--- title: "10 Great-books Quotes by 8 authors" description: "Browse 10 Great-books quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Great-books sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg" --- > [“Be great, read great books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/be-great-read-great-books/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg) > [“So many great books to read, when will I finish reading all these books?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i-finish-reading-all-these-books/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/lailah-gifty-akita-11_book_so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i_1549855.jpg) > [ \[Gulliver was soon being read\] "from the cabinet council to the nursery". ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e62/john-gay-4141_cabinets_gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-ca_403882.png) > [“We are lucky to die without having read some books, and without having heard some songs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read-some-books-and-without-having/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_bad-books_we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read_770980.jpg) > [ “the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive \[for one and all\] to learn Spanish.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/) [Aubrey F.G. Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-f-g-bell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/aubrey-f-g-bell-221404_cervantes_the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable_1441605.jpg) > [“Read the great books, gentlemen,” Mr. Monte said one day. “Just the great ones. Ignore the others. There’s not enough time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte-said-one-day-just-the-great/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/pat-conroy-768_books_read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte_517033.jpg) > [“The main danger is that of supposing that the thing to do is get a mind on the scale of Thomas (Aquinas)’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denys-turner/the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-that-the-thing-to-do-is-get-a/) [Denys Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denys-turner/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/denys-turner-232363_danger_the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-tha_1510203.jpg) > [“It is commonly said to my little friend Legion: Read the great writers for style. But I say to him: Read the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-manlove-rhodes/it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend-legion-read-the-great-writers/) [Eugene Manlove Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-manlove-rhodes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/eugene-manlove-rhodes-68549_fresh-air_it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend_1829113.jpg) > [“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to-be-alone-she-went-upstairs/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_aspirations_betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to_53785.jpg) > [“Well, Betsy," he said, "your mother tells me that you are going to use Uncle Keith's trunk for a desk. That's fine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me-that-you-are-going-to-use/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_author_well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me_2984418.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/#itemlist", "name": "Great-books Quotes", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Be great, read great books.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lailah Gifty Akita" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/be-great-read-great-books/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Be great, read great books.” — Lailah Gifty Akita", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So many great books to read, when will I finish reading all these books?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lailah Gifty Akita" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i-finish-reading-all-these-books/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/lailah-gifty-akita-11_book_so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i_1549855.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/lailah-gifty-akita-11_book_so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i_1549855.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af3/lailah-gifty-akita-11_book_so-many-great-books-to-read-when-will-i_1549855.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So many great books to read, when will I finish reading all these books?” — Lailah Gifty Akita", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Gulliver was soon being read] \"from the cabinet council to the nursery\".", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gay" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-cabinet-council-to-the-nursery/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e62/john-gay-4141_cabinets_gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-ca_403882.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e62/john-gay-4141_cabinets_gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-ca_403882.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e62/john-gay-4141_cabinets_gulliver-was-soon-being-read-from-the-ca_403882.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“[Gulliver was soon being read] \"from the cabinet council to the nursery\".” — John Gay", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are lucky to die without having read some books, and without having heard some songs.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mokokoma Mokhonoana" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read-some-books-and-without-having/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_bad-books_we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read_770980.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_bad-books_we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read_770980.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b5/mokokoma-mokhonoana-195_bad-books_we-are-lucky-to-die-without-having-read_770980.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are lucky to die without having read some books, and without having heard some songs.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive [for one and all] to learn Spanish.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Aubrey F.G. Bell" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-f-g-bell/the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable-and-this-undeniable-fact-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/aubrey-f-g-bell-221404_cervantes_the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable_1441605.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/aubrey-f-g-bell-221404_cervantes_the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable_1441605.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/aubrey-f-g-bell-221404_cervantes_the-best-of-cervantes-is-untranslatable_1441605.