--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For years I've gathered various books…" description: "\"“For years I've gathered various books, sources. When I was little it might have been Tolkien, and so I would have just four books around me. I couldn'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/tori-amos-679_art_for-years-i-ve-gathered-various-books-so_2518131.jpg" --- # For years I've gathered various books, sources. When I was… ![“For years I've gathered various books, sources. When I was little it might have been Tolkien, and so I would have just four books around me. I couldn't afford many books at the time, so I'd have what I had. Maybe I'd tear out ten or twenty pictures from magazines because I couldn't afford art…” quote by Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/tori-amos-679_art_for-years-i-ve-gathered-various-books-so_2518131.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/tori-amos-679_art_for-years-i-ve-gathered-various-books-so_2518131.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/tori-amos-679_art_for-years-i-ve-gathered-various-books-so_2518131.jpg) > ““For years I've gathered various books, sources. When I was little it might have been Tolkien, and so I would have just four books around me. I couldn't afford many books at the time, so I'd have what I had. Maybe I'd tear out ten or twenty pictures from magazines because I couldn't afford art books. I would check out library books and try to keep them as long as I could, but I couldn't jot my notes in them. For any particular song, I can't tell you the books that were on the floor, the photographs on the floor. I don't let anybody keep a record of that. Those are the secret ingredients.”” [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative scarcity forces inventive solutions; limited resources become unique artistic signatures. **In simple terms:** Limits spark creativity. Key Takeaway Use constraints to fuel innovation. Themes creativity resourcefulness artistic identity Mood introspective inspirational Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - writing songs - visual art - design projects - educational curricula Key Concepts improvisation innovation storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How have limits shaped your work? - What resources can you repurpose creatively? A Different Perspective Constraints can also hinder breadth of expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Couldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-couldn-1222845/) [Books Floor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-floor-1222847/) [Books Sources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-sources-1222848/) [Tell Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-books-502761/) [Various Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/various-books-1222846/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Being a best-selling author just means the world for me. Some of my happiest memories, growing up, are being at book stores and reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-colfer/being-a-best-selling-author-just-means-the-world-for-me-some-of-my/) [Chris Colfer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-colfer/) > [Richard's bookshelves weren't alphabetized. He never had time to alphabetize them. He was always too busy- looking for books he couldn't find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/richard-s-bookshelves-weren-t-alphabetized-he-never-had-time-to/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I started writing books because I couldn't find the books I wanted to read on the shelf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/i-started-writing-books-because-i-couldn-t-find-the-books-i-wanted-to/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [“With frightening suddenness he now began ripping the pages out of the book in handfuls and throwing them in the waste-paper basket. Matilda froze…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/with-frightening-suddenness-he-now-began-ripping-the-pages-out-of-the/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [The Taliban could take our pens and books, but they couldn’t stop our minds from thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malala-yousafzai/the-taliban-could-take-our-pens-and-books-but-they-couldn-t-stop-our/) [Malala Yousafzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malala-yousafzai/) > [“All witches who'd lived in her cottage were bookish types. They thought you could see life through books but you couldn't, the reason being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/all-witches-who-d-lived-in-her-cottage-were-bookish-types-they/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [The Internet is the world's largest library. It's just that all the books are on the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-allen-paulos/the-internet-is-the-world-s-largest-library-it-s-just-that-all-the/) [John Allen Paulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-allen-paulos/) > [when I walk into an apartment with books on the shelves, books on the bedside tables, books on the floor, and books on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-fadiman/when-i-walk-into-an-apartment-with-books-on-the-shelves-books-on-the/) [Anne Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-fadiman/) > [“Welcome to my dungeon. It's not much," Linc said as he cleaned off a chair for her. "But… it's not much." He dumped the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/welcome-to-my-dungeon-it-s-not-much-linc-said-as-he-cleaned-off-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Books everywhere. On the shelves and on the small space above the rows of books and all along the floor and under chairs, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/books-everywhere-on-the-shelves-and-on-the-small-space-above-the-rows/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [Thoth, Hermes, the