--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As for reading, I doubt whether she did…" description: "\"“As for reading, I doubt whether she did much better by the sea-side than she had done in the town. Men and women say that they will read, and think so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anthony-trollope-611_books_as-for-reading-i-doubt-whether-she-did-m_1842490.jpg" --- # As for reading, I doubt whether she did much better by the… ![“As for reading, I doubt whether she did much better by the sea-side than she had done in the town. Men and women say that they will read, and think so—those, I mean, who have acquired no habit of reading—believing the work to be, of all works, the easiest. It may be work, they think, but of all…” quote by Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anthony-trollope-611_books_as-for-reading-i-doubt-whether-she-did-m_1842490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anthony-trollope-611_books_as-for-reading-i-doubt-whether-she-did-m_1842490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dab/anthony-trollope-611_books_as-for-reading-i-doubt-whether-she-did-m_1842490.jpg) > ““As for reading, I doubt whether she did much better by the sea-side than she had done in the town. Men and women say that they will read, and think so—those, I mean, who have acquired no habit of reading—believing the work to be, of all works, the easiest. It may be work, they think, but of all works it must be the easiest of achievement. Given the absolute faculty of reading, the task of going through the pages of a book must be, of all tasks, the most certainly within the grasp of the man or woman who attempts it. Alas! no; if the habit be not there, of all tasks it is the most difficult.”” [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading is easy only if one has a habit; without habit it becomes the hardest task. **In simple terms:** Habit makes reading easy; without it, reading is hard. Key Takeaway Cultivate a reading habit. Themes reading habit effort learning Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - education - self‑improvement - literacy - personal development Key Concepts habit formation cognitive load Questions to Reflect On - Do you have a regular reading routine? - How can you make reading enjoyable? A Different Perspective Even with habit, distractions can impede reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [“He was captured first by the illustrations, and then he began to read, to start with, the stories that dealt with magic, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-somerset-maugham/he-was-captured-first-by-the-illustrations-and-then-he-began-to-read/) [William Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-somerset-maugham/) > [The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-habit-of-reading-is-the-only-enjoyment-in-which-there-is-no-alloy/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The habit of reading is the only one I know in which there is no alloy. It lasts when all other pleasures fade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-habit-of-reading-is-the-only-one-i-know-in-which-there-is-no/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [This habit of reading, I make bold to tell you, is your pass to the greatest, the purest, and the most perfect pleasure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/this-habit-of-reading-i-make-bold-to-tell-you-is-your-pass-to-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I was always an avid reader of books. My vocabulary, my English are all thanks to that reading habit. Reading keeps me grounded. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madhur-bhandarkar/i-was-always-an-avid-reader-of-books-my-vocabulary-my-english-are-all/) [Madhur Bhandarkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madhur-bhandarkar/) > [“An acquaintanceship with the literature of the world may be won by any person who will devote half an hour a day to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-widtsoe/an-acquaintanceship-with-the-literature-of-the-world-may-be-won-by/) [John A. Widtsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-widtsoe/) > [I have a bad habit of reading a text and forgetting to reply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mee/i-have-a-bad-habit-of-reading-a-text-and-forgetting-to-reply/) [Mee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mee/) > [If we were in the habit of reading poets their obscurity would not matter; and, once we are out of the habit, their clarity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-we-were-in-the-habit-of-reading-poets-their-obscurity-would-not/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“I look around and see that many — not all, but many — problems we've got could be solved if our culture simply fostered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camilo-gomes-jr/i-look-around-and-see-that-many-not-all-but-many-problems-we-ve-got/) [Camilo Gomes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camilo-gomes-jr/) > [I have a bad habit of reading more than one book simultaneously!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/i-have-a-bad-habit-of-reading-more-than-one-book-simultaneously/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [“The man who has not the habit of reading is imprisoned in his immediate world, in respect to time and space. His life falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/the-man-who-has-not-the-habit-of-reading-is-imprisoned-in-his/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [The most common and the monstrous defect in the education of the day is that children fail to acquire the habit of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mason/the-most-common-and-the-monstrous-defect-in-the-education-of-the-day/) [Charlotte Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mason/) > [It is curious how tyrannical the habit of reading is...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/it-is-curious-how-tyrannical-the-habit-of-reading-is/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/to-acquire-the-habit-of-reading-is-to-construct-for-yourself-a-refuge/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“Newspapers are a bad habit, the reading equivalent of junk food. What happens to me is that I seize upon an issue in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/newspapers-are-a-bad-habit-the-reading-equivalent-of-junk-food-what/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More by Anthony Trollope > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Things to be done offer themselves, I suppose, because they are in themselves desirable; not because it is desirable to have something to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/things-to-be-done-offer-themselves-i-suppose-because-they-are-in/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/a-small-daily-task-if-it-be-really-daily-will-beat-the-labours-of-a/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [You men find so many angels in your travels. You have been honester than some. You have generally been off with the old angel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/you-men-find-so-many-angels-in-your-travels-you-have-been-honester/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [To feel that your hours are filled to overflowing, that you can barely steal minutes enough for sleep, that the welfare of many is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/to-feel-that-your-hours-are-filled-to-overflowing-that-you-can-barely/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [It is necessary to get a lot of men together, for the show of the thing, otherwise the world will not believe. That is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/it-is-necessary-to-get-a-lot-of-men-together-for-the-show-of-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“An accepted lover, who deserves to have been accepted, should devote every hour at his command to his mistress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/an-accepted-lover-who-deserves-to-have-been-accepted-should-devote/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Wine is valued by its price, not its flavour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/wine-is-valued-by-its-price-not-its-flavour/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“(On Charles Dickens) It has been the peculiarity and the marvel of this man’s power, that he has invested his puppets with a charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/on-charles-dickens-it-has-been-the-peculiarity-and-the-marvel-of-this/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [There is no road to wealth so easy and respectable as that of matrimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/there-is-no-road-to-wealth-so-easy-and-respectable-as-that-of/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [I hold that gentleman to be the best-dressed whose dress no one observes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-hold-that-gentleman-to-be-the-best-dressed-whose-dress-no-one/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [But mad people never die. That's a well-known fact. They've nothing to trouble them, and they live for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/but-mad-people-never-die-that-s-a-well-known-fact-they-ve-nothing-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Since woman's rights have come up a young woman is better able to fight her own battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/since-woman-s-rights-have-come-up-a-young-woman-is-better-able-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“The heroes of life are so much better than the heroes of romance,” said Caroline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-heroes-of-life-are-so-much-better-than-the-heroes-of-romance-said/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) [Explore all 448 Anthony Trollope quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) ## 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. 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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": "“As for reading, I doubt whether she did much better by the sea-side than she had done in the town. Men and women say that they will read, and think so—those, I mean, who have acquired no habit of reading—believing the work to be, of all works, the easiest. It may be work, they think, but of all works it must be the easiest of achievement. 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