--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading a book is like re-writing it for…" description: "\"Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/angela-carter-1237_book_reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for_2555642.jpg" --- # Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You… ![“Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.” quote by Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/angela-carter-1237_book_reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for_2555642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/angela-carter-1237_book_reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for_2555642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/angela-carter-1237_book_reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for_2555642.jpg) > “Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history and you read it in your own terms.” [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading transforms a text by overlaying personal experience, making each reading a unique reinterpretation. **In simple terms:** Reading rewrites a book with your own life. Key Takeaway Read actively, letting your story shape the text. Themes literature self‑reflection creativity Mood thoughtful inspired Type analytical creative When to use this quote - book clubs - creative writing workshops - personal study sessions Key Concepts interpretation subjectivity personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - How does your background change your reading? - What new meanings emerge when you reread a favorite? A Different Perspective Interpretation can be limited by one’s own biases. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading A Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-a-book/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [So, I guess the answer to your question is very few people can bring off a novel of the future because it's just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/so-i-guess-the-answer-to-your-question-is-very-few-people-can-bring/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to-pin-down-what-i-m-really/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Reading a book you are not enjoying is a torture not to be undertaken without a reward. I leave plays at the interval, too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/reading-a-book-you-are-not-enjoying-is-a-torture-not-to-be-undertaken/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [“reading a book, or remembering something I heard on the radio last week, or admiring the flowers on the table, I am doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-durham/reading-a-book-or-remembering-something-i-heard-on-the-radio-last/) [Geoffrey Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-durham/) > [“books, i think, are a different kind of time machine. instead of reminding you of a lost world, they create one for you. more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/books-i-think-are-a-different-kind-of-time-machine-instead-of/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [My mom would always read a book to me at night from when I was three. Now, I can't go to sleep without reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-kapoor/my-mom-would-always-read-a-book-to-me-at-night-from-when-i-was-three/) [Sonam Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-kapoor/) > [If I was reading a book about a comedian, I wouldn't really care too much about their childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/if-i-was-reading-a-book-about-a-comedian-i-wouldn-t-really-care-too/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [“When in doubt keep reading. A book will never die on you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-van-de-ruit/when-in-doubt-keep-reading-a-book-will-never-die-on-you/) [John van de Ruit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-van-de-ruit/) > [It's strange to describe reading a book as a really great experience, but that's kind of how it felt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/it-s-strange-to-describe-reading-a-book-as-a-really-great-experience/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-can-feel-infinitely-alive-curled-up-on-the-sofa-reading-a-book/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [“Reading a book is like living a deep and fulfilling life. Watching a movie is like being a paralyzed person: watching others live their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/reading-a-book-is-like-living-a-deep-and-fulfilling-life-watching-a/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [“To me; reading a book is like watching a movie. Once I start, I can't stop until it's over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-me-reading-a-book-is-like-watching-a-movie-once-i-start-i-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Hope knew that her thinking regarding books went contrary to the general sentiment of the people of Eden. Books were seen as a waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bergen/hope-knew-that-her-thinking-regarding-books-went-contrary-to-the/) [David Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bergen/) > [Reading a book should not be a passive exercise, but rather a raucous conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/reading-a-book-should-not-be-a-passive-exercise-but-rather-a-raucous/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) ## More by Angela Carter > [He was a lovely man in many ways. But he kept on insisting on forgiving me when there was nothing to forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/he-was-a-lovely-man-in-many-ways-but-he-kept-on-insisting-on/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Losing their names, these things underwent a process of uncreation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/losing-their-names-these-things-underwent-a-process-of-uncreation/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I know that whenever a group of women are gathered together, the grandmother always makes a phantom appearance, hovering above them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-know-that-whenever-a-group-of-women-are-gathered-together-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“She herself is a haunted house. She does not possess herself; her ancestors sometimes come and peer out of the window of her eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/she-herself-is-a-haunted-house-she-does-not-possess-herself-her/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Hollywood... was the place where the United States perpetrated itself as a universal dream and put the dream into mass production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/hollywood-was-the-place-where-the-united-states-perpetrated-itself-as/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Is not this whole world an illusion? And yet it fools everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/is-not-this-whole-world-an-illusion-and-yet-it-fools-everybody/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [My paternal grandmother would not light a fire on the Sabbath and piled all Sunday's washing-up in a bucket, to be dealt with on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/my-paternal-grandmother-would-not-light-a-fire-on-the-sabbath-and/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/mother-goddesses-are-just-as-silly-a-notion-as-father-gods-if-a/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [Out of the frying pan into the fire! What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many? No different!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-what-is-marriage-but-prostitution/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [And each stroke of his tongue ripped off skin after successive skin, all the skins of a life in the world, and left behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/and-each-stroke-of-his-tongue-ripped-off-skin-after-successive-skin/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [In a secular age, an authentic miracle must purport to be a hoax, in order to gain credit in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/in-a-secular-age-an-authentic-miracle-must-purport-to-be-a-hoax-in/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [We do not go to bed in single pairs; even if we choose not to refer to them, we still drag there with us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/we-do-not-go-to-bed-in-single-pairs-even-if-we-choose-not-to-refer-to/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [I see her as a series of marvellous shapes formed at random in the kaleidoscope of desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/i-see-her-as-a-series-of-marvellous-shapes-formed-at-random-in-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Women do not normally fuck in the active sense. They are fucked in the passive tense and hence automatically fucked-up, done over, undone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/women-do-not-normally-fuck-in-the-active-sense-they-are-fucked-in-the/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) [Explore all 263 Angela Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) ## 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": "Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. 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