--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I believed that books might save him…" description: "\"“I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/rebecca-makkai-20617_books_i-believed-that-books-might-save-him-bec_1649381.jpg" --- # I believed that books might save him because I knew they… ![“I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They…” quote by Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/rebecca-makkai-20617_books_i-believed-that-books-might-save-him-bec_1649381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/rebecca-makkai-20617_books_i-believed-that-books-might-save-him-bec_1649381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f3/rebecca-makkai-20617_books_i-believed-that-books-might-save-him-bec_1649381.jpg) > ““I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They always dressed a little out of season. Their names were enshrined on the pink cards in the pockets of all the forgotten hardbacks in every library basement in America. If the librarians were lazy enough or nostalgic enough or smart enough, those names would stay there forever.”” [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator trusts books to rescue people, believing they have historically saved scholars and artists, and that libraries preserve their legacy indefinitely. **In simple terms:** Books are seen as life‑saving and memory‑preserving. Key Takeaway Value literature as a tool for personal and cultural salvation. Themes literature salvation memory legacy library education Mood reflective hopeful nostalgic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - college life - library work - personal crisis - career change - creative inspiration Key Concepts cultural preservation human potential narrative impact Questions to Reflect On - How do books influence personal transformation? - What responsibilities do librarians have in preserving cultural memory? A Different Perspective Books cannot replace real‑world action; they may idealize rescue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Drinking coffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking-coffee/) [Librarians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/librarians/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Soul mates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-mates/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Because what it's come down to, after that whole messy spring, that whole tortured summer, all the time since, is this: I no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/because-what-it-s-come-down-to-after-that-whole-messy-spring-that/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I no longer believe I can save people. I've tried, and I've failed, and while I'm sure there are people out there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-no-longer-believe-i-can-save-people-i-ve-tried-and-i-ve-failed-and/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [In reading, we are both scientists and poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/in-reading-we-are-both-scientists-and-poets/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [“Buy printed books because you save real thoughts of writers. Content of digital books can be changed easy if it is needed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekaterina-yakovina/buy-printed-books-because-you-save-real-thoughts-of-writers-content/) Ekaterina Yakovina > [“You might have noticed that I have been sending you used books. I have done this not to save money, but to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/you-might-have-noticed-that-i-have-been-sending-you-used-books-i-have/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Literature is the safe and traditional vehicle through which we learn about the world and pass on values from on generation to the next.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-anderson/literature-is-the-safe-and-traditional-vehicle-through-which-we-learn/) [Laurie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-anderson/) > [“Because books saved my life, literally, I've become close to them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malebo-sephodi/because-books-saved-my-life-literally-i-ve-become-close-to-them/) [Malebo Sephodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malebo-sephodi/) > [You write a book and you hope somebody will go out and pay $24.95 for what you've just said. I think books were my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/you-write-a-book-and-you-hope-somebody-will-go-out-and-pay-24-95-for/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [“Children built snowmen in their front lawns, played in the yard of the public library. I would miss that old library. I couldn’t realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/children-built-snowmen-in-their-front-lawns-played-in-the-yard-of-the/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [“It was true; books had saved me in my home remodeling projects, but they fell short in teaching me how to trust my instincts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-williams/it-was-true-books-had-saved-me-in-my-home-remodeling-projects-but/) [Dee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-williams/) > [I literally feel like books saved my life. I found these people. Me reading Camus and Kafka, all of the tortured teenager stuff of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-literally-feel-like-books-saved-my-life-i-found-these-people-me/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [When I was a child, when I was an adolescent, books saved me from despair: that convinced me that culture was the highest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/when-i-was-a-child-when-i-was-an-adolescent-books-saved-me-from/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [My love of books was all that saved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-love-of-books-was-all-that-saved-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Books saved my sanity, knowledge opened the locked places in me and taught me first how to survive and then how to soar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/books-saved-my-sanity-knowledge-opened-the-locked-places-in-me-and/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [“The room was large and airy. Shelves lined the walls on three sides, shelves that stretched way above his head, bending under the weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-forde/the-room-was-large-and-airy-shelves-lined-the-walls-on-three-sides/) [Patricia Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-forde/) ## More by Rebecca Makkai > [“These were wise, modern children, and they knew: a mother could be a witch, a child could be a criminal. A librarian could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/these-were-wise-modern-children-and-they-knew-a-mother-could-be-a/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Because what it's come down to, after that whole messy spring, that whole tortured summer, all the time since, is this: I no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/because-what-it-s-come-down-to-after-that-whole-messy-spring-that/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I might be the villain of this story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-might-be-the-villain-of-this-story/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“He started Number the Stars before we were even out of the store. "The only problem is, I already know how it ends," he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/he-started-number-the-stars-before-we-were-even-out-of-the-store-the/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“So here, patient listener: your soothing epilogue. Imagine him happy. Imagine him spinning in circles... Imagine his heaven, where he can float through characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/so-here-patient-listener-your-soothing-epilogue-imagine-him-happy/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“And for what portion of human history had people even had desk jobs? Maybe the last four hundred years, out of four million? It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/and-for-what-portion-of-human-history-had-people-even-had-desk-jobs/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“...all I knew were novels. It gave me pause, for a moment, that all my reference points were fiction, that all my narratives were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/all-i-knew-were-novels-it-gave-me-pause-for-a-moment-that-all-my/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I could put a book in his hands, but I couldn't take him by the ankles and dip him headfirst in another world. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-could-put-a-book-in-his-hands-but-i-couldn-t-take-him-by-the-ankles/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“On my mental instant replay, I realized that obliquely comparing his family to the Nazis was maybe not my finest moment. He was quiet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/on-my-mental-instant-replay-i-realized-that-obliquely-comparing-his/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“The whole damn century would've made more sense backwards. Where we ended is worse than where we began.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/the-whole-damn-century-would-ve-made-more-sense-backwards-where-we/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“But here at Laurelfield, there was something more in the mornings, a buzzing sensation about the whole house, as if it weren't the servants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/but-here-at-laurelfield-there-was-something-more-in-the-mornings-a/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Very few writers thank their mothers for keen editorial insight; I'm happy to be the exception.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/very-few-writers-thank-their-mothers-for-keen-editorial-insight-i-m/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Like a good American, I wanted to sue somebody. But like a good librarian, I just sat at my desk and waited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/like-a-good-american-i-wanted-to-sue-somebody-but-like-a-good/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“I no longer believe I can save people. I've tried, and I've failed, and while I'm sure there are people out there in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/i-no-longer-believe-i-can-save-people-i-ve-tried-and-i-ve-failed-and/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) > [“Maybe that's why I prefer this new library to my own bedroom: looking at the million book spines, I can imagine a million alternate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-makkai/maybe-that-s-why-i-prefer-this-new-library-to-my-own-bedroom-looking/) [Rebecca Makkai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) [Explore all 30 Rebecca Makkai quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-makkai/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I believed that books might save him because I knew they had so far, and because I knew the people books had saved. They were college professors and actors and scientists and poets. They got to college and sat on dorm floors drinking coffee, amazed they'd finally found their soul mates. They always dressed a little out of season. 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