Another man Quote by Anonymous
“A man's bookseller should keep his confidence, like his physician. What can become of a world where every man knows what another man reads? Why, sir, books would become like quacks' potions, with every mountebank in the newspapers claiming one volume's superiority over another.”
About This Quote
If everyone's reading choices were public, books would become commodities, losing their personal, private value.
In simple terms: Public reading erodes privacy.
Key Takeaway
Respect literary privacy.
Themes
privacy
literature
culture
Mood
analytical
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- publishing
- education
- social media
- marketing
Key Concepts
information ethics
media studies
Questions to Reflect On
- Should reading preferences be private?
- How does public knowledge of reading affect publishing?
A Different Perspective
Complete transparency may stifle diverse reading habits.
![“A sign of the times: there are no longer any chairs in the bookshops along the embankments. [Noël] France was the last bookseller who provided chairs where you could sit down and chat and waste a little time between sales. Nowadays books are bought standing. A request for a book and the naming of…” quote by Jules de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/26c/jules-de-goncourt-37962_book_a-sign-of-the-times-there-are-no-longer_1210077.jpg)
![“Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?], any man might instantly use what another had invented; so that the inventor had no special advantage from his own invention. The patent system changed this…” quote by Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/449/abraham-lincoln-88_adoption_next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in_1828.jpg)
