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Books and reading

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“I can read books and news articles about people who have excelled, people who have done extremely well in their chosen field, or made a lot of money, or married well, or what have you. When some people read this stuff, they get inspired, but when I read it, it makes me feel worse. Sometimes I wish I had never learned to read.”
John S. Hall (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I read myths and fairy tales and books about them a great deal now, but I very seldom read novels. I find modern novels bore me. I can read Tolstoy and the Russians, but mostly I read comparative mythology and comparative religion. I need matter to carry with me.”
P. L. Travers (1899–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The formation of the ṛksamhita [....] appears to have been carried out in three stages. First, the ‗clan books‘ 2-7 were collected and ordered [....] At a later stage, Books 1 and 8 were added to the case like book ends. It was likely at this stage that Book 9 was added as well. Lastly, the heterogenous material in Book 10 was appended to the entire collection.”
Theodore Proferes first seen 1999 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: (PROFERES 1999:10).
“I don’t reread. It nauseates me. When it’s published, it’s like a dead book—I don’t want to hear anything more about it. And, when I read it, I think it’s weird, I think it’s bad, that’s why I don’t read it. I also don’t read the translations that they do of my books, in order not to get annoyed.”
Clarice Lispector (1920–1977) said by 1977 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Reading is exciting. Reading is fun. Reading is cool. There is nothing quite like the thrill of opening a book and being drawn into another world to meet new people and to discover their stories - it’s like making new friends”
Queen Camilla (born 1947) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Reading is cool so please find the time, Camilla tells children Evening Standard (1 March 2012)
“Reading and rereading the manuscript. Reading it out loud. Recently I’ve begun taping myself and listening to myself reading the manuscript. Makes for a great before bed activity with a nice cup of tea. Next, I think about colors and the mood I want to set for the book. Then on research: Google and the Public Library.”
Ekua Holmes (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was just extraordinary from the moment I started reading it. It doesn't have any chapters, and you just don't want it to stop. It's like that feeling of being a child again when you're reading a book and you honestly stay up all night reading it.”
Bub Bridger (1924–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My advice to a young writer: Never give up. Read everything you can read — particularly the writers who move you deeply. Study how they do what they do. Read and read and read ... and write and write and write.”
Erica Jong (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is reasonable to assume that, by and large, what is not read now will not be read, ever. It is also reasonable to assume that practically nothing that is read now will be read later. Finally, it is not too farfetched to imagine a future in which novels are not read at all.”
Gore Vidal (1925–2012) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Thomas Love Peacock: The Novel of Ideas" (1980)
“To understand oneself requires patience, tolerant awareness; the self is a book of many volumes which you cannot read in a day, but when once you begin to read, you must read every word, every sentence, every paragraph for in them are the intimations of the whole. The beginning of it is the ending of it. If you know how to read, supreme wisdom is to be found.”
Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895–1986) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Fifth Talk in The Oak Grove, 11 June 1944", J. Krishnamurti Online, JKO Serial No. 440611, Vol. III, p. 219
“I read a book twice as fast as anybody else. First, I read the beginning, and then I read the ending, and then I start in the middle and read toward whatever end I like best.”
Gracie Allen (1895–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Funny Ladies : The Best Humor from America's Funniest Women (2001) by Bill Adler, p. 51
“I read the book and I was fascinated by its depth. I read it again several times after our marriage because I had visited some of the places where the story in the book takes place. The story is set in his home area in Manyene, Chivhu and I got a better understanding of the book after visiting the place”
Jesesi Mungoshi wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The eleven volumes of this book are to be burned after they are read. There are some people in this book who are still alive and this book may anger them, so make sure the book is burned. Tsunetomo said this repeatedly.”
Yamamoto Tsunetomo (1659–1719) said by 1719 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Who hath a book Hath friends at hand, And gold and gear At his command; And rich estates, If he but look, Are held by him Who hath a book. Who hath a book Hath but to read And he may be A king, indeed. His kingdom is His inglenook— All this is his Who hath a book.”
Wilbur D. Nesbit (1871–1927) first seen 1906 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Who Hath a Book", sts. 1 and 3. A Book of Poems (Evanston, IL: Bowman Co., 1906), p. 146
“I don't know if Native Son is a good book or a bad book. And I don't know if the book I'm working on now will be a good book or a bad book. And I really don't care. The mere writing of it will be more fun and a deeper satisfaction than any praise or blame from anybody. I feel that I'm lucky to be alive to write novels today, when the whole world is caught in the pangs of war and change.”
Richard Wright (1908–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If I were asked what book is better than a cheap book, I should answer that there is one book better than a cheap book, — and that is a book honestly come by.”
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) first seen 1886 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Before the U. S. Senate Committee on Patents (29 January 1886)
“Your book contains direct analogies between us and the Hitlerite fascists. You book incorrectly describes our people, communists. Could we have won the war with the kind of people you describe? In your book you say positive things about religion, God, Catholicism. Your book defends Trotsky. You book is full of doubts about the legitimacy of our Soviet system.”
