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# We don’t know until the end, and it’s never the end
- URL: https://www.autodidacts.io/we-dont-know-until-the-end-and-its-never-the-end/
- Published: 2026-02-27T22:58:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-27T22:58:00.000Z
- Description: Judging a book by its content doesn’t work either
- Author: Curiositry
- Tags: 100DaysToOffload, Philosophy, Life, Books, Reading

I was perusing my reading spreadsheet, and my reviews of books I read a few years ago don’t always match my current opinion of the book, based on my memory of it.

*\[I was perusing my old book reviews, not because I’m diligent about reviewing the things I’ve learned, but because I was trying to put the pieces back together having recently learned an ominous factoid the hard way: when you have all sheets selected, to search in all sheets,* [*editing a row in the current sheet overwrites the data in that row of every other sheet*](https://www.autodidacts.io/libreoffice-calc-multi-sheet-paste-can-quietly-edit-or-overwrite-data-by-accident/)*.\]*

The obvious conclusion is that my [recently-celebrated](https://www.autodidacts.io/memory-improves-with-use/) memory is, in fact, feeble, and what I wrote in the spreadsheet cell the day I finished the book is more accurate than what I tell people about the book now. I think this is part of it. I don’t remember most of the details.

But there’s another explanation that I like better. **I don’t know whether a book will change my life until it does.** Sometimes, I might have a hunch. Or, I might enjoy reading it. But the effect a book has on me has a lot to do with what sticks with me, and if it changes my thinking and behavior. Some books, which didn’t seem that great, communicated an idea that I took to heart, and acted on. When I think back on those books, I don’t remember the prose, or necessarily even the bad/good parts. I remember, [*that book*](https://www.autodidacts.io/libreoffice-calc-multi-sheet-paste-can-quietly-edit-or-overwrite-data-by-accident/#:~:text=I%20hadn%E2%80%99t%20particularly%20enjoyed%20the%20book%3B%20I%20found%20it%20repetitive%2C%20and%20barely%20bothered%20to%20finish%20it%20at%20all.%20But%20it%20did%20change%20my%20relation%20to%20frugality.%20In%20fact%2C%20the%20trio%20of%20that%20book%2C%20The%20Psychology%20of%20Money%2C%20and%20Mr.%20Money%20Mustache%E2%80%99s%20posts%20completely%20transformed%20my%20spending%20and%20saving%20habits.) *was half-responsible for me becoming a frugality enthusiast,* or [*that book*](https://www.autodidacts.io/learn-to-enjoy-running/#read-born-to-run-by-christopher-mcdougall) *inspired me to become an ultramarathon runner,* or *that book make me de-clutter my room and give away half my clothing.*

Other books, wonderful books, I read [too early](https://www.autodidacts.io/dostoyevsky-isnt-difficult/#:~:text=When%20I%20was%20twelve%20or%20fourteen%20I%20got%20halfway%20through%20War%20and%20Peace%2E%20Unfortunately%2C%20the%20vagaries%20of%20Russian%20names%20befuddled%20me%2C%20and%20pretty%20soon%20I%20didn%E2%80%99t%20know%20what%20was%20going%20on%20and%20didn%E2%80%99t%20really%20care%2E) or [too late](https://www.autodidacts.io/dostoyevsky-isnt-difficult/#:~:text=books%20that%20made%20me%20cringe%20but%20also%20feel%20stupid%20%28A.E.%20Van%20Vogt%20after%20my%20A.E.%20Van%20Vogt%20phase%29%3B), or when I had a stomach ache, and they passed through me without leaving a trace.

*Or did they?*

If 32,000-year-old seeds buried by Siberian squirrels can [germinate and flower](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/120221-oldest-seeds-regenerated-plants-science?ref=autodidacts.io), I see no reason to think that impressions planted in my brain a few years ago have expired and become inert. They might be merely dormant, waiting for the right conditions to sprout.

Like the story of [the old man who lost his horse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5Fold%5Fman%5Flost%5Fhis%5Fhorse?ref=autodidacts.io), it is too soon to say. 

****Note:** this post is part of [#100DaysToOffload](https://www.autodidacts.io/100daystooffload/), a challenge to publish 100 posts in 365 days. These posts are generally shorter and less polished than our normal posts; expect typos and unfiltered thoughts! [View more posts in this series.](https://www.autodidacts.io/tag/100daystooffload/)