--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Above all, readers want useful…" description: "\"“Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a road sign or an investment guide. This motive is not completely absent even in readers of f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/alice-w-flaherty-57946_books_above-all-readers-want-useful-informatio_1218086.jpg" --- # Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a… ![“Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a road sign or an investment guide. This motive is not completely absent even in readers of fiction, although few people read Madame Bovary for straightforward advice on how not to run a marriage. At a more abstract level, readers want a…” quote by Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/alice-w-flaherty-57946_books_above-all-readers-want-useful-informatio_1218086.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/alice-w-flaherty-57946_books_above-all-readers-want-useful-informatio_1218086.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4e/alice-w-flaherty-57946_books_above-all-readers-want-useful-informatio_1218086.jpg) > ““Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a road sign or an investment guide. This motive is not completely absent even in readers of fiction, although few people read Madame Bovary for straightforward advice on how not to run a marriage. At a more abstract level, readers want a narrative that makes the world seem to make sense, and they sometimes choose stories that fit with their worldview rather than stories that fit the facts.”” [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers seek practical guidance and narratives that confirm their worldview, even in fiction, showing a bias toward familiar frameworks. **In simple terms:** People look for useful, worldview‑affirming stories. Key Takeaway Seek diverse perspectives, not just comfort. Themes reading perception bias Mood analytical curious Type critical informative When to use this quote - choosing books - media consumption - critical thinking Key Concepts cognitive psychology literary theory Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer stories that challenge or confirm your beliefs? - How does this affect your decisions? A Different Perspective Overreliance on confirmation can hinder learning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bovary Straightforward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bovary-straightforward-3719134/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Madame Bovary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madame-bovary/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Read Madame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-madame-923100/) [Readers Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-fiction-2851557/) [Readers Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers-want-927635/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Road sign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-sign/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Useful information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/useful-information/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“The time to read Madame Bovary is when your romantic hopes and desires have crashed, and you will believe that your future relationships will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-time-to-read-madame-bovary-is-when-your-romantic-hopes-and/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I have a boundless passion for Flaubert. It's unthinkable to me that someone might not have read 'Madame Bovary.' He writes with a scalpel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-macron/i-have-a-boundless-passion-for-flaubert-it-s-unthinkable-to-me-that/) [Brigitte Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-macron/) > [But you have read Madame Bovary?' (I'd never heard of her books.) 'No.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/but-you-have-read-madame-bovary-i-d-never-heard-of-her-books-no/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [“You should wait, William," Miss Frost said. "The time to read Madame Bovary is when your romantic hopes and desires have crashed, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-should-wait-william-miss-frost-said-the-time-to-read-madame/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I must confess that in all the times I read Madame Bovary, I never noticed the heroine's rainbow eyes. Should I have? 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Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-j-martin/) > [Language leads a double life - and so does the novelist. You chat with family and friends, you attend to your correspondence, you consult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/language-leads-a-double-life-and-so-does-the-novelist-you-chat-with/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [End of Construction. Thank you 'for your patience. " Inscription on Ruth Bell Graham's grave -- inspired hy a road sign she saw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/end-of-construction-thank-you-for-your-patience-inscription-on-ruth/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [There are no road signs to help navigate. And, in fact, no one has yet determined which side of the road we're supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-case/there-are-no-road-signs-to-help-navigate-and-in-fact-no-one-has-yet/) [Steve Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-case/) > [Gratitude develops faith. The surest path out of a slump is marked by the road sign "thank you, God."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/gratitude-develops-faith-the-surest-path-out-of-a-slump-is-marked-by/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) ## More by Alice W. Flaherty > [“Most agree that a useful definition of creative work is that it includes a combination of novelty and value. Creativity requires novelty because tried-and-true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/most-agree-that-a-useful-definition-of-creative-work-is-that-it/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) > [“What other than mental illness spurs normal people to write prolifically? The chief cause is not quite illness, but nearly: love, especially unhappy love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/what-other-than-mental-illness-spurs-normal-people-to-write/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) > [“When others' obsessions are not ours, we are sad for them, and we talk of how empty their lives will be if they don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/when-others-obsessions-are-not-ours-we-are-sad-for-them-and-we-talk/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) > [“Another difference between amateur and professional writers, almost by definition, is that the latter more successfully engage their audience. It is partly a question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/another-difference-between-amateur-and-professional-writers-almost-by/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) > [“Nonetheless, writing regularly, inspiration or no, is not a bad way to eventually get into an inspired mood; the plane has to bump along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-w-flaherty/nonetheless-writing-regularly-inspiration-or-no-is-not-a-bad-way-to/) [Alice W. Flaherty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) [Explore all 6 Alice W. Flaherty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-w-flaherty/) ## 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. 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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": "“Above all, readers want useful information, whether from a road sign or an investment guide. This motive is not completely absent even in readers of fiction, although few people read Madame Bovary for straightforward advice on how not to run a marriage. 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