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There are no books in this world that everybody must read, but only books that a person must read at a certain time in a given place under given circumstances and at a given period of his life.
Lin Yutang
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Books hold unique significance for each person depending on their life circumstances and timing.

This quote emphasizes the idea that literature is subjective; the value and necessity of a book are determined by individual experiences and the context in which one finds themselves. Rather than suggesting a universal canon, it recognizes that each person's journey through life will dictate which texts resonate most meaningfully at particular moments.

Themes

BooksReadingKnowledgeLifePersonal Growth

In practice

Example use cases

During a book club meeting to discuss the relevance of literature in our lives.

More from Lin Yutang

Reality - Dreams = Animal Being Reality + Dreams = A Heart-Ache (usually called Idealism) Reality + Humor = Realism (also called Conservatism) Dreams - Humor = Fanaticism Dreams + Humor = Fantasy Reality + Dreams + Humor = Wisdom
Lin YutangRead
True peace of mind comes from accepting the worst. Psychologically, I think it means a release of energy.
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All women's dresses, in every age and country, are merely variations on the eternal struggle between the admitted desire to dress and the unadmitted desire to undress.
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This I conceive to be the chemical function of humor: to change the character of our thought.
Lin YutangRead
If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.
Lin YutangRead
It is that unoccupied space which makes a room habitable, as it is our leisure hours which make life endurable.
Lin YutangRead

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