Reading quotes

Reading

6.6K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.

6.6K quotes

Explore further

Browse quotes that often appear alongside reading — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.

Quote collection

Reading quotes (page 14 of 330)

Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.

Umberto Eco Writer, Philosopher, Literary Critic
Reading

"The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in their turn speak of things. Without an eye to read them, a book contains signs that produce no concepts; therefore it is dumb."

Read quote 17 likes
Ralph Waldo Emerson Essayist, Philosopher, Poet
Reading

"Consider what you have in the smallest chosen library. A company of the wisest and wittiest men that could be picked out of all civil countries, in a thousand years, have set in best order the results of their learning and wisdom."

Read quote 17 likes
Reading

"He was resentful against all those in authority over him, and this, combined with a lazy indifference toward his work, exasperated every master in school. He grew discouraged and imagined himself a pariah; took to sulking in corners and reading after lights. With a dread of being alone he attached a few friends, but since they were not among the elite of the school, he used them simply as mirrors of himself, audiences before which he might do that posing absolutely essential to him. He was unbearably lonely, desperately unhappy."

Read quote 17 likes
J. R. R. Tolkien Novelist, Scholar
Reading

"Elrond's house was perfect, whether you liked food or sleep or story-telling or singing (or reading), or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness. ... Evil things did not come into the secret valley of Rivendell."

Read quote 17 likes
Jim Harrison Novelist, Poet
Reading

"Dad said I would always be "high minded and low waged" from reading too much Ralph Waldo Emerson. Maybe he was right."

Read quote 17 likes
John Cage Composer, Musician
Reading

"I was shocked at college to see one hundred of my classmates in the library all reading copies of the same book. Instead of doing as they did, I went into the stacks and read the first book written by an author whose name began with Z. I received the highest grade in the class. That convinced me that the institution was not being run correctly. I left."

Read quote 17 likes
Quinn Cummings Actress, Author
Reading

"All the homeschooling parents I know meet on a regular basis with other families. They organize field trips, cooking classes, reading clubs and Scout troops. Their children tend to be happy, confident and socially engaged."

Read quote 16 likes
Donalyn Miller Educator, Author
Reading

"Exposing students to lots of books and positive reading experiences while building a network of other readers who support each other provides students with tools that last beyond the classroom setting."

Read quote 16 likes
Reading

"If I had the opportunity to say a fine word to all the young people of America, it would be this: Don't think too much about yourselves. Try to cultivate the habit of thinking of others; this will reward you. Nourish your minds by good reading, constant reading. Discover what your lifework is, work in which you can do most good, in which you can be happiest. Be unafraid in all things when you know you are in the right."

Read quote 16 likes
Charlie Munger Investor, Businessman
Reading

"Develop into a lifelong self-learner through voracious reading; cultivate curiosity and strive to become a little wiser every day."

Read quote 16 likes
Ramakrishna Spiritual Leader
Reading

"Many people think they cannot have knowledge or understanding of God without reading books. But hearing is better than reading, and seeing is better than hearing. Hearing about Benares is different from reading about it; but seeing Benares is different from either hearing or reading."

Read quote 16 likes
J. D. Salinger Novelist, Short Story Writer
Reading

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though."

Read quote 16 likes
Napoleon Bonaparte Military Leader, Emperor
Reading

"People take England on trust, and repeat that Shakespeare is the greatest of all authors. I have read him: there is nothing that compares Racine or Corneille: his plays are unreadable, pitiful."

Read quote 16 likes