--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can remember that on the shelves at…" description: "\"I can remember that on the shelves at home, there were these books by Thomas Wolfe. 'Look Homeward Angel' and 'Of Time and the River.' 'Of Time and the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/tom-wolfe-2191_angel_i-can-remember-that-on-the-shelves-at-ho_1135570.jpg" --- # I can remember that on the shelves at home, there were… ![“I can remember that on the shelves at home, there were these books by Thomas Wolfe. 'Look Homeward Angel' and 'Of Time and the River.' 'Of Time and the River' had just come out when I was aware of his name. My parents had a hard time convincing me that he was no kin whatsoever. My attitude was…” quote by Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/tom-wolfe-2191_angel_i-can-remember-that-on-the-shelves-at-ho_1135570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/tom-wolfe-2191_angel_i-can-remember-that-on-the-shelves-at-ho_1135570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/tom-wolfe-2191_angel_i-can-remember-that-on-the-shelves-at-ho_1135570.jpg) > “I can remember that on the shelves at home, there were these books by Thomas Wolfe. 'Look Homeward Angel' and 'Of Time and the River.' 'Of Time and the River' had just come out when I was aware of his name. My parents had a hard time convincing me that he was no kin whatsoever. My attitude was, 'Well, what's he doing on the shelf, then?'” [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) ## 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 recounts early exposure to Thomas Wolfe’s works, highlighting curiosity and familial skepticism about literary value. **In simple terms:** Early reading sparked curiosity despite family doubts. Key Takeaway Explore diverse literature regardless of others' opinions. Themes curiosity literary discovery family dynamics Mood reflective inquisitive Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - book clubs - school curricula - personal reading challenges Key Concepts author influence personal growth cultural literacy Questions to Reflect On - How does early literature shape identity? - What can we do when family discourages reading? A Different Perspective Family bias can limit exposure to new ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Angel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aware/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-thomas-2561107/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Convincing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convincing/) [Convincing Kin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/convincing-kin-3140670/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-time/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [His](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-books-568082/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Kin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kin/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Name](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/name/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Parents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parents/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Shelf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelf/) [Shelves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelves/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thomas-wolfe/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Were](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/were/) [Whatsoever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whatsoever/) [Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wolfe/) ## Related quotes > [I've read everything Thomas Wolfe ever wrote; my brother and I memorized whole chapters of 'You Can't Go Home Again' and 'Look Homeward, Angel.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-read-everything-thomas-wolfe-ever-wrote-my-brother-and-i/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“Thomas Wolfe ate the world and vomited lava. Dickens dined at a different table every hour of his life. Molière, tasting society, turned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/thomas-wolfe-ate-the-world-and-vomited-lava-dickens-dined-at-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I do not agree with Thomas Wolfe... about anything. You can go home again as long as you don't expect home to be what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-burr/i-do-not-agree-with-thomas-wolfe-about-anything-you-can-go-home-again/) [Raymond Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-burr/) > [“I cannot live without books. Thomas Jefferson”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-cannot-live-without-books-thomas-jefferson/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Home is where your books are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/home-is-where-your-books-are/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [“My home is where my books are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-thompson/my-home-is-where-my-books-are/) [Ellen Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-thompson/) > [“Home is wherever my books are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-hall/home-is-wherever-my-books-are/) [Mary Beth Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-hall/) > [A home without books is a body without soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/a-home-without-books-is-a-body-without-soul/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Home is where the books are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-where-the-books-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Books, for me, are a home. Books don’t make a home – they are one, in the sense that just as you do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/books-for-me-are-a-home-books-don-t-make-a-home-they-are-one-in-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Books are the windows through which the soul looks out. A home without books is like a room without windows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/books-are-the-windows-through-which-the-soul-looks-out-a-home-without/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Finch was his own country, the government unstable, the population volatile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kealan-patrick-burke/finch-was-his-own-country-the-government-unstable-the-population/) [Kealan Patrick Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kealan-patrick-burke/) > [Those who are able to climb up the ladder will find ways to pull it up after them, or selectively lower it down to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/those-who-are-able-to-climb-up-the-ladder-will-find-ways-to-pull-it/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [The Congress and its kin parties such as the BJP are up to grab the rights of Dalits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/the-congress-and-its-kin-parties-such-as-the-bjp-are-up-to-grab-the/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [“And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bram-stoker/and-you-their-best-beloved-one-are-now-to-me-flesh-of-my-flesh-blood/) [Bram Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bram-stoker/) ## More by Tom Wolfe > [“Well … things are beginning to stack up a little,” said Gordo. It was the same old sod-hut drawl. He sounded like the airline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/well-things-are-beginning-to-stack-up-a-little-said-gordo-it-was-the/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“Everything in everybody’s life is … significant. And everybody is alert, watching for the meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/everything-in-everybody-s-life-is-significant-and-everybody-is-alert/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > ['Back to Blood' really took it out of me. While I was writing it, I just never went out anywhere, except to the gym.