--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes, after they'd done the…" description: "\"“Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would stop, each with his or her cart, in front of a bookstore that carried the paperback edition of h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg" --- # Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would… ![“Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would stop, each with his or her cart, in front of a bookstore that carried the paperback edition of his book. His wife would point to it and say: you're still there. Invariably, he would nod and then they would continue browsing the mall stores. Did…” quote by Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg) > ““Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would stop, each with his or her cart, in front of a bookstore that carried the paperback edition of his book. His wife would point to it and say: you're still there. Invariably, he would nod and then they would continue browsing the mall stores. Did he know her or didn't he? He knew her, of course he did, it was just that sometimes reality, the same little reality that served to anchor reality, seemed to fade around the edges, as if the passage of time had a porous effect on things, and blurred and made more insubstantial what was itself already, by its very nature, insubstantial and satisfactory and real.”” [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 passage of time can make even familiar, concrete experiences feel fleeting and less solid, blurring the line between reality and perception. **In simple terms:** Time makes real things feel less solid. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and stay present. Themes memory perception time reality impermanence Mood reflective melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical observational When to use this quote - shopping trips - bookstore visits - marital moments - reflective walks Key Concepts existentialism subjective reality nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - How does time alter your sense of reality? - Can you find stability amid fleeting moments? A Different Perspective The quote may overemphasize melancholy, ignoring moments of lasting clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Passage of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passage-of-time/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [I need very little reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-b-ll/i-need-very-little-reality/) [Heinrich Böll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-b-ll/) > [Love is a striking example of how little reality means to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/love-is-a-striking-example-of-how-little-reality-means-to-us/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [People who watch 'Transporter' are maybe asking a little less about reality, being serious, and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-megaton/people-who-watch-transporter-are-maybe-asking-a-little-less-about/) [Olivier Megaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-megaton/) > [I drink wine on stage to sort of loosen my grip on reality a little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-berninger/i-drink-wine-on-stage-to-sort-of-loosen-my-grip-on-reality-a-little/) [Matt Berninger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-berninger/) > [Imagination and reality have little in common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/imagination-and-reality-have-little-in-common/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [“Our total reality and total existence are beautiful and meaningful . . . . We should judge reality by the little which we truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-g-del/our-total-reality-and-total-existence-are-beautiful-and-meaningful-we/) [Kurt Gödel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-g-del/) > [The difference between reality and unreality is that reality has so little to recommend it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-sherman/the-difference-between-reality-and-unreality-is-that-reality-has-so/) [Allan Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-sherman/) > [“I stood surrounded by everything, but in reality, i had very little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-laurens/i-stood-surrounded-by-everything-but-in-reality-i-had-very-little/) [Jennifer Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-laurens/) > [“Did Jesus Christ, he asked, suspect that someday his church would spread to the farthest corners of Earth? 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Everything is spinning, only time stands still.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-roth/never-yet-has-such-furious-movement-brought-in-its-train-such/) [Joseph Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-roth/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## 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 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. 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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": "“Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would stop, each with his or her cart, in front of a bookstore that carried the paperback edition of his book. His wife would point to it and say: you're still there. Invariably, he would nod and then they would continue browsing the mall stores. Did he know her or didn't he? He knew her, of course he did, it was just that sometimes reality, the same little reality that served to anchor reality, seemed to fade around the edges, as if the passage of time had a porous effect on things, and blurred and made more insubstantial what was itself already, by its very nature, insubstantial and satisfactory and real.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roberto Bolaño" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping-they-would-stop-each-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping-they-would-stop-each-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/113/roberto-bola-o-725_books_sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping_2027285.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping, they would stop, each with his or her cart, in front of a…” — 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": "“Sometimes, after they'd done the shopping,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping-they-would-stop-each-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/sometimes-after-they-d-done-the-shopping-they-would-stop-each-with/#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 } } ] } ```