--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I went on happily reading well into the…" description: "\"“I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one ventured on to the decks of the Donizetti, except for sinful shadows who were careful not t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg" --- # I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one… ![“I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one ventured on to the decks of the Donizetti, except for sinful shadows who were careful not to interrupt me, careful not to disturb my reading, happiness, happiness, passion regained, genuine devotion, my prayers rising up and up through the…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg) > ““I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one ventured on to the decks of the Donizetti, except for sinful shadows who were careful not to interrupt me, careful not to disturb my reading, happiness, happiness, passion regained, genuine devotion, my prayers rising up and up through the clouds to the realm of pure music, to what for want of a better name we call the choir of the angels, a non-human space but undoubtedly the only imaginable space we humans can truly inhabit, an uninhabitable space but the only one worth inhabiting, a space in which we shall cease to be but the only space in which we can be what we truly are...”” [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## 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 finds transcendence in reading and music, describing an ethereal space where human limits dissolve and true self is realized. **In simple terms:** Reading and music transport us beyond ordinary life to a deeper, almost sacred experience. Key Takeaway Seek moments that lift you beyond the mundane. Themes transcendence art spirituality Mood elevated reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - late night reading - concert listening - creative writing - meditative practice Key Concepts existentialism aesthetic experience Questions to Reflect On - How can everyday activities become moments of transcendence? - What does “the only space worth inhabiting” mean to you? A Different Perspective The described space is idealized and may not be attainable for everyone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bibliophile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bibliophile/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Choir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choir/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prayer/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [A choir of angels glorified the hour, the vault of heaven was dissolved in fire. "Father, why hast Thou forsaken me? Mother, I beg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-akhmatova/a-choir-of-angels-glorified-the-hour-the-vault-of-heaven-was/) [Anna Akhmatova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-akhmatova/) > [He'd been drinking in a bar downtown, when he thought he heard a choir of angels singing in the Tiki Lounge. And that's when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/he-d-been-drinking-in-a-bar-downtown-when-he-thought-he-heard-a-choir/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [The greatest thing we can do is to give each other a safe space to truly, truly be ourselves in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-bareilles/the-greatest-thing-we-can-do-is-to-give-each-other-a-safe-space-to/) [Sara Bareilles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-bareilles/) > [We have to choose to slow down, to actually see the time and space that we are in. To truly see people and accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-hills/we-have-to-choose-to-slow-down-to-actually-see-the-time-and-space/) Jodi Hills > [“Coffee makes you alert, books make you awake. Booze makes you forget life, books bring you to life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/coffee-makes-you-alert-books-make-you-awake-booze-makes-you-forget/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“It is often much harder to get rid of books than it is to acquire them. They stick to us in that pact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mar-a-dom-nguez/it-is-often-much-harder-to-get-rid-of-books-than-it-is-to-acquire/) [Carlos María Domínguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mar-a-dom-nguez/) > [“It needs to be repeated that books are much more than merely vehicles for text. Awareness of the way a book is created, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-cave-sara-ayad/it-needs-to-be-repeated-that-books-are-much-more-than-merely-vehicles/) Roderick Cave & Sara Ayad > [“The house I grew up in is one of a kind. It’s a bibliophile’s fantasy, and if the Library of Congress had a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-house-i-grew-up-in-is-one-of-a-kind-it-s-a-bibliophile-s-fantasy/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I'm the farthest thing from a bibliophile. I purge my collection regularly: If I haven't read a book in a couple of years, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-m-the-farthest-thing-from-a-bibliophile-i-purge-my-collection/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [To a bibliophile, there is but one thing better than a box of new books, and that is a box of old ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-thomas/to-a-bibliophile-there-is-but-one-thing-better-than-a-box-of-new/) [Will Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-thomas/) > [“For all her faults, it was actually my mom who instilled in me a love of reading, and books, for which I will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gruben/for-all-her-faults-it-was-actually-my-mom-who-instilled-in-me-a-love/) [Paula Gruben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gruben/) > [A bibliophile has approximately the same relationship to literature as a philatelist to geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-bibliophile-has-approximately-the-same-relationship-to-literature/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Holy borrowing bibliophile, let's book!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/holy-borrowing-bibliophile-let-s-book/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [“He pinched the remaining chapters’ pages delicately between his fingers and sighed. He always hated reaching the end of a good book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-e-zapanta/he-pinched-the-remaining-chapters-pages-delicately-between-his/) [David S.E. Zapanta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-e-zapanta/) > [“Book Bans Are Dumb (Sonnet 1587) Book bans are dumb, It makes the mind numb. If banning books were justice, Middle ages would've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/book-bans-are-dumb-sonnet-1587-book-bans-are-dumb-it-makes-the-mind/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Roberto Bolaño > [Literature + Illness = Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-illness-illness/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Brief like beauty, Absolute beauty, That which contains all the world's majesty and misery And which is only visible to those who love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/brief-like-beauty-absolute-beauty-that-which-contains-all-the-world-s/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“There are books for when you’re bored. Plenty of them. There are books for when you’re calm. The best kind, in my opinion. