--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a book is really good, it deserves to…" description: "\"If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.\" — Anatole Broyard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png" --- # If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again… ![“If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.” quote by Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png) > “If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.” [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Repeated reading deepens comprehension, reveals hidden layers, and solidifies the work's impact. **In simple terms:** Re‑read to uncover depth Key Takeaway Great works reward multiple readings Themes Depth Reflection Literary appreciation Learning Memory Insight Mood Contemplative Curious Respectful Type Literary observation Advice When to use this quote - Studying literature - Preparing for exams - Book clubs - Personal enrichment - Teaching Key Concepts Interpretation Narrative structure Theme exploration Character development Practical Applications - Literary analysis - Personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What nuances emerge on a second read? - How does repetition change your emotional response? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-really-281890/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Deserves Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserves-read-769568/) [Good Deserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-deserves-769570/) [Read Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-great-769567/) [Read Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-times-769569/) [Three times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-times/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [If time is precious, no book that will not improve by repeated readings deserves to be read at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/if-time-is-precious-no-book-that-will-not-improve-by-repeated/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [I gave up on America. I read the Times just to find out what they're thinking. I read blogs. I get most of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/i-gave-up-on-america-i-read-the-times-just-to-find-out-what-they-re/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [“Benefiting from peak times to read They are the times when the brain is in its full activity and attentiveness. The daily peak times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/benefiting-from-peak-times-to-read-they-are-the-times-when-the-brain/) [Maryam Abdullah Alnaymi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/) > [I read when I get up in the morning, when I can during the day and every single evening. Most of my weekends are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/i-read-when-i-get-up-in-the-morning-when-i-can-during-the-day-and/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [“I love to read. However, there have been times when certain books did not resonate with me because the timing was off kilter. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/i-love-to-read-however-there-have-been-times-when-certain-books-did/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [I do not think anyone can read War and Peace too much. I read it six times...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxwell-perkins/i-do-not-think-anyone-can-read-war-and-peace-too-much-i-read-it-six/) [Maxwell Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxwell-perkins/) > [“It is far, far better to read one book six times, at intervals, than to read six several books. Because if a certain book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-is-far-far-better-to-read-one-book-six-times-at-intervals-than-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I want the Times to give tough reviews. That's partially why I read the Times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelter/i-want-the-times-to-give-tough-reviews-that-s-partially-why-i-read/) [Brian Stelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelter/) > [“If you eat three times a day you'll be fed but if you read three times a day you'll be wise".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/if-you-eat-three-times-a-day-you-ll-be-fed-but-if-you-read-three/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [I only really love a book when I have read it at least four times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spain/i-only-really-love-a-book-when-i-have-read-it-at-least-four-times/) [Nancy Spain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spain/) > [The script looks huge when you first get it, but you just have to go home and drill the lines out. The more you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/the-script-looks-huge-when-you-first-get-it-but-you-just-have-to-go/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [All really good picture books are written to be read five hundred times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-wells/all-really-good-picture-books-are-written-to-be-read-five-hundred/) [Rosemary Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-wells/) > [Read not the Times, read the Eternities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-not-the-times-read-the-eternities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Read the great books, gentlemen,” Mr. Monte said one day. “Just the great ones. Ignore the others. There’s not enough time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/read-the-great-books-gentlemen-mr-monte-said-one-day-just-the-great/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [Read the great stuff, but read the stuff that isn't so great, too. Great stuff is very discouraging. If you read only Beckett and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/read-the-great-stuff-but-read-the-stuff-that-isn-t-so-great-too-great/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) ## More by Anatole Broyard > [The more I like a book, the more reluctant I am to turn the page. Lovers, even book lovers, tend to cling. No one-night…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-more-i-like-a-book-the-more-reluctant-i-am-to-turn-the-page/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [It is one of the paradoxes of American literature that our writers are forever looking back with love and nostalgia at lives they couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/it-is-one-of-the-paradoxes-of-american-literature-that-our-writers/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like and ancestral portrait.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-contents-of-someone-s-bookcase-are-part-of-his-history-like-and/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [A whole generation of writers dined out on the dialectic between original cultures and their culture by "progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/a-whole-generation-of-writers-dined-out-on-the-dialectic-between/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“When we were in bed, the only part of me she touched was my penis, because it was the most detached.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/when-we-were-in-bed-the-only-part-of-me-she-touched-was-my-penis/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-contents-of-someone-s-bookcase-are-part-of-his-history-like-an/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [There is something about seeing real people on a stage that makes a bad play more intimately, more personally offensive than any other art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/there-is-something-about-seeing-real-people-on-a-stage-that-makes-a/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Travel is like adultery: one is always tempted to be unfaithful to one's own country. To have imagination is inevitably to be dissatisfied with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/travel-is-like-adultery-one-is-always-tempted-to-be-unfaithful-to-one/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [The tension between 'yes' and no', between 'I can' and 'I cannot,' makes us feel that, in so many instances, human life is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-tension-between-yes-and-no-between-i-can-and-i-cannot-makes-us/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Paranoids are the only ones who notice things anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/paranoids-are-the-only-ones-who-notice-things-anymore/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [To choose a writer for a friend is like palling around with your cardiologist, who might be musing as you talk to him that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/to-choose-a-writer-for-a-friend-is-like-palling-around-with-your/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [Lapped in poetry, wrapped in the picturesque, armed with logical sentences and inalienable words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/lapped-in-poetry-wrapped-in-the-picturesque-armed-with-logical/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“The most dangerous part of lending books lies in the returning. At such times, friendships hang by a thread. I look for agony, ecstasy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-most-dangerous-part-of-lending-books-lies-in-the-returning-at/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [In an age like ours, which is not given to letter-writing, we forget what an important part it used to play in people's lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/in-an-age-like-ours-which-is-not-given-to-letter-writing-we-forget/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“The contents of someone's bookcase are part of his history, like an ancestral portrait." ( About Books; Recoiling, Rereading, Retelling , New York Times, February 22, 1987)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/the-contents-of-someone-s-bookcase-are-part-of-his-history-like-an-2/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) [Explore all 48 Anatole Broyard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) ## 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": "If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three times.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anatole Broyard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to-be-read-again-and-if-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to-be-read-again-and-if-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e72/anatole-broyard-14101_book_if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to_55255.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If a book is really good, it deserves to be read again, and if it's great, it should be read at least three…” — Anatole Broyard", "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": "Anatole Broyard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If a book is really good,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to-be-read-again-and-if-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/if-a-book-is-really-good-it-deserves-to-be-read-again-and-if-it-s/#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 } } ] } ```