--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is a perfect book to start the…" description: "\"If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.\" — The Edge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png" --- # If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has… ![“If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.” quote by The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png) > “If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.” [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A specific novel is highlighted as an ideal start to the year, suggesting its themes resonate with renewal. **In simple terms:** Rebecca Mead’s book is a perfect yearly kickoff. Key Takeaway Read it to inspire fresh perspectives. Themes literature renewal growth Mood enthusiastic inspirational Type recommendation literary When to use this quote - new year - personal development - reading clubs - book discussions Key Concepts novel mid‑life reflection Questions to Reflect On - Why does this book feel timely? - What themes align with your goals? A Different Perspective Taste is subjective; not everyone will agree. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Middlemarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middlemarch/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch is a wise, humane, and delightful study of what some regard as the best novel in English. Mead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/rebecca-mead-s-my-life-in-middlemarch-is-a-wise-humane-and-delightful/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [I had a New Year's kiss once. But it was like, 'Let's start the year off together,' and then we wound up breaking up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-jonas/i-had-a-new-year-s-kiss-once-but-it-was-like-let-s-start-the-year-off/) [Joe Jonas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-jonas/) > [“It is a good idea to start the year by writing down exactly what you want to accomplish, and end the year by measuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogilvy/it-is-a-good-idea-to-start-the-year-by-writing-down-exactly-what-you/) [David Ogilvy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogilvy/) > [Everyone wants to start the year off well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-isner/everyone-wants-to-start-the-year-off-well/) [John Isner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-isner/) > [The best time to start was last year. Failing that, today will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-guillebeau/the-best-time-to-start-was-last-year-failing-that-today-will-do/) [Chris Guillebeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-guillebeau/) > [It's big to get the first one. Any time you start a year, you get your first win, it's kind of a big relief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-huerter/it-s-big-to-get-the-first-one-any-time-you-start-a-year-you-get-your/) [Kevin Huerter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-huerter/) > [There's definitely more pressure to get the first hit when you are 0-for-8 to start the year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-bellinger/there-s-definitely-more-pressure-to-get-the-first-hit-when-you-are-0/) [Cody Bellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-bellinger/) > [“...we start the year on the other side of the world, at the Australian Open, and then just chase the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-agassi/we-start-the-year-on-the-other-side-of-the-world-at-the-australian/) [Andre Agassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-agassi/) > [Happy New Year!I wish you a better year to pursue the things you need to.This year may be another year of challenges, but these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-chad-iii/happy-new-year-i-wish-you-a-better-year-to-pursue-the-things-you-need/) [Prince Chad III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-chad-iii/) > [It's fascinating for us women to begin looking at our lives in five-year plans. It really does help you keep on track. If that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/it-s-fascinating-for-us-women-to-begin-looking-at-our-lives-in-five/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [If you make time each month to give your money some attention, you'll start the next year in fabulous financial shape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/if-you-make-time-each-month-to-give-your-money-some-attention-you-ll/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [There's no better way to start a year than to become the first-ever three-time ROH World Champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-cole/there-s-no-better-way-to-start-a-year-than-to-become-the-first-ever/) [Adam Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-cole/) > [If life was a photo book where would yours start?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-eddins/if-life-was-a-photo-book-where-would-yours-start/) [David Eddins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-eddins/) > [I love to read, and I don't believe that you have to finish one book before you start another. --Mallory Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-m-martin/i-love-to-read-and-i-don-t-believe-that-you-have-to-finish-one-book/) [Ann M. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-m-martin/) > [“But you'll never have your happy ending unless you're brave enough to open the book and start your story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-b-simmons/but-you-ll-never-have-your-happy-ending-unless-you-re-brave-enough-to/) [L.B. Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-b-simmons/) ## More by The Edge > [Jamming is really the most awful, excruciating experience for me; I really don't enjoy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/jamming-is-really-the-most-awful-excruciating-experience-for-me-i/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Advertising and art are getting all mixed up. I think some of the most exciting pieces of TV are the commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/advertising-and-art-are-getting-all-mixed-up-i-think-some-of-the-most/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [The problem for most people as they get older is that they start to buy into their own bullshit to the extent that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/the-problem-for-most-people-as-they-get-older-is-that-they-start-to/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Bono is chairman and founding member of Over-Achievers Anonymous. He has an irrepressible drive to be great. He wants to achieve it all, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/bono-is-chairman-and-founding-member-of-over-achievers-anonymous-he/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [I might have to take the 12 steps to Workaholics Anonymous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/i-might-have-to-take-the-12-steps-to-workaholics-anonymous/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Clarity of vision - what you've been looking at from the wrong angle and not seen at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/clarity-of-vision-what-you-ve-been-looking-at-from-the-wrong-angle/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Jazz came out of New Orleans, and that was the forerunner of everything. You mix jazz with European rhythms, and that's rock n' roll,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/jazz-came-out-of-new-orleans-and-that-was-the-forerunner-of/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [I'm a minimalist at heart. If a song doesn't need a solo, I'm not going to force one into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/i-m-a-minimalist-at-heart-if-a-song-doesn-t-need-a-solo-i-m-not-going/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [One of the good things about globalization is it has created a single international music community, and I feel very much part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/one-of-the-good-things-about-globalization-is-it-has-created-a-single/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [U2 albums never get finished. They just get released.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/u2-albums-never-get-finished-they-just-get-released/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [For me, looking back is akin to being on a tightrope and looking down. It doesn't help you in the present moment to deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/for-me-looking-back-is-akin-to-being-on-a-tightrope-and-looking-down/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Starting a band is the easy part. Once you've formed the band, you have to tell a story, and that story requires songs. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/starting-a-band-is-the-easy-part-once-you-ve-formed-the-band-you-have/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [You see, rock and roll isn't a career or hobby - it's a life force. It's something very essential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/you-see-rock-and-roll-isn-t-a-career-or-hobby-it-s-a-life-force-it-s/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [Rock and roll isn't a career or hobby - it's a life force ... it's just something I have to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/rock-and-roll-isn-t-a-career-or-hobby-it-s-a-life-force-it-s-just/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) > [For me, my awkward phase corresponded to an interest in rock n' roll. From experience, I'm guessing an insecure childhood is probably quite a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/for-me-my-awkward-phase-corresponded-to-an-interest-in-rock-n-roll/) [The Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) [Explore all 26 The Edge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "The Edge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the-year-with-it-has-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the-year-with-it-has-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/the-edge-23429_book_if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the_851589.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there is a perfect book to start the year with it has to be Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch.” — The Edge", "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": "The Edge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-edge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If there is a perfect book...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the-year-with-it-has-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-edge/if-there-is-a-perfect-book-to-start-the-year-with-it-has-to-be/#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 } } ] } ```