--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: reading has as many functions as the…" description: "\"“reading has as many functions as the human body, and... not all of them are cerebral.”\" — Anna Quindlen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png" --- # reading has as many functions as the human body, and… ![“reading has as many functions as the human body, and... not all of them are cerebral.” quote by Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png) > ““reading has as many functions as the human body, and... not all of them are cerebral.”” [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 serves multiple purposes beyond intellectual stimulation, including emotional, social, and physiological benefits. **In simple terms:** Reading does more than just think. Key Takeaway Explore reading for pleasure and health. Themes cognition emotion wellbeing Mood reflective balanced Type insightful educational When to use this quote - education - therapy - leisure - personal growth Key Concepts multifunctionality embodiment Questions to Reflect On - How does reading affect your mood? - What non‑cognitive benefits do you notice? A Different Perspective Reading alone won’t replace other health habits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body Cerebral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-cerebral-4027592/) [Cerebral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cerebral/) [Functions Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/functions-human-4027593/) [Human body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-body/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [Reading has always been my home, my sustenance, my great invincible companion. "Book love," Trollope called it. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [I'm simply saying that our deepest thoughts, desires and preoccupations manifest themselves in art, whether we intend them to or not. That's what art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/i-m-simply-saying-that-our-deepest-thoughts-desires-and/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [I feel like I became a cerebral athlete. I studied other people and tried to emulate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-agholor/i-feel-like-i-became-a-cerebral-athlete-i-studied-other-people-and/) [Nelson Agholor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-agholor/) > [My comedy is for adults, but you can have your kids listen to it. They won't get all the jokes because hopefully I'm more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cho/my-comedy-is-for-adults-but-you-can-have-your-kids-listen-to-it-they/) [Henry Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cho/) > [When cerebral processes enter into sports, you start screwing up. It's like the Constitution, which says separate church and state. You have to separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-lee/when-cerebral-processes-enter-into-sports-you-start-screwing-up-it-s/) [Bill Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-lee/) > [You're told that you're in your head too much, a phrase that's often deployed against the quiet and cerebral. Or maybe there's another word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/you-re-told-that-you-re-in-your-head-too-much-a-phrase-that-s-often/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell... I defy anybody to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/about-as-close-you-can-get-to-the-perfect-cerebral-thriller-searingly/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [When I ask people what they think of when they hear the term 'cerebral palsy,' I usually get one of two responses. They either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maysoon-zayid/when-i-ask-people-what-they-think-of-when-they-hear-the-term-cerebral/) [Maysoon Zayid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maysoon-zayid/) > [I'm not cerebral in any way. Education, for me, was a nightmare. You put someone talking in front of me, and I cannot engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-whittaker/i-m-not-cerebral-in-any-way-education-for-me-was-a-nightmare-you-put/) [Jodie Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-whittaker/) > [I'm just a man on a mission, to prove my disability hasn't won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hensel/i-m-just-a-man-on-a-mission-to-prove-my-disability-hasn-t-won/) [Robert M. Hensel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hensel/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) [Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/) > [I find a difference in British spy fiction and American spy fiction. In the American version, it's more militaristic, partly because the CIA has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/i-find-a-difference-in-british-spy-fiction-and-american-spy-fiction/) [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [It is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully diversified instincts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-certain-that-there-may-be-extraordinary-mental-activity-with-an/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) ## 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. Loss as character. Loss as life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/loss-as-muse-loss-as-character-loss-as-life/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God ever gives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/knowledge-of-our-own-mortality-is-the-greatest-gift-god-ever-gives-us/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You teach your 16-year-old with your heart in your mouth to be a good driver and none of that makes any difference when some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-teach-your-16-year-old-with-your-heart-in-your-mouth-to-be-a-good/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [Every reader, I suspect, has a book like this somewhere in his or her past, a book that seemed to hold within it, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-reader-i-suspect-has-a-book-like-this-somewhere-in-his-or-her/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-ve-finally-recognized-my-body-for-what-it-is-a-personality-delivery/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [“In England I am always madam; I arrived too late to ever be a miss. 