--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our reading was subversive, and we knew…" description: "\"“Our reading was subversive, and we knew it... I was now believing books more than I believed what I saw and heard... What I sought in books was imagin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/annie-dillard-509_books_our-reading-was-subversive-and-we-knew-i_1083636.jpg" --- # Our reading was subversive, and we knew it... I was now… ![“Our reading was subversive, and we knew it... I was now believing books more than I believed what I saw and heard... What I sought in books was imagination. It was depth, depth of thought and feeling... What I sought in books was a world (that)... actually matched the exaltation of the interior…” quote by Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/annie-dillard-509_books_our-reading-was-subversive-and-we-knew-i_1083636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/annie-dillard-509_books_our-reading-was-subversive-and-we-knew-i_1083636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/annie-dillard-509_books_our-reading-was-subversive-and-we-knew-i_1083636.jpg) > ““Our reading was subversive, and we knew it... I was now believing books more than I believed what I saw and heard... What I sought in books was imagination. It was depth, depth of thought and feeling... What I sought in books was a world (that)... actually matched the exaltation of the interior life.”” [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books become a sanctuary for imagination and deep feeling, surpassing ordinary perception. **In simple terms:** Books offer deeper imagination than reality. Key Takeaway Seek depth in reading. Themes literature imagination inner life Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - personal growth - mental escape Key Concepts Subversive reading depth of thought emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - What does imagination give you that life lacks? - How can you balance reading with lived experience? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on books may detach from reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [What I sought in books was imagination. It was depth, depth of thought and feeling; some sort of extreme of subject matter; some nearness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-i-sought-in-books-was-imagination-it-was-depth-depth-of-thought-2/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What I sought in books was imagination. It was depth, depth of thought and feeling; some sort of extreme of subject matter; some nearness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-i-sought-in-books-was-imagination-it-was-depth-depth-of-thought/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Every single person I met and that knew I wrote books, made fun of me. And, most of my teachers said I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/every-single-person-i-met-and-that-knew-i-wrote-books-made-fun-of-me/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [Believing in books is a lot like believing in God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-schumacher/believing-in-books-is-a-lot-like-believing-in-god/) [Julie Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-schumacher/) > [“Storytelling is a creative way to engage a young child who is not ready to read books. Imagination is the key to unlock hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassie-pope/storytelling-is-a-creative-way-to-engage-a-young-child-who-is-not/) Cassie Pope > [I was dropped by my publisher after my first two books. But I always believed in myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/i-was-dropped-by-my-publisher-after-my-first-two-books-but-i-always/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/books-are-not-made-to-be-believed-but-to-be-subjected-to-inquiry/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Children are notoriously literal readers, and I was no exception. Books, I believed, contained the entire truth about everything, and if you could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-paul/children-are-notoriously-literal-readers-and-i-was-no-exception-books/) [Pamela Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-paul/) > [Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/books-are-not-made-to-be-believed-but-to-be-subjected-to-inquiry-when/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Books are not made to be believed, but to be subjected to enquiry”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/books-are-not-made-to-be-believed-but-to-be-subjected-to-enquiry/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Annie Dillard > [Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/like-everyone-in-his-right-mind-i-feared-santa-claus/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“This is a spendthrift economy; though nothing is lost, all is spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/this-is-a-spendthrift-economy-though-nothing-is-lost-all-is-spent/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The creatures I seek do not want to be seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-creatures-i-seek-do-not-want-to-be-seen/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Nothing moves a woman so deeply as the boyhood of the man she loves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/nothing-moves-a-woman-so-deeply-as-the-boyhood-of-the-man-she-loves/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [We live in all we seek. The hidden shows up in too-plain sight. It lives captive on the face of the obvious - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/we-live-in-all-we-seek-the-hidden-shows-up-in-too-plain-sight-it/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“...The mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-mockingbird-took-a-single-step-into-the-air-and-dropped-his-wings/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“Father had stretched out his long legs and was tilting back in his chair. Mother sat with her knees crossed, in blue slacks, smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/father-had-stretched-out-his-long-legs-and-was-tilting-back-in-his/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-frayed-and-nibbled-survivor-in-a-fallen-world-and-i-am-getting/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It should surprise no one that the life of the writer - such as it is - is colorless to the point of sensory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-should-surprise-no-one-that-the-life-of-the-writer-such-as-it-is/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [It is madness to wear ladies' straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-is-madness-to-wear-ladies-straw-hats-and-velvet-hats-to-church-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [The sense impressions of one-celled animals are not edited for the brain. This is philosophically interesting in a rather mournful way, since it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/the-sense-impressions-of-one-celled-animals-are-not-edited-for-the/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“What can we make of the inexpressible joy of children? It is a kind of gratitude, I think—the gratitude of the ten-year-old who wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/what-can-we-make-of-the-inexpressible-joy-of-children-it-is-a-kind-of/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“If we were to judge nature by its common sense or likelihood, we wouldn't believe the world existed. In nature, improbabilities are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/if-we-were-to-judge-nature-by-its-common-sense-or-likelihood-we/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [For writing a first draft requires from the writer a peculiar internal state which ordinary life does not induce. ... how to set yourself spinning?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/for-writing-a-first-draft-requires-from-the-writer-a-peculiar/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I am a fugitive and a vagabond, a sojourner seeking signs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/i-am-a-fugitive-and-a-vagabond-a-sojourner-seeking-signs/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) [Explore all 509 Annie Dillard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [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/) > [“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 > [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": "“Our reading was subversive, and we knew it... I was now believing books more than I believed what I saw and heard... What I sought in books was imagination. It was depth, depth of thought and feeling... 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