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“the best of Cervantes is untranslatable, and this undeniable fact is in itself an incentive [for one and…” — Aubrey F.G. Bell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Read the great books, gentlemen,” Mr. Monte said one day. “Just the great ones. Ignore the others. There’s not enough time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pat Conroy" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte-said-one-day-just-the-great/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/pat-conroy-768_books_read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte_517033.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/pat-conroy-768_books_read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte_517033.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/63f/pat-conroy-768_books_read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte_517033.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Read the great books, gentlemen,” Mr. Monte said one day. “Just the great ones. Ignore the others. There’s…” — Pat Conroy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The main danger is that of supposing that the thing to do is get a mind on the scale of Thomas (Aquinas)’s into your head, a task of compression that will be achieved only at your head’s peril. The only safe thing to do is to find a way of getting your mind into his, wherein yours has room to expand and grow, and explore the worlds his contains.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Denys Turner" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denys-turner/the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-that-the-thing-to-do-is-get-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/denys-turner-232363_danger_the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-tha_1510203.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/denys-turner-232363_danger_the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-tha_1510203.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/759/denys-turner-232363_danger_the-main-danger-is-that-of-supposing-tha_1510203.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The main danger is that of supposing that the thing to do is get a mind on the scale of Thomas (Aquinas)’s…” — Denys Turner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is commonly said to my little friend Legion: Read the great writers for style. But I say to him: Read the great dead masters for ideas. Devour them, Fletcherize them, digest, assimilate, make them part of your blood; let the enriched blood visit your brain. The resultant activities will be fairly your own, and the little kinks and convolutions of your brain, which are entirely different from the kinks of any other brain, will furnish you all the style you will ever get. There are no really fresh ideas; just as there is not any fresh air. Air and ideas are refreshed and refreshing, vitalized and vitalizing; but the thoughts have been thought before and the air has been breathed before.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene Manlove Rhodes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-manlove-rhodes/it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend-legion-read-the-great-writers/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/eugene-manlove-rhodes-68549_fresh-air_it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend_1829113.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/eugene-manlove-rhodes-68549_fresh-air_it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend_1829113.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eeb/eugene-manlove-rhodes-68549_fresh-air_it-is-commonly-said-to-my-little-friend_1829113.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is commonly said to my little friend Legion: Read the great writers for style. But I say to him: Read the…” — Eugene Manlove Rhodes", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on Uncle Keith's trunk. Behind Tacy's house the sun had set. A wind had sprung up and the trees, their color dimmed, moved under a brooding sky. All the stories she had told Tacy and Tib seemed to be dancing in those trees, along with all the stories she planned to write some day and all the stories she would read at the library. Good stories. Great stories. The classics. Not Rena's novels.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maud Hart Lovelace" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to-be-alone-she-went-upstairs/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_aspirations_betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to_53785.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_aspirations_betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to_53785.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_aspirations_betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to_53785.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on Uncle…” — Maud Hart Lovelace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Well, Betsy,\" he said, \"your mother tells me that you are going to use Uncle Keith's trunk for a desk. That's fine. You need a desk. I've often noticed how much you like to write. The way you eat up those advertising tablets from the store! I never saw anything like it. I can't understand it though. I never write anything but checks myself. \" \"Bob!\" said Mrs. Ray. \"You wrote the most wonderful letters to me before we were married. I still have them, a big bundle of them. Every time I clean house I read them over and cry.\" \"Cry, eh?\" said Mr. Ray, grinning. \"In spite of what your mother says, Betsy, if you have any talent for writing, it comes from family. Her brother Keith was mighty talented, and maybe you are too. Maybe you're going to be a writer.\" Betsy was silent, agreeably abashed. \"But if you're going to be a writer,\" he went on, \"you've got to read. Good books. Great books. The classics.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maud Hart Lovelace" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me-that-you-are-going-to-use/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_author_well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me_2984418.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_author_well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me_2984418.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/maud-hart-lovelace-12729_author_well-betsy-he-said-your-mother-tells-me_2984418.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Well, Betsy,\" he said, \"your mother tells me that you are going to use Uncle Keith's trunk for a desk…” — Maud Hart Lovelace", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/", "name": "Great-books Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7da/lailah-gifty-akita-11_be-great_be-great-read-great-books-2809590_2809590.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 10 Great-books quotes by 8 authors. Discover the best Great-books sayings and thoughts.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Great Books Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```