--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As readers, we have gone from learning a…" description: "\"As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking for granted a skin that has become subordinat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg" --- # As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft… ![“As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking for granted a skin that has become subordinate to principles of mindless financial profit or mechanical efficiency, a skill for which governments care almost nothing.” quote by Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg) > “As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking for granted a skin that has become subordinate to principles of mindless financial profit or mechanical efficiency, a skill for which governments care almost nothing.” [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote laments the loss of reading as a valued, craft-like skill, now reduced to a commodity driven by profit and efficiency, with little governmental support. **In simple terms:** Reading once a cherished craft is now a profit‑driven, undervalued skill. Key Takeaway Revalue reading beyond economics. Themes culture education technology economics policy Mood concerned reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - schools - libraries - personal development - policy advocacy Key Concepts craftsmanship commodification public good Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect reading as a cultural practice? - What policies could support literacy beyond profit motives? A Different Perspective Reading still requires personal commitment despite market forces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Efficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/efficiency/) [Financial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/financial/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Gone Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-learning-4217133/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted/) [Granted Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/granted-skin-4217132/) [Jealous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jealous/) [Mindless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindless/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Held](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-held-4217134/) [Skill Governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skill-governments-4217131/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [Skins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skins/) [Taking for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-for-granted/) ## Related quotes > [Tonight, somewhere in America, a young person, let's say a young man, will struggle to fall to sleep, wrestling alone with a secret he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/tonight-somewhere-in-america-a-young-person-let-s-say-a-young-man/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The very same person you are taking for granted today, is going to be your only chance of help in future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tshepo-koos-maluleke/the-very-same-person-you-are-taking-for-granted-today-is-going-to-be/) [Tshepo Koos Maluleke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tshepo-koos-maluleke/) > [“What I have called Appreciative love is no basic element in Affection. It usually needs absence or bereavement to set us praising those to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/what-i-have-called-appreciative-love-is-no-basic-element-in-affection/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [It's said that someone who gives to others is in need the most, who treats others kindly is often mistreated, who is always smiling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-loud/it-s-said-that-someone-who-gives-to-others-is-in-need-the-most-who/) [Michael Loud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-loud/) > [My quarrel with the advocates of contraceptives lies in their taking for granted that ordinary mortals cannot exercise self-control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/my-quarrel-with-the-advocates-of-contraceptives-lies-in-their-taking/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I am not taking for granted a call-up to the England squad or making any assumption about my future international career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-rice/i-am-not-taking-for-granted-a-call-up-to-the-england-squad-or-making/) [Declan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-rice/) > [Why?oh why? a silly girl is crying under the moon asking? y?oh?y? y me?y like that? y now? y this kind? y me?y oh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-ann/why-oh-why-a-silly-girl-is-crying-under-the-moon-asking-y-oh-y-y-me-y/) [Michelle Ann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-ann/) > [Nothing is more senseless than to base so many expectations on the state, that is, to assume the existence of collective wisdom and foresight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/nothing-is-more-senseless-than-to-base-so-many-expectations-on-the/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Needless to say, this fragile experiment began by taking for granted the ugly conquest of Amerindians and Mexicans, the exclusion of women, the subordination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/needless-to-say-this-fragile-experiment-began-by-taking-for-granted/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [They just pass, so if you do your best and you know that it's just taking for granted.. be strong and move on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mega/they-just-pass-so-if-you-do-your-best-and-you-know-that-it-s-just/) [Mega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mega/) > [I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/i-invented-my-life-by-taking-for-granted-that-everything-i-did-not/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [I fear that many of us rush about from day to day taking for granted the Holy Scriptures. We scramble to honor appointments with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-e-asay/i-fear-that-many-of-us-rush-about-from-day-to-day-taking-for-granted/) [Carlos E. Asay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-e-asay/) > [We must learn to understand that it is wise to treat everyone as a volunteer...because no one has to be there for you. ~Jordan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/we-must-learn-to-understand-that-it-is-wise-to-treat-everyone-as-a/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) > [Your chapter in my life has come to an end, not because I don't care about you, but because am not to be taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/your-chapter-in-my-life-has-come-to-an-end-not-because-i-don-t-care/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [People are not like batteries - Dont plug them in, use them up and then throw them out. ~Jordan Blake Michiels~](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/people-are-not-like-batteries-dont-plug-them-in-use-them-up-and-then/) [Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/) ## More by Alberto Manguel > [Most readers, then and now, have at some time experienced the humiliation of being told that their occupation is reprehensible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/most-readers-then-and-now-have-at-some-time-experienced-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Libraries, whether my own or shared with a greater reading public, have always seemed to me pleasantly mad places, and for as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/libraries-whether-my-own-or-shared-with-a-greater-reading-public-have/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [At different times and in different places I have come to expect certain books to look a certain way, and, as in all fashions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/at-different-times-and-in-different-places-i-have-come-to-expect/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I have no feelings of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feelings-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“Then one day, from the window of a car (the destination of that journey is now forgotten), I saw a billboard by the side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/then-one-day-from-the-window-of-a-car-the-destination-of-that-journey/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The shelves of books we haven't written, like those of books we haven't read, stretches out into the darkness of the universal library's farthest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-shelves-of-books-we-haven-t-written-like-those-of-books-we-haven/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“I have no feeling of guilt regarding the books I have not read and perhaps will never read; I know that my books have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-have-no-feeling-of-guilt-regarding-the-books-i-have-not-read-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Old books that we have known but not possessed cross our path and invite themselves over. New books try to seduce us daily with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/old-books-that-we-have-known-but-not-possessed-cross-our-path-and/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Ordered by subject, by importance, ordered according to whether the book was penned by God or by one of God's creatures, ordered alphabetically or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ordered-by-subject-by-importance-ordered-according-to-whether-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The starting point is a question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-starting-point-is-a-question/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [“Ljubav je imbecilna izvesnost pomoću koje naša fantazija stvara verodostojnu utvaru.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/ljubav-je-imbecilna-izvesnost-pomo-u-koje-na-a-fantazija-stvara/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I know that something dies when i give up my books, and that my memory keeps going back to them with mournful nostalgia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/i-know-that-something-dies-when-i-give-up-my-books-and-that-my-memory/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Something about the possession of a book - an object that can contain infinite fables, words of wisdom, chronicles of times gone by, humorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/something-about-the-possession-of-a-book-an-object-that-can-contain/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/maybe-this-is-why-we-read-and-why-in-moments-of-darkness-we-return-to/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [As centuries of dictators have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule; since the craft of reading cannot be untaught once it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-centuries-of-dictators-have-known-an-illiterate-crowd-is-the/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) [Explore all 159 Alberto Manguel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) ## 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": "As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking for granted a skin that has become subordinate to principles of mindless financial profit or mechanical efficiency, a skill for which governments care almost nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alberto Manguel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a-precious-craft-whose-secret/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a-precious-craft-whose-secret/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/065/alberto-manguel-2467_books_as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a_1292690.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As readers, we have gone from learning a precious craft whose secret was held by a jealous few, to taking…” — Alberto Manguel", "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": "Alberto Manguel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As readers, we have gone from...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a-precious-craft-whose-secret/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/as-readers-we-have-gone-from-learning-a-precious-craft-whose-secret/#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 } } ] } ```