Vasily Grossman (1905–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In some ways. I do want to do something very different with each book…I think this book is linked to the first but approaches it in a completely different way. The first book was much chillier, more remote. And intentionally so. I don’t think it was a book that anyone loved and I didn’t love it either. It was not a book that was meant to inspire love in the way that I think this one is.”
Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On how she compares her works The People in the Trees and A Little Life in “Hanya Yanagihara: ‘I wanted everything turned up a little too high’” in The Guardian (2015 Jul 26)
“The problem in our country isn't with books being banned, but with people no longer reading. Look at the magazines, the newspapers around us – it's all junk, all trash, tidbits of news. The average TV ad has 120 images a minute. Everything just falls off your mind. … You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) first seen 1993 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Bradbury Still Believes in Heat of ‘Fahrenheit 451’", interview by Misha Berson, in (12 March 1993); later quoted in Reader's Digest and The Times Book of Quotations. The 1993 Seattle Times is the earliest…
“When I was growing up I didn't like reading but I was surrounded by books all ti mes and I did know how to read. But as I grew older I realized that with reading comes comprehension and confidence”
Lupita Nyong'o (born 1983) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: I realized that books don't have to be about White people, they can actually represent all people,' the actress says describing her complex relationship with literature during childhood.okayafrica(February 5, 2020 )
“People may say there is no reading culture but people always read newspapers, we are always in conversation and people spend money for example on locally produced DVDs in Nigeria. Making books affordable is the biggest thing because for example if someone produced pulp fiction that is written really well and was not costly, that would improve the reading culture”
Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“By the time I was reading the Bible, however, science fiction and science books had taught me their version of the universe and I was not ready to accept the creation tale of Genesis or the various miracles described throughout the book. My experience with the Greek myths (and, later, the grimmer Norse myths) made it quite obvious to me that I was reading Hebrew myths.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Books give us the ability to see things from different perspectives. They educate us, entertain us, force us to think upon certain issues. And reading a book or reading, in general, is an excuse for those who are less sociable like me for not socialising much. And guess what, it works most of the times.”
Gaurav Sharma (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Once my engagement with any text as a writer finishes, and it's finally published or appears in book form, I never return to it as a reader. I do not know why the idea of reading my own published texts repulses me, but I know that reading books written by others is a lifeline.”
Adania Shibli (born 1974) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“One must be rich in thought and character to owe nothing to books, though perception is necessary to profitable reading; and the less reading is better than more;—book-struck men are of all readers least wise, however knowing or learned.”
Amos Bronson Alcott (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I still have a struggle reading [dyslexia] and so I don't read much.. .Probably the only reason I'm painter is because I couldn't read yet I love to write, but when I write I know what I'm writing, but when I'm reading I can’t see it, because it goes from all sides of the page at once. But that's very good for printmaking.”
Robert Rauschenberg (1925–2008) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quote from interview: 'Robert Rauschenberg talks...', Maxime de la Falaise McKendry, 6 May 1976, p. 34
“One of the first things I ever noticed and loved about reading is that words can get through all kinds of barriers; they can get through skin color and culture. It's so easy to read and go through all kinds of struggles with an author. I love the way, when we read, we actually take on the mind of the person that we're reading. (1990)”
Maxine Hong Kingston (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What I mean by reading is not skimming, not being able to say as the world saith, "Oh, yes, I've read that!," but reading again and again, in all sorts of moods, with an increase of delight every time, till the thing read has become a part of your system and goes forth along with you to meet any new experience you may have.”
Charles Edward Montague (1867–1928) said by 1928 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A Writer's Notes on his Trade, (1930), Murphy, Edward F., The Crown Treasury of Relevant Quotations, New York : Crown Publishers, 1978 (pg. 501).
“I realised that children nowadays don’t read because they enjoy it, they read because their teachers or parents tell them to. I want to change that. Through reading, the children are stimulated and their minds are broadened because reading inspires you and takes you places”
Khabonina Qubeka (born 1981) first seen 2015 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Up close with Khabonina Qubeka;Kabonina, a Bedfordview resident, started dancing at the age of six in Newtown, in a modern dance class,November 12, 2015,Buli Sonqishe
“I'm looking to avoid a subtly demeaning subtext which holds that reading, say, is something you should do--like flossing or taxes or laundry. I don't want to speak for women writers, but I recoil at the idea of someone reading my book because they really should read a black author or two. I don't want to be an icebreaker at your corporation's Kwanzaa gathering.”
Ta-Nehisi Coates (born 1975) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Damned Mob of Scribbling Women, The Atlantic, (3 Jun 2011)
“It is often said that children do not read. Well, I'd say that if adults don't start reading, it's not fair to accuse little ones of not reading. They must see us with a book in our hands.”
