--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me say first that reading is my…" description: "\"Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar none. If I couldn't read, I don't know what I'd do. But as a writer, it's both a blessing and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/anna-quindlen-467_bars_let-me-say-first-that-reading-is-my-favo_1385281.png" --- # Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar… ![“Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar none. If I couldn't read, I don't know what I'd do. But as a writer, it's both a blessing and a curse. You absorb technique as you go along.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/anna-quindlen-467_bars_let-me-say-first-that-reading-is-my-favo_1385281.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/anna-quindlen-467_bars_let-me-say-first-that-reading-is-my-favo_1385281.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf7/anna-quindlen-467_bars_let-me-say-first-that-reading-is-my-favo_1385281.png) > “Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar none. If I couldn't read, I don't know what I'd do. But as a writer, it's both a blessing and a curse. You absorb technique as you go along.” [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading fuels creativity but also reveals the pressures of mastering craft, creating both inspiration and self‑criticism. **In simple terms:** Reading inspires and challenges writers. Key Takeaway Balance reading with writing practice. Themes creativity self‑awareness craft balance Mood reflective thoughtful Type inspirational cautionary When to use this quote - author workshops - personal development - creative blocks - learning new techniques Key Concepts literary influence skill acquisition self‑critique Questions to Reflect On - How does reading shape your own voice? - What limits does constant comparison create? A Different Perspective Reading alone cannot replace active creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bars/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Couldn Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-read/) [Curse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curse/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Let me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-me/) [My favorite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-favorite/) [Pastime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pastime/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Say Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-reading-1689724/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Writer Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-blessing-4811285/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I merely say that all reading for pleasure is escape, whether it be Greek, mathematics, astronomy, Benedetto Croce, or The Diary of the Forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-merely-say-that-all-reading-for-pleasure-is-escape-whether-it-be/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [When I say what I'm reading, this is what I need. I know the ills that plague me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/when-i-say-what-i-m-reading-this-is-what-i-need-i-know-the-ills-that/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“I often say that reading and writing saved my life. I mean that quite literally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-often-say-that-reading-and-writing-saved-my-life-i-mean-that-quite/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I think that what we need to do is say, 'Reading is going to really affect your life.' You take a black man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/i-think-that-what-we-need-to-do-is-say-reading-is-going-to-really/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [“Running records capture what young readers say and do while reading continuous text, usually short stories or books. 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Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [So many of my relatives didn't get a chance to go to school, and my own Daddy couldn't read or write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/so-many-of-my-relatives-didn-t-get-a-chance-to-go-to-school-and-my/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) > [I was trouble - and always in trouble. Aged eight I still couldn't read. In fact, I was dyslexic and short-sighted. Despite sitting at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-was-trouble-and-always-in-trouble-aged-eight-i-still-couldn-t-read/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Though I could agree with him that Miss Gamache had a good heart, I couldn't read her book without wanting to plunge an ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-keenan/though-i-could-agree-with-him-that-miss-gamache-had-a-good-heart-i/) [Joe Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-keenan/) ## More by Anna Quindlen > [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/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Sometimes change came all at once, with a sound like a fire taking hold of dry wood and paper, with a roar that rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/sometimes-change-came-all-at-once-with-a-sound-like-a-fire-taking/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Loss as muse. 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In New York I have only been madamed once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/in-england-i-am-always-madam-i-arrived-too-late-to-ever-be-a-miss-in/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“Yet there was always in me, even when I was very small, the sense that I ought to be somewhere else. And wander I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/yet-there-was-always-in-me-even-when-i-was-very-small-the-sense-that/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I can't think of a single downside to motherhood now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-can-t-think-of-a-single-downside-to-motherhood-now/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It would take a helluva man to replace no man at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/it-would-take-a-helluva-man-to-replace-no-man-at-all/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Not writing at all leads to nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/not-writing-at-all-leads-to-nothing/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. 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We wait, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-peet/history-is-the-heavy-traffic-that-prevents-us-from-crossing-the-road/) [Mal Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-peet/) [Browse all 1,768 Bars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let me say first that reading is my favorite pastime, bar none. If I couldn't read, I don't know what I'd do. But as a writer, it's both a blessing and a curse. 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