--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we are collecting books, we are…" description: "\"When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.\" — Vincent Starrett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg" --- # When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness. ![“When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.” quote by Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg) > “When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.” [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Collecting books is akin to gathering happiness, as each volume holds stories, knowledge, and emotional resonance that enriches life. **In simple terms:** Books bring joy and meaning. Key Takeaway Collect books to enrich life. Themes literature joy collection culture knowledge Mood nostalgic uplifting Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - personal libraries - gift giving - educational outreach Key Concepts bibliophilia happiness theory Questions to Reflect On - What book has brought you the most joy? - How does a personal library reflect your values? A Different Perspective Over-collecting may lead to clutter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My only dream is to get old and finally have time to read all the books that I'm collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gianni-versace/my-only-dream-is-to-get-old-and-finally-have-time-to-read-all-the/) [Gianni Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gianni-versace/) > [I've probably got about 300 books. I love collecting books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriano-zumbo/i-ve-probably-got-about-300-books-i-love-collecting-books/) [Adriano Zumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriano-zumbo/) > [“You think there's something materialistic about collecting books, but really collectors are the last romantics. We're the only ones who still love books as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/you-think-there-s-something-materialistic-about-collecting-books-but/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That's how it started.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-petit/i-needed-more-knowledge-in-rigging-and-knotting-i-started-collecting/) [Philippe Petit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-petit/) > [I imagine the wave of water colliding with the rock and spilling over the tile floor, collecting around my shoes. Doing a little at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-imagine-the-wave-of-water-colliding-with-the-rock-and-spilling-over/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I started collecting couture when I was about 10 or 11 years old, and the very first piece I bought was a Balenciaga suit from 1962.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamish-bowles/i-started-collecting-couture-when-i-was-about-10-or-11-years-old-and/) [Hamish Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamish-bowles/) > [Instead of collecting things and staying in one space, I want to collect experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesh/instead-of-collecting-things-and-staying-in-one-space-i-want-to/) [Kesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesh/) > [...You can go your whole life collecting days, and none will outweigh the one you wish you had back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/you-can-go-your-whole-life-collecting-days-and-none-will-outweigh-the/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I don't know who had the training of you," he continued doggedly, "but your morals are shocking. You spent a night in my bed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/i-don-t-know-who-had-the-training-of-you-he-continued-doggedly-but/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [I didn't really grow up a comic book fanatic. I was a big baseball player, and my passion in life, in third grade, was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ritchson/i-didn-t-really-grow-up-a-comic-book-fanatic-i-was-a-big-baseball/) [Alan Ritchson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ritchson/) > [My real first job was delivering newspapers with I was 15. I would ride my bike around and chuck papers at people's houses. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/my-real-first-job-was-delivering-newspapers-with-i-was-15-i-would/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [I found so-called great art too pompous, too stiff. What at this time was called minor art was freer, more imaginative, more open to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lipchitz/i-found-so-called-great-art-too-pompous-too-stiff-what-at-this-time/) [Jacques Lipchitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lipchitz/) > [If you're feeling fancy free, come wander through the world with me, and any place we chance to be, will be a rendezvous. Two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mancini/if-you-re-feeling-fancy-free-come-wander-through-the-world-with-me/) [Henry Mancini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mancini/) > [Taking photos is a form of collecting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/taking-photos-is-a-form-of-collecting/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [I've always been interested in photographs, collecting them not systematically but randomly. They get lost, then turn up again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-photographs-collecting-them-not/) [W. G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald/) ## More by Vincent Starrett > [“Here dwell together still two men of note Who never lived and so can never die: How very near they seem, yet how remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/here-dwell-together-still-two-men-of-note-who-never-lived-and-so-can/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [“It is possible that the most misunderstood man upon earth is the collector of books…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/it-is-possible-that-the-most-misunderstood-man-upon-earth-is-the/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [“Man wants what he cannot have, or what is difficult to procure, or what he must wade through the blood of other men to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/man-wants-what-he-cannot-have-or-what-is-difficult-to-procure-or-what/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [The day before yesterday has always been a day of glamor, of gilt and glory. The present is sordid and prosaic. Time colors history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/the-day-before-yesterday-has-always-been-a-day-of-glamor-of-gilt-and/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [But there can be no grave for Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson...Shall they not always live in Baker Street? Are they not there this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/but-there-can-be-no-grave-for-sherlock-holmes-and-doctor-watson-shall/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [Every new search is a voyage to the Indies, a quest for buried treasure, a journey to the end of the rainbow; and whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/every-new-search-is-a-voyage-to-the-indies-a-quest-for-buried/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [“For one thing, a first edition certainly is the edition nearest the heart of an author, the edition upon which his hopes were laid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/for-one-thing-a-first-edition-certainly-is-the-edition-nearest-the/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [The day before yesterday always has been a glamour day. The present is sordid and prosaic. Time colors history as it does a meerschaum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/the-day-before-yesterday-always-has-been-a-glamour-day-the-present-is/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [Only those things the heart believes are true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/only-those-things-the-heart-believes-are-true/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) > [A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane As night descends upon the fabled street: A lonely hansom splashes through the rain, And ghostly gas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/a-yellow-fog-swirls-past-the-window-pane-as-night-descends-upon-the/) [Vincent Starrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) [Explore all 11 Vincent Starrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/) ## 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": "When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vincent Starrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-collecting-happiness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-collecting-happiness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/747/vincent-starrett-39258_book_when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-coll_1226745.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we are collecting books, we are collecting happiness.” — Vincent Starrett", "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": "Vincent Starrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-starrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we are collecting books, we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-collecting-happiness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-starrett/when-we-are-collecting-books-we-are-collecting-happiness/#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 } } ] } ```