--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A small number of choice books are…" description: "\"A small number of choice books are sufficient.\" — Voltaire" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/voltaire-173_book_a-small-number-of-choice-books-are-suffi_1890522.png" --- # A small number of choice books are sufficient. ![“A small number of choice books are sufficient.” quote by Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/voltaire-173_book_a-small-number-of-choice-books-are-suffi_1890522.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/voltaire-173_book_a-small-number-of-choice-books-are-suffi_1890522.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/voltaire-173_book_a-small-number-of-choice-books-are-suffi_1890522.png) > “A small number of choice books are sufficient.” [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A select few high‑quality books can provide sufficient knowledge and wisdom. **In simple terms:** Few good books are enough. Key Takeaway Read selectively. Themes education literature minimalism wisdom Mood inquisitive calm Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal study - library curation - academic syllabus - self‑education Key Concepts curated reading intellectual depth quality over quantity Questions to Reflect On - Which books have shaped your worldview? - How to choose truly valuable reads? A Different Perspective May miss diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Small numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-numbers/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I like being able to just turn the microscope on a small number of people, get to know them, drop into their lives for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/i-like-being-able-to-just-turn-the-microscope-on-a-small-number-of/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [It seems to me that the soul, when alone with itself and speaking to itself, uses only a small number of words, none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/it-seems-to-me-that-the-soul-when-alone-with-itself-and-speaking-to/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part-2/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [In the period of '60s to the '90s, British art schools were small, and the number of student was small. The personal contact was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/in-the-period-of-60s-to-the-90s-british-art-schools-were-small-and/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [When you dig down and look at the people who are vocal in their criticism of me, it's a small number.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-kotick/when-you-dig-down-and-look-at-the-people-who-are-vocal-in-their/) [Bobby Kotick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-kotick/) > [“Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/small-is-the-number-of-them-that-see-with-their-own-eyes-and-feel/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-is-a-great-thing-to-start-life-with-a-small-number-of-really-good/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [One is too small a number to achieve greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-is-too-small-a-number-to-achieve-greatness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A small number of people can make a lot of noise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/a-small-number-of-people-can-make-a-lot-of-noise/) [Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/) > [We've had risk assessments performed by Harvard University, which said that even if we did have a small number of cases in this country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-veneman/we-ve-had-risk-assessments-performed-by-harvard-university-which-said/) [Ann Veneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-veneman/) > [The purists are small in number but, you know hardy of voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/the-purists-are-small-in-number-but-you-know-hardy-of-voice/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [A life is made up of a great number of small incidents, and a small number of great ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/a-life-is-made-up-of-a-great-number-of-small-incidents-and-a-small/) [Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/) > [Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/small-is-the-number-of-people-who-see-with-their-eyes-and-think-with/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For me, one of the things that makes the X-Men so crucial is they are relatively small in number but they have the potential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-claremont/for-me-one-of-the-things-that-makes-the-x-men-so-crucial-is-they-are/) [Chris Claremont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-claremont/) ## More by Voltaire > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Fanaticism, to which men are so much inclined, has always served not only to render them more brutalized but more wicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/fanaticism-to-which-men-are-so-much-inclined-has-always-served-not/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We’re neither pure, nor wise, nor good; we do the best we know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/we-re-neither-pure-nor-wise-nor-good-we-do-the-best-we-know/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is with books as with men: a very small number play a great part, the rest are lost in the multitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/it-is-with-books-as-with-men-a-very-small-number-play-a-great-part/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Meslier was the most singular phenomenon ever seen among all the meteors fatal to the Christian religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/meslier-was-the-most-singular-phenomenon-ever-seen-among-all-the/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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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. 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