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/back-to-blood-really-took-it-out-of-me-while-i-was-writing-it-i-just/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [In the U.S., the term 'general aviation' means its exact opposite, the way 'public school' does in England. An English public school is private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/in-the-u-s-the-term-general-aviation-means-its-exact-opposite-the-way/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [That's mostly what the Internet is, just passing the time. But unfortunately you are dealing with words that can have meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/that-s-mostly-what-the-internet-is-just-passing-the-time-but/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“The dark night of fascism is always descending in the United States and yet lands only in Europe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/the-dark-night-of-fascism-is-always-descending-in-the-united-states/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“Loneliness wasn't just a state of mind, was it? It was tactile. She could feel it. It was a sixth sense, not in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/loneliness-wasn-t-just-a-state-of-mind-was-it-it-was-tactile-she/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [it is either make this thing permanent inside of you or forever just climb draggled up into the conning tower every time for one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/it-is-either-make-this-thing-permanent-inside-of-you-or-forever-just/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I found a great many pieces of punctuation and typography lying around dormant when I came along - and I must say I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-found-a-great-many-pieces-of-punctuation-and-typography-lying/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [“They became desperate for an antidote, such as coziness & color. They tried to bury the obligatory white sofas under Thai-silk throw pillows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/they-became-desperate-for-an-antidote-such-as-coziness-color-they/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [A cult is a religion with no political power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/a-cult-is-a-religion-with-no-political-power/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I don't think journalists should talk about whom they're voting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-don-t-think-journalists-should-talk-about-whom-they-re-voting-for/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [Even hostile parodies admit from the start that the target has a distinct voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/even-hostile-parodies-admit-from-the-start-that-the-target-has-a/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I had always looked down on sociology as this arriviste discipline. It didn't have the noble history of English and history as a subject.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-had-always-looked-down-on-sociology-as-this-arriviste-discipline-it/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I read somewhere that writers, as they get older, become more and more perfectionist. Which may be because they think more highly of themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/i-read-somewhere-that-writers-as-they-get-older-become-more-and-more/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) [Explore all 177 Tom Wolfe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) ## More Angel quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [If I wer an angel,i would make all your wishes come true..but I'm only a girl a girl who loves you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix/if-i-wer-an-angel-i-would-make-all-your-wishes-come-true-but-i-m-only/) [Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix/) > [Peace is the first thing the angels sang. Peace is the mark of the children of God. Peace is the nurse of love. Peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/peace-is-the-first-thing-the-angels-sang-peace-is-the-mark-of-the/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Behind my eyelids, I saw him dancing in spirals of coloured light, emerald, blue, and brilliant purple, enfolding him like the wings of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-hall/behind-my-eyelids-i-saw-him-dancing-in-spirals-of-coloured-light/) [Alexis Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-hall/) > [All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/all-that-i-am-or-ever-hope-to-be-i-owe-to-my-angel-mother/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [I believe in UFOs, I believe in extraterrestrials, and I believe in angels. And maybe they'll protect all of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-believe-in-ufos-i-believe-in-extraterrestrials-and-i-believe-in/) [Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/) > [Sometimes we have the absolute certainty there's something inside us that's so hideous and monstrous that if we ever search it out we won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-selby-jr/sometimes-we-have-the-absolute-certainty-there-s-something-inside-us/) [Hubert Selby, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-selby-jr/) > [Flowers are the alphabet of angels, whereby they write on the hills and fields mysterious truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/flowers-are-the-alphabet-of-angels-whereby-they-write-on-the-hills/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [You should never feel lonely, neglected, fearful, or defeated when you remember that there are the shining ones. They are watching with keen interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flower-a-newhouse/you-should-never-feel-lonely-neglected-fearful-or-defeated-when-you/) [Flower A. Newhouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flower-a-newhouse/) > [Hark the herald angels sing, 'Glory to the new-born king.' Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-wesley/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-glory-to-the-new-born-king-peace-on-earth/) [Charles Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-wesley/) > [Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/man-was-created-a-little-lower-than-the-angels-and-has-been-getting-a/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Mooner was walking around laying his hands on the cars, divining karma. "this is it", he said, standing by a small khaki-colored jeep."this car…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/mooner-was-walking-around-laying-his-hands-on-the-cars-divining-karma/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 4,625 Angel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/angel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can remember that on the shelves at home, there were these books by Thomas Wolfe. 'Look Homeward Angel' and 'Of Time and the River.' 'Of Time and the River' had just come out when I was aware of his name. My parents had a hard time convincing me that he was no kin whatsoever. 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