Books and Meals Make You

I recently heard a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that gave me pause:

“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”

As first read, I love it! It makes a lot of sense. Just as the meals I’ve eaten over the years have sustained me and helped me grow, so have the books that I’ve read. That said, I think there is a bit more nuance.

First, just like that amazing meal you had on your honeymoon, there are some books that really stick with you. Back to Emerson’s quote, though, that one amazing meal is roughly 0.1% of the food I ate that year, and a very tiny fraction of a percentage of the food I’ve eaten in my lifetime. Even though it’s memorable, more value should be given to the more forgettable meals I’ve had.

Second, I really have no desire to remember more of my meals. Perhaps a nice goal would be to find myself in more memorable situations (and therefore more memorable meals), but ultimately I don’t care too much about what I had for dinner 500 nights ago. However, I do want to remember more of what I read. While Emerson’s quote is true, and books I’ve read continue to shape my thoughts even I don’t specifically remember them, I think there is value in accurately remembering more of what I read.

Remember that?