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About this quote

What does it mean?
Buying books is not the same as acquiring the ideas inside them, because you still need time to read and understand them.
In plain terms
Purchasing a book doesn't give you its knowledge without reading.
What can you take from it?
Don't equate owning a book with learning its content.

Where it applies

  • when budgeting for books
  • planning study time

Putting it to work

  • schedule reading sessions
  • prioritize essential books

Questions to consider

  • Do you buy books you never read?
  • How can you ensure you use the books you own?

Another view

It ignores the value of having a library for future reference.

More from Arthur Schopenhauer

  1. Reading is merely a surrogate for thinking for yourself; it means letting someone else direct your thoughts. Many books, moreover, serve merely to show how man…

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  2. * Hatred is a thing of the heart, contempt a thing of the head. Hatred and contempt are decidedly antagonistic towards one another and mutually exclusive. A gr…

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  3. Truth that has been merely learned is like an ?artificial limb, a false tooth, a waxen nose; at best, ?like a nose made out of another's flesh; it adheres to ?…

    Permalink to quote #47

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