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/there-are-books-for-when-you-re-bored-plenty-of-them-there-are-books/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I try to find the books that I lost or forgot more than 30 years ago on another continent, with the hope and dedication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-try-to-find-the-books-that-i-lost-or-forgot-more-than-30-years-ago/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“In a word, and bluntly: as they walked around Sankt Pauli, it came to Pelletier and Espinoza that the search for Archimboldi could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/in-a-word-and-bluntly-as-they-walked-around-sankt-pauli-it-came-to/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [We're artists too, but we do a good job hiding it, don't we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/we-re-artists-too-but-we-do-a-good-job-hiding-it-don-t-we/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Nothing good ever comes of love. What comes of love is always something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/nothing-good-ever-comes-of-love-what-comes-of-love-is-always/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“book on Archimboldi, a book that might be the grand Archimboldian opus, the pilot fish that would swim for a long time beside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/book-on-archimboldi-a-book-that-might-be-the-grand-archimboldian-opus/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Literature is the product of a strange rain of blood, sweat, semen, and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/literature-is-the-product-of-a-strange-rain-of-blood-sweat-semen-and/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“All horrors are dulled by routine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/all-horrors-are-dulled-by-routine/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“The fourth dimension, he liked to say, encompasses the three dimensions and consequently puts them in their place, that is, it obliterates the dictatorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-fourth-dimension-he-liked-to-say-encompasses-the-three-dimensions/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Every book in the world is out there waiting to be read by me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/every-book-in-the-world-is-out-there-waiting-to-be-read-by-me/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“Y después de coger a mi general le gustaba salir al patio a fumarse su cigarro y a pensar en la tristeza poscoito, en…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/y-despu-s-de-coger-a-mi-general-le-gustaba-salir-al-patio-a-fumarse/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [“I enjoy vegetarian food like I enjoy a kick in the stomach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-enjoy-vegetarian-food-like-i-enjoy-a-kick-in-the-stomach/) [Roberto Bolano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) [Explore all 303 Roberto Bolaño quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) ## More Bibliophile quotes > [“Book Bans Are Dumb (Sonnet 1587) Book bans are dumb, It makes the mind numb. If banning books were justice, Middle ages would've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/book-bans-are-dumb-sonnet-1587-book-bans-are-dumb-it-makes-the-mind/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“He pinched the remaining chapters’ pages delicately between his fingers and sighed. He always hated reaching the end of a good book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-e-zapanta/he-pinched-the-remaining-chapters-pages-delicately-between-his/) [David S.E. Zapanta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-e-zapanta/) > [Holy borrowing bibliophile, let's book!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/holy-borrowing-bibliophile-let-s-book/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [A bibliophile has approximately the same relationship to literature as a philatelist to geography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/a-bibliophile-has-approximately-the-same-relationship-to-literature/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [“For all her faults, it was actually my mom who instilled in me a love of reading, and books, for which I will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gruben/for-all-her-faults-it-was-actually-my-mom-who-instilled-in-me-a-love/) [Paula Gruben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gruben/) > [To a bibliophile, there is but one thing better than a box of new books, and that is a box of old ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-thomas/to-a-bibliophile-there-is-but-one-thing-better-than-a-box-of-new/) [Will Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-thomas/) > [I'm the farthest thing from a bibliophile. I purge my collection regularly: If I haven't read a book in a couple of years, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-m-the-farthest-thing-from-a-bibliophile-i-purge-my-collection/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [“The house I grew up in is one of a kind. It’s a bibliophile’s fantasy, and if the Library of Congress had a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-house-i-grew-up-in-is-one-of-a-kind-it-s-a-bibliophile-s-fantasy/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“It needs to be repeated that books are much more than merely vehicles for text. Awareness of the way a book is created, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roderick-cave-sara-ayad/it-needs-to-be-repeated-that-books-are-much-more-than-merely-vehicles/) Roderick Cave & Sara Ayad > [“It is often much harder to get rid of books than it is to acquire them. They stick to us in that pact of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mar-a-dom-nguez/it-is-often-much-harder-to-get-rid-of-books-than-it-is-to-acquire/) [Carlos María Domínguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mar-a-dom-nguez/) > [“Coffee makes you alert, books make you awake. Booze makes you forget life, books bring you to life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/coffee-makes-you-alert-books-make-you-awake-booze-makes-you-forget/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“That must be something to discover a book that nobody's ever heard of or everybody thought was lost." "It's every bibliophile's dream," said Francis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-lovett/that-must-be-something-to-discover-a-book-that-nobody-s-ever-heard-of/) [Charlie Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-lovett/) > [Her library would have been valuable to a bibliophile except she treated her books execrably. I would rarely open a volume that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/her-library-would-have-been-valuable-to-a-bibliophile-except-she/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [“It is odd, isn’t it? Whenever I read something interesting, I tear out a piece and keep it as a talisman until I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-is-odd-isn-t-it-whenever-i-read-something-interesting-i-tear-out-a/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [“I was in a bibliophile's Eylsium.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-moers/i-was-in-a-bibliophile-s-eylsium/) [Walter Moers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-moers/) [Browse all 48 Bibliophile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bibliophile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one ventured on to the decks of the Donizetti, except for sinful shadows who were careful not to interrupt me, careful not to disturb my reading, happiness, happiness, passion regained, genuine devotion, my prayers rising up and up through the clouds to the realm of pure music, to what for want of a better name we call the choir of the angels, a non-human space but undoubtedly the only imaginable space we humans can truly inhabit, an uninhabitable space but the only one worth inhabiting, a space in which we shall cease to be but the only space in which we can be what we truly are...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the-night-when-no-one-ventured-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bibliophile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the-night-when-no-one-ventured-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/09d/roberto-bola-o-725_bibliophile_i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the_1754336.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I went on happily reading well into the night, when no one ventured on to the decks of the Donizetti, except…” — Roberto Bolaño", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roberto Bolaño", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I went on happily reading well...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the-night-when-no-one-ventured-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/i-went-on-happily-reading-well-into-the-night-when-no-one-ventured-on/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```