--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that when people read fiction…" description: "\"I think that when people read fiction, they're really reading for wisdom. I am. That's what most of us really love. If we read a novel that rocks our w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/barbara-kingsolver-200_books_i-think-that-when-people-read-fiction-th_2963816.jpg" --- # I think that when people read fiction, they're really… ![“I think that when people read fiction, they're really reading for wisdom. I am. That's what most of us really love. If we read a novel that rocks our world, it's because there's something in it that we didn't know already. Not just information but really wisdom - sort of what to do with our…” quote by Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/barbara-kingsolver-200_books_i-think-that-when-people-read-fiction-th_2963816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/barbara-kingsolver-200_books_i-think-that-when-people-read-fiction-th_2963816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4e/barbara-kingsolver-200_books_i-think-that-when-people-read-fiction-th_2963816.jpg) > “I think that when people read fiction, they're really reading for wisdom. I am. That's what most of us really love. If we read a novel that rocks our world, it's because there's something in it that we didn't know already. Not just information but really wisdom - sort of what to do with our information. And wisdom comes from experience.” [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading fiction offers wisdom beyond facts, guiding how we apply knowledge through lived experience. **In simple terms:** Fiction teaches practical wisdom. Key Takeaway Seek stories that challenge your worldview. Themes reading wisdom experience learning reflection Mood thoughtful inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - Choosing books - discussing novels - applying lessons - personal growth Key Concepts Narrative insight empathy critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does a story change your actions? - What wisdom have you gained from fiction? A Different Perspective Wisdom may be subjective and not universally applicable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-really-920705/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Read Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-fiction/) [Read Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-novel/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-wisdom-3755982/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Wisdom is not acquired by reading. Wisdom is what results when you incorporate this knowledge into your personal experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lawless/wisdom-is-not-acquired-by-reading-wisdom-is-what-results-when-you/) [Jim Lawless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lawless/) > [“People who don't read fiction really scare me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenaya-jayne/people-who-don-t-read-fiction-really-scare-me/) [Tenaya Jayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenaya-jayne/) > [We need to find another way or another shape or an allegory or something that tells us more. Even Vagabond - it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/we-need-to-find-another-way-or-another-shape-or-an-allegory-or/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [Science fiction really is the only genre that lets you use your imagination without limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/science-fiction-really-is-the-only-genre-that-lets-you-use-your/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Nothing trains you better to write fiction than being really good at writing about your own interiority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-gould/nothing-trains-you-better-to-write-fiction-than-being-really-good-at/) [Emily Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-gould/) > [I'm so deeply interested in what it feels like to be other people that I get to operate under the illusion when I'm writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-m-so-deeply-interested-in-what-it-feels-like-to-be-other-people/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“All truth is fiction, really, for the teller tells it as he sees it, and it might be different from some other teller.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witi-ihimaera/all-truth-is-fiction-really-for-the-teller-tells-it-as-he-sees-it-and/) [Witi Ihimaera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witi-ihimaera/) > [THE MAGIC AND THE DANGER OF FICTION IS THIS: it allows us to see through other eyes. It takes us to places we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-magic-and-the-danger-of-fiction-is-this-it-allows-us-to-see/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Some major writers have a huge impact, like Ayn Rand, who to my mind is a lousy fiction writer because her writing has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/some-major-writers-have-a-huge-impact-like-ayn-rand-who-to-my-mind-is/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Even the people who have had success and made money writing these books of fiction seem to feel the need to pretend it's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-murray/even-the-people-who-have-had-success-and-made-money-writing-these/) [George Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-murray/) > [As far as characters in fiction that I really admire - it's pretty strong to say you would wish that you had created another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/as-far-as-characters-in-fiction-that-i-really-admire-it-s-pretty/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [It had also been my belief since I started writing fiction that science fiction is never really about the future. When science fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/it-had-also-been-my-belief-since-i-started-writing-fiction-that/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [I swing with a lot of torque from non-fiction to fiction, and I really like that place in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-swing-with-a-lot-of-torque-from-non-fiction-to-fiction-and-i-really/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [The range of my interests in science fiction - it really does run a gamut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laeta-kalogridis/the-range-of-my-interests-in-science-fiction-it-really-does-run-a/) [Laeta Kalogridis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laeta-kalogridis/) > [I like films about people who figured out what they believed and had the guts to act on it in a way that added…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-s-kaplan/i-like-films-about-people-who-figured-out-what-they-believed-and-had/) [Robert S. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-s-kaplan/) ## More by Barbara Kingsolver > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Now I'm starting to think he wasn't supposed to be my whole life, he was just this doorway to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/now-i-m-starting-to-think-he-wasn-t-supposed-to-be-my-whole-life-he/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Cooking is 80 percent confidence, a skill best acquired starting from when the apron strings wrap around you twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/cooking-is-80-percent-confidence-a-skill-best-acquired-starting-from/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“In Bobby Ogle's version of heaven everyone would wind up in one place, criminals and Muslims included.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/in-bobby-ogle-s-version-of-heaven-everyone-would-wind-up-in-one-place/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Weeds are job security for the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/weeds-are-job-security-for-the-gardener/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“It's what you do that makes your soul, not the other way around.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-what-you-do-that-makes-your-soul-not-the-other-way-around/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Lusa turned to Crys, her eyes shining. "That was a luna." Crys shrugged. "So?" "So? So what? You want it should sing, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/lusa-turned-to-crys-her-eyes-shining-that-was-a-luna-crys-shrugged-so/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [The strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-strength-of-motherhood-is-greater-than-natural-laws/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/an-imperfectly-remembered-life-is-a-useless-treachery-every-day-more/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Respecting the dignity of a spectacular food means enjoying it at its best. Europeans celebrate the short season of abundant asparagus as a form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/respecting-the-dignity-of-a-spectacular-food-means-enjoying-it-at-its/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“Somehow it had come to pass that this man was her whole world, and she had failed to take his measure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/somehow-it-had-come-to-pass-that-this-man-was-her-whole-world-and-she/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [After 'The Poisonwood Bible' was published, several people believed that my parents were missionaries, which could not be further from the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/after-the-poisonwood-bible-was-published-several-people-believed-that/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-can-count-all-the-ways-in-which-being-a-mother-has-enriched-my/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [If the Lord hasn't got a boyfriend lined up for me to marry, that's his business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/if-the-lord-hasn-t-got-a-boyfriend-lined-up-for-me-to-marry-that-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) [Explore all 939 Barbara Kingsolver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I think that when people read fiction, they're really reading for wisdom. I am. That's what most of us really love. If we read a novel that rocks our world, it's because there's something in it that we didn't know already. Not just information but really wisdom - sort of what to do with our information. 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