--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were two kinds of students who…" description: "\"There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. Now s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/rachel-simon-17989_book_there-were-two-kinds-of-students-who-lik_1398686.png" --- # There were two kinds of students who liked the library… ![“There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. Now she understood those rereaders differently ... she realized it was not the rereading that led to fresh insights. It was the rereader-- because when…” quote by Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/rachel-simon-17989_book_there-were-two-kinds-of-students-who-lik_1398686.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/rachel-simon-17989_book_there-were-two-kinds-of-students-who-lik_1398686.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/16b/rachel-simon-17989_book_there-were-two-kinds-of-students-who-lik_1398686.png) > “There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. Now she understood those rereaders differently ... she realized it was not the rereading that led to fresh insights. It was the rereader-- because when a person is changing inside, there are inevitably new things to see.” [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote explains that rereading a book yields fresh insights because the reader changes, not the text. **In simple terms:** Rereading reveals new ideas as the reader grows. Key Takeaway Value personal growth through revisiting works. Themes learning reflection personal development literature growth Mood contemplative inspirational educational Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - education - self-improvement - reading habits - literary analysis Key Concepts cognitive change interpretation self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does personal change affect interpretation? - What books benefit most from rereading? A Different Perspective Assumes all readers experience change similarly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Insight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insight/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [New things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-things/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Realized Rereading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realized-rereading-741567/) [Rereader Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rereader-person-741568/) [Rereaders Differently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rereaders-differently-4894782/) [Rereading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rereading/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Rereaders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-rereaders-4894783/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“she realized it was not the rereading that led to fresh insights. It was the rereader—because when a person is changing inside, there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/she-realized-it-was-not-the-rereading-that-led-to-fresh-insights-it/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“No reader can fail to agree that the number of books she needs to read far exceeds her capacities, but when the passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-meyers-spacks/no-reader-can-fail-to-agree-that-the-number-of-books-she-needs-to/) [Patricia Meyers Spacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-meyers-spacks/) > [“‎"Since I could only take six books per visit from the library, I had to time it right, or I'd be stuck on Sundays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-susan-meyers/since-i-could-only-take-six-books-per-visit-from-the-library-i-had-to/) [Randy Susan Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-susan-meyers/) > [I love rereading Shakespeare plays and Im constantly finding bits that Ive overlooked or not understood before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-rosen/i-love-rereading-shakespeare-plays-and-im-constantly-finding-bits/) [Michael Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-rosen/) > [“I used to think rewatching and rereading were embarrassingly boring pastimes. But there is something to be said for how comforting it is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lord/i-used-to-think-rewatching-and-rereading-were-embarrassingly-boring/) [Emery Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lord/) > [So he lent her books. After all, one of life's best pleasures is reading a book of perfect beauty; more pleasurable still is rereading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-he-lent-her-books-after-all-one-of-life-s-best-pleasures-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm always nervous about going home, just as I am nervous about rereading books that have meant a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-m-always-nervous-about-going-home-just-as-i-am-nervous-about/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“The process of continually rereading and drawing out new meanings from words would not have been possible unless the words themselves were already open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-process-of-continually-rereading-and-drawing-out-new-meanings/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [“I probably reread novels more often than I read new ones. The novel form is made for rereading. Novels are by their nature too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-hadley/i-probably-reread-novels-more-often-than-i-read-new-ones-the-novel/) [Tessa Hadley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-hadley/) > [When you're rereading or editing your book and you start to expect that this work is going to be reviewed, and you can sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-laird/when-you-re-rereading-or-editing-your-book-and-you-start-to-expect/) [Nick Laird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-laird/) > [Each year is like writing a new chapter in a book, make each one worth rereading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/each-year-is-like-writing-a-new-chapter-in-a-book-make-each-one-worth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[People who have left the ISIS\] say that there comes a moment when the inconsistencies and apparent hypocrisies of their sheikh lets them down,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rukmini-maria-callimachi/people-who-have-left-the-isis-say-that-there-comes-a-moment-when-the/) [Rukmini Maria Callimachi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rukmini-maria-callimachi/) > [Thou shalt not let a day pass without rereading something great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vizinczey/thou-shalt-not-let-a-day-pass-without-rereading-something-great/) [Stephen Vizinczey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vizinczey/) > [Usually when I put together a book like this Death-Ray hardcover or that Ghost World special edition, then I have to reread it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-clowes/usually-when-i-put-together-a-book-like-this-death-ray-hardcover-or/) [Daniel Clowes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-clowes/) > [Rereading Candide, I was struck by the link between optimism and the optimal, the idea that we have been placed in this optimal world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ravenhill/rereading-candide-i-was-struck-by-the-link-between-optimism-and-the/) [Mark Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ravenhill/) ## More by Rachel Simon > [“Sometimes you think you know what you want, she said, hugging her children, until you see how much more you can have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/sometimes-you-think-you-know-what-you-want-she-said-hugging-her/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“A small happiness can make a big sadness less sad.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/a-small-happiness-can-make-a-big-sadness-less-sad/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“Follow your inclination. It will take you to the thoughts you'd never known you'd had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/follow-your-inclination-it-will-take-you-to-the-thoughts-you-d-never/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“Yes, we can all cart our fractured selves along as we move through our lives. But we can choose whether we keep plodding along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/yes-we-can-all-cart-our-fractured-selves-along-as-we-move-through-our/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“And she’d felt an opening in her chest where she hadn’t known anything was closed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/and-she-d-felt-an-opening-in-her-chest-where-she-hadn-t-known/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“How many other lives are hidden, and hearts are seeking? How many would give anything in the world to be held by the person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/how-many-other-lives-are-hidden-and-hearts-are-seeking-how-many-would/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“Maybe we are all Beths, boarding other people's life journeys, or letting them hop aboard ours. For a while we ride together. A few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/maybe-we-are-all-beths-boarding-other-people-s-life-journeys-or/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“There were two kinds of hope: the kind you couldn’t do anything about and the kind you could. And even if the kind you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/there-were-two-kinds-of-hope-the-kind-you-couldn-t-do-anything-about/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [A person comes into the world with a fist-and a grasp. Yes, we are built to fight one another, but also to embrace. How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/a-person-comes-into-the-world-with-a-fist-and-a-grasp-yes-we-are/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“So you never know when you can get through. p 179 Jack the Bus Driver talking about helping a woman on the bus who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/so-you-never-know-when-you-can-get-through-p-179-jack-the-bus-driver/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [A rainy day can actually be a very important day. And a small hope isn't really small if it makes a lost hope less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/a-rainy-day-can-actually-be-a-very-important-day-and-a-small-hope-isn/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“Then," he says, "as my mind got functioning, everything was just beautiful. There was no right or wrong feeling, no social pressure. I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/then-he-says-as-my-mind-got-functioning-everything-was-just-beautiful/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“He thought that maybe when you're making your way forward into your life, it just looks higgledy-piggledy, the way, if you were a fly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/he-thought-that-maybe-when-you-re-making-your-way-forward-into-your/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“She’s sad in the way Laura wears glasses and Max has freckles and Beth is retarded. There’s no reason, it’s just the way it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/she-s-sad-in-the-way-laura-wears-glasses-and-max-has-freckles-and/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) > [“She felt so lovely in his hands. She felt so loved in his eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-simon/she-felt-so-lovely-in-his-hands-she-felt-so-loved-in-his-eyes/) [Rachel Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) [Explore all 36 Rachel Simon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-simon/) ## 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": "There were two kinds of students who liked the library: those who devoured one book after another and those who savored the same book repeatedly. 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