stylus, the palette, the pen, the quill endure, though our books are a floor of smouldering ash under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilda-doolittle/thoth-hermes-the-stylus-the-palette-the-pen-the-quill-endure-though/) [Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilda-doolittle/) > [It's going to be labor-intensive and time-consuming, but you need to take all the books down and put them on the floor. Take them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-kondo/it-s-going-to-be-labor-intensive-and-time-consuming-but-you-need-to/) [Marie Kondo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-kondo/) > [In design-speak, 'a library' means a room lined with books, floor-to ceiling, but it all depends on the space you have. You may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-berkus/in-design-speak-a-library-means-a-room-lined-with-books-floor-to/) [Nate Berkus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-berkus/) > [“...I had decided to tidy up a bit. Actually it hadn't really been a choice. The situation had got out of hand, particularly because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianrico-carofiglio/i-had-decided-to-tidy-up-a-bit-actually-it-hadn-t-really-been-a/) [Gianrico Carofiglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianrico-carofiglio/) > [I'm incredibly flattered when people tell me that my books helped them through high school. Because of my own experience, the thought that something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-m-incredibly-flattered-when-people-tell-me-that-my-books-helped/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More by Tori Amos > [My childhood was extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-childhood-was-extreme/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [The truth lies in between the 1st and the 40th drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/the-truth-lies-in-between-the-1st-and-the-40th-drink/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [“Sometimes I fantasize backstage about how people do their laundry. Woolite? Mixed-color loads? Do they fold? Do they press? Do they Shout it out?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/sometimes-i-fantasize-backstage-about-how-people-do-their-laundry/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I don't feel I'm as good a mum as my mum was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-don-t-feel-i-m-as-good-a-mum-as-my-mum-was/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [I'm obsessed with crocodiles and getting eaten by one. When I hear that someone's been eaten by a crocodile or shark, I just get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/i-m-obsessed-with-crocodiles-and-getting-eaten-by-one-when-i-hear/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Being stylish is about enjoying your life and expressing yourself and your inner light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/being-stylish-is-about-enjoying-your-life-and-expressing-yourself-and/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. Particularly when the person's agenda is to intimidate through abusing their position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/there-certainly-are-situations-where-i-feel-not-empowered-or/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When I play live, it's a conversation that we're all having with the song, and the audience... their response and relationship with the songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-i-play-live-it-s-a-conversation-that-we-re-all-having-with-the/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Parenting is not for everybody. It changes your life. Especially when they're little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/parenting-is-not-for-everybody-it-changes-your-life-especially-when/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Pretty is never beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/pretty-is-never-beautiful/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Though I can't change what happened, I can choose how to react. And I don't want to spend the rest of my life being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/though-i-can-t-change-what-happened-i-can-choose-how-to-react-and-i/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [When you don't have people in your life pushing you, can you push yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/when-you-don-t-have-people-in-your-life-pushing-you-can-you-push/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Boys are cute, but food is cuter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/boys-are-cute-but-food-is-cuter/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [My mother says I was two-and-a-half when I started playing. My father was a minister, and when he went to church in the morning,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/my-mother-says-i-was-two-and-a-half-when-i-started-playing-my-father/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [A lot of the carols were not as you hear them now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/a-lot-of-the-carols-were-not-as-you-hear-them-now/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) [Explore all 413 Tori Amos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For years I've gathered various books, sources. When I was little it might have been Tolkien, and so I would have just four books around me. I couldn't afford many books at the time, so I'd have what I had. Maybe I'd tear out ten or twenty pictures from magazines because I couldn't afford art books. I would check out library books and try to keep them as long as I could, but I couldn't jot my notes in them. For any particular song, I can't tell you the books that were on the floor, the photographs on the floor. I don't let anybody keep a record of that. 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