--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ruth was a novelist, and novelists…" description: "\"“Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted, should have cats and books.”\" — Ruth Ozeki" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg" --- # Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted… ![“Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted, should have cats and books.” quote by Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg) > ““Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted, should have cats and books.”” [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) ## 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 humorously links the creative life of a novelist to the companionship of cats and the presence of books, suggesting both are essential for inspiration and comfort. **In simple terms:** Novelists need cats and books for inspiration. Key Takeaway Embrace companionship and reading for creative work. Themes creativity companionship literature Mood playful reflective Type humorous inspirational When to use this quote - writing sessions - home office - late night brainstorming Key Concepts novelists inspiration comfort Questions to Reflect On - Do you find pets boost your creativity? - How do books influence your writing process? A Different Perspective May not apply to all writers; some thrive without pets. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feminist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminist/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Japanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japanese/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Marco could not have known about the mystical effect of a full moon on cats and books left on their own in the library.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahma-krambo/marco-could-not-have-known-about-the-mystical-effect-of-a-full-moon/) [Rahma Krambo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahma-krambo/) > [I live alone, with cats, books, pictures, fresh vegetables to cook, the garden, the hens to feed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-live-alone-with-cats-books-pictures-fresh-vegetables-to-cook-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I’m a novelist,” Ruth said. “I can’t help it. My narrative preferences are all I’ve got.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/i-m-a-novelist-ruth-said-i-can-t-help-it-my-narrative-preferences-are/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [The American society around me looked at me and saw Japanese. Then, when I was 19, I went to Japan for the first time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/the-american-society-around-me-looked-at-me-and-saw-japanese-then/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [It is a happy thing that time quells the longings of vengeance and hushes the promptings of rage and aversion. I had left this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/it-is-a-happy-thing-that-time-quells-the-longings-of-vengeance-and/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“Some women are built by the fire. Yet, there are some that are the FIRE!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/some-women-are-built-by-the-fire-yet-there-are-some-that-are-the-fire/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“What should one do? If Ruth had any better luck with him I would have thought that he simply had to attach himself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/what-should-one-do-if-ruth-had-any-better-luck-with-him-i-would-have/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [“The break-hard determination to be a good person, what happened to that? How is it true I have to go now? She's lost my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-gander/the-break-hard-determination-to-be-a-good-person-what-happened-to/) [Forrest Gander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-gander/) > [...Mr. Wodehouse is a prose stylist of such startling talent that Frankie nearly skipped around with glee when she first read some of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/mr-wodehouse-is-a-prose-stylist-of-such-startling-talent-that-frankie/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [Ruth and I don't have a perfect marriage, but we have a great one. How can I say two things that seem so contradictory?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/ruth-and-i-don-t-have-a-perfect-marriage-but-we-have-a-great-one-how/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [“Ruth's mouth dropped open, her delicate face contorting in outrage. 'Steal? How dare you! I don't steal!' 'That's good,' I went on, smirking at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/ruth-s-mouth-dropped-open-her-delicate-face-contorting-in-outrage/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [The home run became glorified with Babe Ruth. Starting with him, batters have been thinking in terms of how far they could hit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rogers-hornsby/the-home-run-became-glorified-with-babe-ruth-starting-with-him/) [Rogers Hornsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rogers-hornsby/) > [“Ruth loved color so much she rarely wore any. Except on her face.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-zambreno/ruth-loved-color-so-much-she-rarely-wore-any-except-on-her-face/) [Kate Zambreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-zambreno/) > [Honestly, I love Ruth's Chris.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-butler/honestly-i-love-ruth-s-chris/) [Ross Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-butler/) ## More by Ruth Ozeki > [“Time plays tricks on mothers. It teases you with breaks and brief caesuras, only to skip wildly forward, bringing breathtaking changes to your baby's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/time-plays-tricks-on-mothers-it-teases-you-with-breaks-and-brief/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“Everything seemed to grow blacker as I sat there, except for the fireflies whose tiny pulsing lights drew arcs through the dark summer air.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/everything-seemed-to-grow-blacker-as-i-sat-there-except-for-the/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [That's what it feels like when I write, like I have this beautiful world in my head, but when I try to remember it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/that-s-what-it-feels-like-when-i-write-like-i-have-this-beautiful/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“Premonitions are coincidences waiting to happen,” he said, without looking up. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/premonitions-are-coincidences-waiting-to-happen-he-said-without/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“As someone who has to teach for a living, I shouldn't be saying this, but the planet can do quite well without books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/as-someone-who-has-to-teach-for-a-living-i-shouldn-t-be-saying-this/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Life is fleeting. Don't waste a single moment of your precious life. Wake up now! And now! And now!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/life-is-fleeting-don-t-waste-a-single-moment-of-your-precious-life/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“Do not think that time simply flies away. Do not understand “flying” as the only function of time. If time simply flew away, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/do-not-think-that-time-simply-flies-away-do-not-understand-flying-as/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“INSTRUCTIONS FOR ZAZEN First of all, you have to sit down, which you’re probably already doing. The traditional way is to sit on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/instructions-for-zazen-first-of-all-you-have-to-sit-down-which-you-re/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [The wondrous thing about nature, her gift to us, is her wanton promiscuity. She reproduces herself with abandon, with teeming infinite generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/the-wondrous-thing-about-nature-her-gift-to-us-is-her-wanton/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“this feeling of alive is not so easy to experience. Even although life is a thing that seems to have some kind of weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/this-feeling-of-alive-is-not-so-easy-to-experience-even-although-life/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [Writing is solitary. You spend so much time alone and in your own mind, telling stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/writing-is-solitary-you-spend-so-much-time-alone-and-in-your-own-mind/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [It was really a means-of-production problem. It costs so much to make films. With a novel, you can write the whole thing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/it-was-really-a-means-of-production-problem-it-costs-so-much-to-make/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [My mind is like a gyre, and odd juxtapositions happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/my-mind-is-like-a-gyre-and-odd-juxtapositions-happen/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [“Adjunct teachers are the professorial equivalent of the migrant Mexican farm laborers hired during harvest. If you can get a good contract at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/adjunct-teachers-are-the-professorial-equivalent-of-the-migrant/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) > [She missed the built environment of New York City. It was only in an urban landscape, amid straight lines and architecture, that she could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/she-missed-the-built-environment-of-new-york-city-it-was-only-in-an/) [Ruth Ozeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) [Explore all 145 Ruth Ozeki quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/) ## 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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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": "“Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted, should have cats and books.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ruth Ozeki" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver-asserted-should-have-cats/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver-asserted-should-have-cats/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e53/ruth-ozeki-2896_books_ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver_2484262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ruth was a novelist, and novelists, Oliver asserted, should have cats and books.” — Ruth Ozeki", "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": "Ruth Ozeki", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ozeki/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ruth was a novelist, and novelists,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver-asserted-should-have-cats/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ozeki/ruth-was-a-novelist-and-novelists-oliver-asserted-should-have-cats/#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 } } ] } ```