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. "It will make your hours pleasant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-always-been-my-home-my-sustenance-my-great-invincible/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) [Explore all 538 Anna Quindlen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) ## More Cerebral quotes > [I'm simply saying that our deepest thoughts, desires and preoccupations manifest themselves in art, whether we intend them to or not. That's what art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/i-m-simply-saying-that-our-deepest-thoughts-desires-and/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [I find a difference in British spy fiction and American spy fiction. In the American version, it's more militaristic, partly because the CIA has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-cumming/i-find-a-difference-in-british-spy-fiction-and-american-spy-fiction/) [Charles Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-cumming/) > [I consider the differences between man and animals in propensities, feelings, and intellectual faculties, to be the result of the same cause as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/i-consider-the-differences-between-man-and-animals-in-propensities/) [Sir William Lawrence, 1st Baronet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-william-lawrence-1st-baronet/) > [I'm just a man on a mission, to prove my disability hasn't won](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hensel/i-m-just-a-man-on-a-mission-to-prove-my-disability-hasn-t-won/) [Robert M. Hensel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hensel/) > [I'm not cerebral in any way. Education, for me, was a nightmare. You put someone talking in front of me, and I cannot engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-whittaker/i-m-not-cerebral-in-any-way-education-for-me-was-a-nightmare-you-put/) [Jodie Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-whittaker/) > [When I ask people what they think of when they hear the term 'cerebral palsy,' I usually get one of two responses. They either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maysoon-zayid/when-i-ask-people-what-they-think-of-when-they-hear-the-term-cerebral/) [Maysoon Zayid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maysoon-zayid/) > [About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell... I defy anybody to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/about-as-close-you-can-get-to-the-perfect-cerebral-thriller-searingly/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [You're told that you're in your head too much, a phrase that's often deployed against the quiet and cerebral. Or maybe there's another word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/you-re-told-that-you-re-in-your-head-too-much-a-phrase-that-s-often/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [When cerebral processes enter into sports, you start screwing up. It's like the Constitution, which says separate church and state. You have to separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-lee/when-cerebral-processes-enter-into-sports-you-start-screwing-up-it-s/) [Bill Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-lee/) > [My comedy is for adults, but you can have your kids listen to it. They won't get all the jokes because hopefully I'm more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cho/my-comedy-is-for-adults-but-you-can-have-your-kids-listen-to-it-they/) [Henry Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cho/) > [I feel like I became a cerebral athlete. I studied other people and tried to emulate them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-agholor/i-feel-like-i-became-a-cerebral-athlete-i-studied-other-people-and/) [Nelson Agholor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-agholor/) > [It is certain that there may be extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter: thus the wonderfully diversified instincts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/it-is-certain-that-there-may-be-extraordinary-mental-activity-with-an/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [I regard music therapy as a tool of great power in many neurological disorders -- Parkinson's and Alzheimer's -- because of its unique capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-regard-music-therapy-as-a-tool-of-great-power-in-many-neurological/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [ One of the biggest breaks we had actually, one of the biggest, the hardest I laughed on the movie \[The Hangover\] was the baby… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-helms/one-of-the-biggest-breaks-we-had-actually-one-of-the-biggest-the/) [Ed Helms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-helms/) [Browse all 154 Cerebral quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cerebral/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“reading has as many functions as the human body, and... not all of them are cerebral.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anna Quindlen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-human-body-and-not-all-of-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cerebral" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-human-body-and-not-all-of-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/739/anna-quindlen-467_cerebral_reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-hum_1263941.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“reading has as many functions as the human body, and... not all of them are cerebral.” — Anna Quindlen", "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": "Anna Quindlen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“reading has as many functions as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-human-body-and-not-all-of-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/reading-has-as-many-functions-as-the-human-body-and-not-all-of-them/#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 } } ] } ```