--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: this library is another desert. A…" description: "\"“this library is another desert. A wasteland of words instead of sand.”\" — Stephen R. Donaldson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg" --- # this library is another desert. A wasteland of words… ![“this library is another desert. A wasteland of words instead of sand.” quote by Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg) > ““this library is another desert. A wasteland of words instead of sand.”” [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The library feels empty, offering words that lack nourishment like a barren desert. **In simple terms:** A library can feel hollow when words don't feed the mind. Key Takeaway Seek depth, not just volume. Themes literature emptiness expectation Mood disappointed reflective Type critical observational When to use this quote - reading for pleasure - academic study - research - creative writing Key Concepts meaninglessness information overload Questions to Reflect On - What makes a book truly nourishing? - How can we turn reading into a meaningful experience? A Different Perspective Words alone may not satisfy deeper curiosity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert Wasteland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert-wasteland-1632081/) [Library Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-desert-1632079/) [Wasteland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasteland/) [Wasteland Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasteland-words-1632080/) [Words Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-instead-1592064/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I sometimes feel I would like to do crazy things with 'Endgame,' where someone says something, but the words, instead of being spoken, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mcburney/i-sometimes-feel-i-would-like-to-do-crazy-things-with-endgame-where/) [Simon McBurney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mcburney/) > [Sex is just another form of talk, where you act the words instead of saying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/sex-is-just-another-form-of-talk-where-you-act-the-words-instead-of/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Meanings receive their dignity from words instead of giving it to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/meanings-receive-their-dignity-from-words-instead-of-giving-it-to-them/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“I didn't ask anything—I hadn't the words. Instead I spoke the smallest one—the one I should have used more in my short and foolish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/i-didn-t-ask-anything-i-hadn-t-the-words-instead-i-spoke-the-smallest/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [It is no small mischief to a boy, that many of the best years of his life should be devoted to the learning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/it-is-no-small-mischief-to-a-boy-that-many-of-the-best-years-of-his/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [“He wished the man would honor the true meaning of words, instead of using them as ammunition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/he-wished-the-man-would-honor-the-true-meaning-of-words-instead-of/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [I'm Lord of the wasteland, a modern man of steel. I gather darkness to please me, and I command you to kneel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiss/i-m-lord-of-the-wasteland-a-modern-man-of-steel-i-gather-darkness-to/) [KISS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiss/) > [Big? Sure. But, he can't catch mice! So for your big tree. No use? Then plant it in the wasteland - in emptiness. Walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/big-sure-but-he-can-t-catch-mice-so-for-your-big-tree-no-use-then/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [“But the wasteland of Illinois had driven me to Scripture reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-torode/but-the-wasteland-of-illinois-had-driven-me-to-scripture-reading/) [Sam Torode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-torode/) > [“I am familiar with the phrase, ‘needle in a haystack’ and I think I understand its meaning more than I wish to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wasteland-david-sadler/i-am-familiar-with-the-phrase-needle-in-a-haystack-and-i-think-i/) [Wasteland David Sadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wasteland-david-sadler/) > [Stage work, that's all I have in my background. Wasteland was my first TV experience. Dawson's was my first long-term, I mean the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-alexander/stage-work-that-s-all-i-have-in-my-background-wasteland-was-my-first/) [Sasha Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-alexander/) > [The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/the-desert-seems-to-be-a-brown-wasteland-of-dry-prickly-scrub-whose/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [“VIEW FROM A HILL I am not yet quite over it. I am lying down on top of it. Surveying behind me a wasteland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tottenham/view-from-a-hill-i-am-not-yet-quite-over-it-i-am-lying-down-on-top-of/) [John Tottenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tottenham/) > [“One day it may feel as if energy and enthusiasm are quenched, feelings dried up and emotions scorched, love and affection tangled in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/one-day-it-may-feel-as-if-energy-and-enthusiasm-are-quenched-feelings/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [One tragic example of the loss of forests and then water is found in Ethiopia. The amount of its forested land has decreased from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/one-tragic-example-of-the-loss-of-forests-and-then-water-is-found-in/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) ## More by Stephen R. Donaldson > [“A real man—real in all the ways that we recognize as real—finds himself suddenly abstracted from the world and deposited in a physical situation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/a-real-man-real-in-all-the-ways-that-we-recognize-as-real-finds/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Any belief that puts itself beyond doubt nurtures its own collapse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/any-belief-that-puts-itself-beyond-doubt-nurtures-its-own-collapse/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [“But he was dreaming. The way to endure a dream was to flow with it until it ended.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/but-he-was-dreaming-the-way-to-endure-a-dream-was-to-flow-with-it/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [This you have to understand. There's only one way to hurt a man who's lost everything. Give him back something broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/this-you-have-to-understand-there-s-only-one-way-to-hurt-a-man-who-s/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Everything dies, from the smallest blade of grass to the biggest galaxy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/everything-dies-from-the-smallest-blade-of-grass-to-the-biggest-galaxy/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [“...are you a person - with volition and maybe some stubborness and at least the capacity if not the actual determination to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/are-you-a-person-with-volition-and-maybe-some-stubborness-and-at/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [“The speed felt tremendous. And the bottom of the ravine was treacherous. She ought to control her mount somehow - slow it; steer it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/the-speed-felt-tremendous-and-the-bottom-of-the-ravine-was/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [Whatever the explanation, it's perfectly obvious that our educational system has nothing to do with education: it's a babysitting service designed to replicate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/whatever-the-explanation-it-s-perfectly-obvious-that-our-educational/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [I had no intention of pursuing either the characters or the setting further.