--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Readers, censors know, are defined by the…" description: "\"Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.\" — Alberto Manguel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg" --- # Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read. ![“Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.” quote by Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg) > “Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.” [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. Our identities are shaped by the literature we consume, reflecting our values and biases. **In simple terms:** Books define who we are. Key Takeaway Choose reading that expands your worldview. Themes identity literature culture Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - personal development - media consumption - critical thinking Key Concepts self-concept social influence Questions to Reflect On - What books have most influenced your self‑image? - How can diverse reading reshape identity? A Different Perspective Reading only familiar works can reinforce echo chambers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) [Censors Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors-know-1495242/) [Defined Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined-books-1495243/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Readers Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-censors-1495241/) ## Related quotes > [“To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and mortar is a mistake. Similarly, to suggest a library is defined by the books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bennett/to-reduce-a-library-to-simple-architecture-bricks-and-mortar-is-a-2/) [Alan Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bennett/) > [“To reduce a library to simple architecture, bricks and mortar is a mistake. Similarly, to suggest a library is defined by the books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hardeep-singh-kohli/to-reduce-a-library-to-simple-architecture-bricks-and-mortar-is-a/) [Hardeep Singh Kohli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hardeep-singh-kohli/) > [The association of books with their readers is unlike any other between objects and their users.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/the-association-of-books-with-their-readers-is-unlike-any-other/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [Don't dumb down; always write for your top five percent of readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/don-t-dumb-down-always-write-for-your-top-five-percent-of-readers/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I like to hear from my readers, and I like to feel like I'm part of a bigger community of readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-like-to-hear-from-my-readers-and-i-like-to-feel-like-i-m-part-of-a/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [As a lifelong romance reader, it's always satisfying to get to talk to other romance readers!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-marr/as-a-lifelong-romance-reader-it-s-always-satisfying-to-get-to-talk-to/) [Melissa Marr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-marr/) > [One of the many things that surprised me about 'Wool' is how many of its fans don't consider themselves science fiction readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/one-of-the-many-things-that-surprised-me-about-wool-is-how-many-of/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [Generally my favorite remarks always come from my readers. I've had people say my books made them laugh, or cry, or that it frightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/generally-my-favorite-remarks-always-come-from-my-readers-i-ve-had/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [We're all just facilitators. The real business is done by readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-re-all-just-facilitators-the-real-business-is-done-by-readers/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I like art that trusts its audience, that's written for readers who like to work hard. I like art that knows its readers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-mohr/i-like-art-that-trusts-its-audience-that-s-written-for-readers-who/) [Joshua Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-mohr/) > [Readers enjoy talking about books almost as much as they like reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/readers-enjoy-talking-about-books-almost-as-much-as-they-like-reading/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [The comments I most appreciate come from ordinary readers who've happened on one of my books at some time of stress in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-comments-i-most-appreciate-come-from-ordinary-readers-who-ve/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [A lot of times it's the child that sees something and not the grownup. I love that because, when readers get older, they start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/a-lot-of-times-it-s-the-child-that-sees-something-and-not-the-grownup/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [Grabbing readers by the imagination is a writer's job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/grabbing-readers-by-the-imagination-is-a-writer-s-job/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [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/) ## 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 Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alberto Manguel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the-books-they-read/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the-books-they-read/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/alberto-manguel-2467_book_readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the_2548172.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.” — 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": "Readers, censors know, are defined by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the-books-they-read/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/readers-censors-know-are-defined-by-the-books-they-read/#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 } } ] } ```