--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All we need to do, reader or writer, from…" description: "\"All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg" --- # All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to… ![“All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels.” quote by Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg) > “All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels.” [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Being fully open to language allows one to experience life’s richness on every level. **In simple terms:** Open reading reveals life’s depth. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity in language. Themes creativity openness literacy Mood inspired thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - writing workshops - personal growth Key Concepts narrative theory phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How does openness change your perception? - When is restraint more valuable? A Different Perspective Over‑openness may dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Open book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-book/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I'm an empty page, I'm an open book, write Your story on my heart, come on and make Your mark Author of my hope,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-battistelli/i-m-an-empty-page-i-m-an-open-book-write-your-story-on-my-heart-come/) [Francesca Battistelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-battistelli/) > [“Staring at the blank page before you open up the dirty window let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find. Today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the-2/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, open up a dirty window. Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Reaching for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-a-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [When I was a kid my primary goal in life was to find a book that was alive. Not alive in the human sense,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-butler/when-i-was-a-kid-my-primary-goal-in-life-was-to-find-a-book-that-was/) [Blake Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-butler/) > [So this is always the key: you have to write the book you love, the book that's alive in your heart. That's the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lurlene-mcdaniel/so-this-is-always-the-key-you-have-to-write-the-book-you-love-the/) [Lurlene McDaniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lurlene-mcdaniel/) > [“Truth was, I didn't really want to die today. I was in the middle of a really good book, and being alive had always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-fortunato/truth-was-i-didn-t-really-want-to-die-today-i-was-in-the-middle-of-a/) [Jessica Fortunato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-fortunato/) > [When a book is alive, really alive, you feel it. You put it to your ear here, and you feel it breathe, sometimes laugh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/when-a-book-is-alive-really-alive-you-feel-it-you-put-it-to-your-ear/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“If a book is not alive in the writer's mind, it is as dead as year-old horse shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-a-book-is-not-alive-in-the-writer-s-mind-it-is-as-dead-as-year-old/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“I’ve come to the end of another book alive. At times like this I’m always at a loss for words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-coomer/i-ve-come-to-the-end-of-another-book-alive-at-times-like-this-i-m/) [Joe Coomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-coomer/) > [We have a great literary tradition in Australia. I think the book is very much alive and the more people who are encouraged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-brandis/we-have-a-great-literary-tradition-in-australia-i-think-the-book-is/) [George Brandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-brandis/) > [By degrees we may come to know the primitive sense of the permanent objects of nature, so that the world shall be to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/by-degrees-we-may-come-to-know-the-primitive-sense-of-the-permanent/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [My life has been an open book, really. Everybody knows everything about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/my-life-has-been-an-open-book-really-everybody-knows-everything-about/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [Anything that encourages a boy to open a book, in a world of more violent and therefore more compelling video games, is something I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-smith/anything-that-encourages-a-boy-to-open-a-book-in-a-world-of-more/) [Russell Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-smith/) > [My story's been an open book for a long time, no pun intended.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-williams/my-story-s-been-an-open-book-for-a-long-time-no-pun-intended/) [Jay Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-williams/) > [My life is an open book. With illustrations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-hefner/my-life-is-an-open-book-with-illustrations/) [Hugh Hefner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-hefner/) ## More by Ali Smith > [As for Aliki - if you were to stand in the middle of Rome and say the name Sophia Loren, or Paris and say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/as-for-aliki-if-you-were-to-stand-in-the-middle-of-rome-and-say-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“Elisabeth had been listening to the programme in the bath. She'd switched the radio off after it and wondered if she'd be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/elisabeth-had-been-listening-to-the-programme-in-the-bath-she-d/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [There is a kind of poetry, bad and good, in evrything, everywhere we look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/there-is-a-kind-of-poetry-bad-and-good-in-evrything-everywhere-we-look/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“human beings can’t be legends, being mortal,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/human-beings-can-t-be-legends-being-mortal/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“I could lick it off with my tongue, if I had a tongue again, if my tongue was wet, and I could taste it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/i-could-lick-it-off-with-my-tongue-if-i-had-a-tongue-again-if-my/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“How very disappointing truth is sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/how-very-disappointing-truth-is-sometimes/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“...he had simply typed the words something beautiful into the Google images box. Up came a picture of some leaves against the sun. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/he-had-simply-typed-the-words-something-beautiful-into-the-google/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“Is there any escaping the junkshop of the self?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/is-there-any-escaping-the-junkshop-of-the-self/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [What shop did this book come from? she asked. Her father was looking worried at the cooker. He always got rice wrong. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/what-shop-did-this-book-come-from-she-asked-her-father-was-looking/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [What's the point of art, of any art, if it doesn't let us see with a little bit of objectivity where we are?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/what-s-the-point-of-art-of-any-art-if-it-doesn-t-let-us-see-with-a/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [If you can read the world as a construct, you can ask questions of the construct, and you can suggest ways to change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/if-you-can-read-the-world-as-a-construct-you-can-ask-questions-of-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“I’m tired of the news. I’m tired of the way it makes things spectacular that aren’t, and deals so simplistically with what’s truly appalling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/i-m-tired-of-the-news-i-m-tired-of-the-way-it-makes-things/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“(this is before we're living together, before we do the most faithful act of all, mix our separate books into one library)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/this-is-before-we-re-living-together-before-we-do-the-most-faithful/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [“Believe me. Everything is meant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/believe-me-everything-is-meant/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [ \[Property\] is a brilliant, chillingly revelatory piece of fiction, a work of craft, economy and such good merciless observation-one of those rare, crucial novels… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/property-is-a-brilliant-chillingly-revelatory-piece-of-fiction-a-work/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) [Explore all 199 Ali Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to the life in language - on all its levels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ali Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from-first-line-to-final-page-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from-first-line-to-final-page-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/ali-smith-1801_alive_all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from_3086072.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All we need to do, reader or writer, from first line to final page, is be as open as a book, and be alive to…” — Ali Smith", "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": "Ali Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All we need to do, reader...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from-first-line-to-final-page-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/all-we-need-to-do-reader-or-writer-from-first-line-to-final-page-is/#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 } } ] } ```