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/i-had-no-intention-of-pursuing-either-the-characters-or-the-setting/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [I respect my limitations, but I don't use them as an excuse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/i-respect-my-limitations-but-i-don-t-use-them-as-an-excuse/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [For a variety of reasons, my books struck the marketplace like a thunderclap; and one of those reasons was that there were so few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/for-a-variety-of-reasons-my-books-struck-the-marketplace-like-a/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [“But then a bubbling tenor voice said kindly, "Do not fear. It is a dream." The reassurance spread over him like a blanket. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/but-then-a-bubbling-tenor-voice-said-kindly-do-not-fear-it-is-a-dream/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [The heart cherishes secrets not worth the telling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/the-heart-cherishes-secrets-not-worth-the-telling/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > ["And you require no answers", Foamfollower was laughing in his gladness, "You are sufficient to every question".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/and-you-require-no-answers-foamfollower-was-laughing-in-his-gladness/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [In accepting the Gift you Honor the Giver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/in-accepting-the-gift-you-honor-the-giver/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) [Explore all 72 Stephen R. Donaldson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) ## More Wasteland quotes > [One tragic example of the loss of forests and then water is found in Ethiopia. The amount of its forested land has decreased from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/one-tragic-example-of-the-loss-of-forests-and-then-water-is-found-in/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [“One day it may feel as if energy and enthusiasm are quenched, feelings dried up and emotions scorched, love and affection tangled in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/one-day-it-may-feel-as-if-energy-and-enthusiasm-are-quenched-feelings/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [“VIEW FROM A HILL I am not yet quite over it. I am lying down on top of it. Surveying behind me a wasteland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tottenham/view-from-a-hill-i-am-not-yet-quite-over-it-i-am-lying-down-on-top-of/) [John Tottenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tottenham/) > [The desert seems to be a brown wasteland of dry, prickly scrub whose only purpose is to serve as a setting for the majestic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/the-desert-seems-to-be-a-brown-wasteland-of-dry-prickly-scrub-whose/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [Stage work, that's all I have in my background. Wasteland was my first TV experience. Dawson's was my first long-term, I mean the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-alexander/stage-work-that-s-all-i-have-in-my-background-wasteland-was-my-first/) [Sasha Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-alexander/) > [“I am familiar with the phrase, ‘needle in a haystack’ and I think I understand its meaning more than I wish to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wasteland-david-sadler/i-am-familiar-with-the-phrase-needle-in-a-haystack-and-i-think-i/) [Wasteland David Sadler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wasteland-david-sadler/) > [“But the wasteland of Illinois had driven me to Scripture reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-torode/but-the-wasteland-of-illinois-had-driven-me-to-scripture-reading/) [Sam Torode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-torode/) > [Big? Sure. But, he can't catch mice! So for your big tree. No use? Then plant it in the wasteland - in emptiness. Walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/big-sure-but-he-can-t-catch-mice-so-for-your-big-tree-no-use-then/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [I'm Lord of the wasteland, a modern man of steel. I gather darkness to please me, and I command you to kneel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiss/i-m-lord-of-the-wasteland-a-modern-man-of-steel-i-gather-darkness-to/) [KISS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiss/) > [Don't leave it all unsaid, somewhere in the wasteland of your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-leave-it-all-unsaid-somewhere-in-the-wasteland-of-your-head/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [They say no land remains to be discovered, no continent is left unexplored. But the whole world is out there, waiting, just waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ann-sandell/they-say-no-land-remains-to-be-discovered-no-continent-is-left/) [Lisa Ann Sandell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ann-sandell/) > [What do you do there, moon, in the sky? Tell me what you do, silent moon. When evening comes you rise and go contemplating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-do-you-do-there-moon-in-the-sky-tell-me-what-you-do-silent-moon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Knowledge is awareness, and to it are many paths, not all of them paved with logic. But sometimes one is guided through the maze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-l-amour/knowledge-is-awareness-and-to-it-are-many-paths-not-all-of-them-paved/) [Louis L'Amour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-l-amour/) > [Television is a vast wasteland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newton-n-minow/television-is-a-vast-wasteland/) [Newton N. Minow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newton-n-minow/) > [The power of growth, of improvement, the power to overcome all stagnation and break through every obstacle and transform a barren wasteland into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/the-power-of-growth-of-improvement-the-power-to-overcome-all/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) [Browse all 83 Wasteland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasteland/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“this library is another desert. A wasteland of words instead of sand.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen R. Donaldson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/this-library-is-another-desert-a-wasteland-of-words-instead-of-sand/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Wasteland" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/this-library-is-another-desert-a-wasteland-of-words-instead-of-sand/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cb/stephen-r-donaldson-9552_wasteland_this-library-is-another-desert-a-wastela_145410.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“this library is another desert. A wasteland of words instead of sand.” — Stephen R. Donaldson", "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": "Stephen R. Donaldson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“this library is another desert. A...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/this-library-is-another-desert-a-wasteland-of-words-instead-of-sand/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/this-library-is-another-desert-a-wasteland-of-words-instead-of-sand/#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 } } ] } ```