old pictures of me before 2010 - and they are always the first ones to come up. That's why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-hate-all-the-old-pictures-of-me-before-2010-and-they-are-always-the/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [If today was your last day, and tomorrow was to late. Could you say goodbye to yesterday? Would you live each moment like your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-today-was-your-last-day-and-tomorrow-was-to-late-could-you-say/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Paul Harding > [Who was the greatest business man ever. . . The greatest salesman? Advertiser? Who? . . . It was Jesus. . . Jesus was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/who-was-the-greatest-business-man-ever-the-greatest-salesman/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“The house had not merely lapsed back into the equilibrium of the woods but was blighted, as if inside it did not contain a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-house-had-not-merely-lapsed-back-into-the-equilibrium-of-the/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Your cold mornings are filled with the heartache about the fact that although we are not at ease in this world, it is all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/your-cold-mornings-are-filled-with-the-heartache-about-the-fact-that/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [The fictional world seems larger, seems to have more dimension and richness when, for example, the protagonist from one novel you've read has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-fictional-world-seems-larger-seems-to-have-more-dimension-and/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“The joy of those years had its own integrity, and Kate existed within that. She could not be touched by the misery caused by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-joy-of-those-years-had-its-own-integrity-and-kate-existed-within/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [What an awful thing then, being there in our house together with our daughter gone, trying to be equal to so many sudden orders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/what-an-awful-thing-then-being-there-in-our-house-together-with-our/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [Don't confine truth to fact. Imaginative truth is as powerful, and often enough, more so than fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/don-t-confine-truth-to-fact-imaginative-truth-is-as-powerful-and/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“I woke up every morning on the couch. It felt like the same morning all the time, or like an infinite series of nested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/i-woke-up-every-morning-on-the-couch-it-felt-like-the-same-morning/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [The silver lining of those years when I was trying to get 'Tinkers' published but couldn't were the years when I had to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/the-silver-lining-of-those-years-when-i-was-trying-to-get-tinkers/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“There was a moment of sorrow, disappointment, and deep love for his son, whom he at that second wished had had a chance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/there-was-a-moment-of-sorrow-disappointment-and-deep-love-for-his-son/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“But it's a curse, a condemnation, like an act of provocation, to have been aroused from not being, to have been conjured up from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/but-it-s-a-curse-a-condemnation-like-an-act-of-provocation-to-have/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Perhaps, Howard thought, the curtains and murals and pastel angels are a mercy, a dim reflection of things fit for the fragility of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/perhaps-howard-thought-the-curtains-and-murals-and-pastel-angels-are/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“Howard thought, Is it not true: A move of the head, a step to the left or right, and we change from wise, decent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/howard-thought-is-it-not-true-a-move-of-the-head-a-step-to-the-left-2/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) > [“And as the ax bites into the wood, be comforted in the fact that the ache in your heart and the confusion in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harding/and-as-the-ax-bites-into-the-wood-be-comforted-in-the-fact-that-the/) [Paul Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) [Explore all 60 Paul Harding quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harding/) ## More Attic quotes > [About two years into living in Toronto, my apartment burned to the ground. My husband and I ended up living in his grandparents' attic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-murphy/about-two-years-into-living-in-toronto-my-apartment-burned-to-the/) [Annie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-murphy/) > [“The attic of your beautiful throat is laced with owl and cobweb. Night sings north, the need of winter. Look up and know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-france/the-attic-of-your-beautiful-throat-is-laced-with-owl-and-cobweb-night/) Linda France > [“A book is like a trapdoor that leads to a secret attic: You can open it and go inside. And your world is different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-iturbe/a-book-is-like-a-trapdoor-that-leads-to-a-secret-attic-you-can-open/) [Antonio Iturbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-iturbe/) > [“The Citizen's attic was, objectively, breathtaking. 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There is a rose-tinted attic in all our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nothing-is-more-charming-than-the-glow-of-happiness-amid-squalor/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [American journalism's crazy old aunt in the attic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/american-journalism-s-crazy-old-aunt-in-the-attic/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [I always kinda liked our attic ghost. When I was a kid, I used to go up there and read stories to it. Show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-gray/i-always-kinda-liked-our-attic-ghost-when-i-was-a-kid-i-used-to-go-up/) [Claudia Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-gray/) > [But the real interesting stuff is in the cellar and the attic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/but-the-real-interesting-stuff-is-in-the-cellar-and-the-attic/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [For my seventh birthday, my parents gave me a plain, unfinished wooden dollhouse. It had six empty rooms, two floors, a staircase, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-courtney-sullivan/for-my-seventh-birthday-my-parents-gave-me-a-plain-unfinished-wooden/) [J. Courtney Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-courtney-sullivan/) > [“Sara!" she cried, aghast. "Mamma Sara!" She was aghast because the attic was so bare and ugly and seemed so far away from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/sara-she-cried-aghast-mamma-sara-she-was-aghast-because-the-attic-was/) [Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/) > [“Turning fifty is an entirely different matter altogether. “At fifty, the madwoman in the attic breaks loose, stomps down the stairs, and sets fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/turning-fifty-is-an-entirely-different-matter-altogether-at-fifty-the/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“We all have a secret buried under lock and key in the attic of our soul”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/we-all-have-a-secret-buried-under-lock-and-key-in-the-attic-of-our/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [You may be embarrassed about the way you looked and the wacky clothes you wore when you were young, but normally, at least it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/you-may-be-embarrassed-about-the-way-you-looked-and-the-wacky-clothes/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) Browse all 72 Attic quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is a book. 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