José Baroja (born 1983) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Original source: Mucho se dice que los niños no leen. Bueno, yo diría que si los adultos no comienzan a hacerlo, no es justo acusar a los más pequeños de no leer. Ellos deben vernos con un libro entre las manos. Trujill…
“I have come to believe that large print, thick and heavy paper, and wide margins and oversize leading is indicative of the expected intelligence of the reader. … Compare children's books and books on Web Duhsign or other X-in-21-days books. If the reading level of a specification is below college level, chances are the people behind it are morons and the result morose.”
Erik Naggum (1965–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If someone was to tell me that I'd be raving on TV about a book about Diana, that's pink, [reading on] the bus, as a straight male, I'd tell you that 'you're wrong'. Let me just tell you that it's one of the most compelling books I've read!”
Bub Bridger (1924–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think every adult should read one children’s book per month. Seriously! Or well, at least once in a while. Being around children, listening to them, reading children’s books helps adults touch back with forgotten parts of themselves.”
Efua Traoré (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I just read and read and read. ... I have always enjoyed reading.”
Warren Buffett (born 1930) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(Q: What advice would you give to young writers?) A: Read, read and read. You can’t write without reading.”
Moniro Ravanipour (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here's a tip I've never used: I understand you can learn a great deal of girldom by reading Pride and Prejudice, and I own a copy, but I have never read it. I tried. It was given to me by a girl with a little not inside that read: What is in this book is the heart of a woman. I am sure the heart of a woman is pure and lovely, but the first chapter of said heart is hopelessly boring.”
Don Miller (author) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I meet people who tell me things like, ‘I read your book in two days’. Please don’t do that. These things take me years to write. Slow down. Everything you read, slow down. Reading is our great act of resistance in this age of speed and carelessness.”
Philip Ó Ceallaigh (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think it was the first novel I'd actually read in my own time, and of my own volition. I'd actually sat down and read a book, and I was 21. Ridiculous. I can't remember reading anything before.”
Barry Hines (1939–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not content yourself with unproductive reading of the Gospels; strive to fulfill its commandments, read it with deeds. This is the book of life, and one must read it with one's life.”
Ignatius Brianchaninov (1807–1867) said by 1867 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“By prayer I mean not merely prayer from the mouth, but of the mind and heart, of all the powers of the soul and senses of the body. This is the prayer prayed by the soul who wills and desires to find this divine light, studying, meditating and reading without cease in the Book and the more-than-a-book of Life. This Book of Life is the entire life of Christ while he lived as a mortal on earth.”
Angela of Foligno (1248–1309) said by 1309 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Let us venerate the Scriptures of the Old Testament... By accepting these books Christianity does not become a Jewish religion. These books were not composed by Jews; they are inspired by the Holy Ghost, and therefore they are the word of God, they are God's books. [-] Antagonism to the Jews of today must not be extended to the books of pre-Christian Judaism.”
Michael von Faulhaber (1869–1952) said by 1952 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”
Judy Blume (born 1938) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Literature for Today's Young Adults (1997) by Kenneth L. Donelson and Alleen Pace Nilsen, p. 392
“Naples is so strong, so vital. It’s about music and dance. Books and books of history. Read all the books first and then we can talk.”
Sophia Loren (born 1934) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On her view of the city of Naples in “Sophia Loren: 'The body changes. The mind does not'” in The Guardian (2020 Nov 6)
“I've read the books. God is not a moderate. There's no place in the books where God says, "You know, when you get to the New World and you develop your three branches of government and you have a civil society, you can just jettison all the barbarism I recommended in the first books.”
Sam Harris (born 1967) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sam Harris, “Religion, Terror, and Self-Transcendence.” The Ethical Culture Society and the Center for Inquiry, New York, NY, November 16, 2005 (broadcast on CSPAN-2)
“To have known the man was even as great a treat as to read his books. Lewis Carroll was as unlike any other man as his books were unlike any other author's books. It was a relief to meet the pure simple, innocent dreamer of children, after the selfish commercial mind of most authors.”
Harry Furniss (1854–1925) said by 1925 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Here and there people sat at desks, carefully turning the pages of manuscripts, or unrolling scrolls and making notes. It comforted her. This is a place built to store books, by people who wanted to preserve books, and used by people who want to read those books. I am not alone.”
Genevieve Cogman (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is also through books that some of the most enduring and pernicious images about Africa and black people persist. Yet, books also have a redemptive potential and plenitude. It is through books that we come to learn and read about each other as Africans across our differences and continue to have a reason to gather…”
Bibi Bakare-Yusuf (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Often the boy was overwhelmed by an uncontrollable yearning to write down in books everything he saw, despite what anyone said—two hundred books as thick as the Book of Sermons, whole Bibles, whole chests full of books.”
Halldór Laxness (1902–1998) said by 1998 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I remember loving Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto and Susan Guevara; I couldn’t believe that there was a book in the library about people from el barrio (actually cats, mice, and dogs), dressed, speaking, cooking, and having a family life that resembled mine. These books—and countless others—are the reason why I started making my own books (handmade at first, to emulate the books I loved)”
Yuyi Morales (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source