--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She‘d never taken much interest in…" description: "\"“She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people.”\" — Alan Bennett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg" --- # She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of… ![“She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people.” quote by Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg) > ““She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people.”” [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She is indifferent to reading, treating books as a duty rather than a pleasure. **In simple terms:** She reads but doesn't enjoy books. Key Takeaway Cultivate genuine interest in reading. Themes indifference reading literature Mood detached reflective Type literary observational When to use this quote - school - personal growth - reading habits - literary appreciation Key Concepts cultural expectations personal preference Questions to Reflect On - What could make reading enjoyable for her? - How does societal pressure affect reading habits? A Different Perspective She may still benefit from books despite lack of interest. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-left-1657691/) [Liking Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liking-books-2606366/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-read/) [Taken Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taken-reading-4342035/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I read and read and read with an intensity I’d never really known before. I mean, I’d always considered myself to be a person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-read-and-read-and-read-with-an-intensity-i-d-never-really-known/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [Much of my time is taken up by reading, researching and trying out ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sjon/much-of-my-time-is-taken-up-by-reading-researching-and-trying-out/) [Sjon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sjon/) > [I had just taken to reading. I had just discovered the art of leaving my body to sit impassive in a crumpled up attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/i-had-just-taken-to-reading-i-had-just-discovered-the-art-of-leaving/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [“When I get a little money, I buy books. If any is left, I buy food and clothes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erasmus/when-i-get-a-little-money-i-buy-books-if-any-is-left-i-buy-food-and/) [Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erasmus/) > [“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/when-i-have-a-little-money-i-buy-books-and-if-i-have-any-left-i-buy/) [Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus-roterodamus/) > [I fell into the books, and left myself there for safekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-fell-into-the-books-and-left-myself-there-for-safekeeping/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-browne/picture-books-are-for-everybody-at-any-age-not-books-to-be-left-2/) [Anthony Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-browne/) > [I've discovered writers by reading books left in airplane seats and weird hotels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-child/i-ve-discovered-writers-by-reading-books-left-in-airplane-seats-and/) [Lee Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-child/) > [For myself, I haven't been content to carry on producing books that merely strain against the conventions - as I've grown older, and realised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/for-myself-i-haven-t-been-content-to-carry-on-producing-books-that/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [...there are so many books left to read. For that reason alone it is worth going on living. Books make me happy, the help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-lix-j-palma/there-are-so-many-books-left-to-read-for-that-reason-alone-it-is/) [Félix J. Palma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-lix-j-palma/) > [All of us can think of a book... that we hope none of our children or any other children have taken off the shelf.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/all-of-us-can-think-of-a-book-that-we-hope-none-of-our-children-or/) [Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/) > [When I think of all the books still left for me to read, I am certain of further happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/when-i-think-of-all-the-books-still-left-for-me-to-read-i-am-certain/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“I'm not courting death; I've far too many books left to read.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-sinclair/i-m-not-courting-death-i-ve-far-too-many-books-left-to-read/) [Alison Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-sinclair/) > [“I suspect that the real attraction was a large library of fine books, which was left to dust and spiders since Uncle March died.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/i-suspect-that-the-real-attraction-was-a-large-library-of-fine-books/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/when-i-get-a-little-money-i-buy-books-and-if-any-is-left-i-buy-food/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) ## More by Alan Bennett > [“The closest she got to pretence was politeness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-closest-she-got-to-pretence-was-politeness/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [An article on playwrights in the Daily Mail , listed according to Hard Left, Soft Left, Hard Right, Soft Right and Centre. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/an-article-on-playwrights-in-the-daily-mail-listed-according-to-hard/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm not good at precise, coherent argument. But plays are suited to incoherent argument, put into the mouths of fallible people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-not-good-at-precise-coherent-argument-but-plays-are-suited-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The thing I think about is that once you've done it, you then start to think about what you're going to do next. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-thing-i-think-about-is-that-once-you-ve-done-it-you-then-start-to/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [At the drabber moments of my life (swilling some excrement from the steps, for instance, or rooting with a bent coat-hanger down a blocked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/at-the-drabber-moments-of-my-life-swilling-some-excrement-from-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [There are more microbes per person than the entire population of the world. Imagine that. Per person. This means that if the time scale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/there-are-more-microbes-per-person-than-the-entire-population-of-the/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [I'm more socialist certainly than New Labour - I'm very old Labour, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/i-m-more-socialist-certainly-than-new-labour-i-m-very-old-labour/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Why do we not care to acknowledge them? The cattle, the body count. We still don't like to admit the war was even partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/why-do-we-not-care-to-acknowledge-them-the-cattle-the-body-count-we/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Were we closer to the ground as children, or is the grass emptier now?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/were-we-closer-to-the-ground-as-children-or-is-the-grass-emptier-now/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [But most men regard their life as a poem that women threaten. They may not have two spondees to rub together but they still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/but-most-men-regard-their-life-as-a-poem-that-women-threaten-they-may/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“BURGESS How do you like Moscow? CORAL Loathe it, darling. I cannot understand what those Three Sisters were on about. It gives the play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/burgess-how-do-you-like-moscow-coral-loathe-it-darling-i-cannot/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-best-moments-in-reading-are-when-you-come-across-something-a/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [Your whole life is on the other side of the glass. And there is nobody watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/your-whole-life-is-on-the-other-side-of-the-glass-and-there-is-nobody/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/the-appeal-of-reading-she-thought-lay-in-its-indifference-there-was/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“How do I define history? It's just one fucking thing after another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/how-do-i-define-history-it-s-just-one-fucking-thing-after-another/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) [Explore all 188 Alan Bennett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something she left to other people.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Bennett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-reading-she-read-of-course-as-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-reading-she-read-of-course-as-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a4e/alan-bennett-1922_books_she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-readi_3114665.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“She‘d never taken much interest in reading. She read, of course, as one did, but liking books was something…” — Alan Bennett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Alan Bennett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“She‘d never taken much interest in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-reading-she-read-of-course-as-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/she-d-never-taken-much-interest-in-reading-she-read-of-course-as-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```