---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that an author who speaks about…"
description: "\"I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.\" — Benjamin Disraeli"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png"
---

#  I think that an author who speaks about his own books is…

![“I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.” quote by Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png)

> “I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.”

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Self‑promotion about one's own creations is akin to bragging about one's children.

**In simple terms:** Talking about own work is like boasting about kids.

Key Takeaway

Avoid self‑praise.

Themes

humility self‑promotion authorship

Mood

cautious reflective

Type

advisory critical

When to use this quote

- author interviews
- marketing
- social media
- networking

Key Concepts

ego public perception

Questions to Reflect On

- When is self‑promotion appropriate?
- How to let work speak for itself?

A Different Perspective

Self‑reference can seem narcissistic.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bad mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mother/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [An author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as-bad-as-a-mother/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [An author who speaks about their own books is almost as bad as a mother who speaks about her own children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/an-author-who-speaks-about-their-own-books-is-almost-as-bad-as-a/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Each book tends to have its own identity rather than the author's. It speaks from itself rather than you. Each book is unlike the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/each-book-tends-to-have-its-own-identity-rather-than-the-author-s-it/)

[E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/)

> [Whenever my mother talks to me, she begins the conversation as if we were already in the middle of an argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/whenever-my-mother-talks-to-me-she-begins-the-conversation-as-if-we/)

[Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/)

> [“It’s impossible for us to love another person in the same way as we love ourselves. There is nothing more tragic than a mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pajtim-statovci/it-s-impossible-for-us-to-love-another-person-in-the-same-way-as-we/)

Pajtim Statovci

> [“What sort of mother talks about whores on her deathbed? Your mother wouldn’t do that, would she?" "I have no idea,” Grey said, “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/what-sort-of-mother-talks-about-whores-on-her-deathbed-your-mother/)

[Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/)

> [One can never read too little of bad, or too much of good books: bad books are intellectual poison; they destroy the mind. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/one-can-never-read-too-little-of-bad-or-too-much-of-good-books-bad/)

[Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/)

> [“What immediately strikes me is just how tattered the books are. Some of the spines have split. The binding has loosened and the threads…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-rydell/what-immediately-strikes-me-is-just-how-tattered-the-books-are-some/)

[Anders Rydell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-rydell/)

> [Everybody judges a book by its cover. I can look at 50 books and say every one of those books is bad. Then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-sturridge/everybody-judges-a-book-by-its-cover-i-can-look-at-50-books-and-say/)

[Daniel Sturridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-sturridge/)

> [Electronic books are a bad thing because they cannot be accumulated on shelves to remind you of your past, to impress your neighbors and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/electronic-books-are-a-bad-thing-because-they-cannot-be-accumulated/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Books are a bad family - there are those you love, and those you are indifferent to; idiots and mad cousins who you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/books-are-a-bad-family-there-are-those-you-love-and-those-you-are/)

[Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/)

> [“Read good books, and bad people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ts-madison/read-good-books-and-bad-people/)

TS Madison

> [“I read a lot of bad books- books so bad that they aren't even published,which is quite a feat, when you consider what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/i-read-a-lot-of-bad-books-books-so-bad-that-they-aren-t-even/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“all good books are bad!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elinor-ostrom/all-good-books-are-bad/)

[Elinor Ostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elinor-ostrom/)

> [I read a lot of true-crime books, but sometimes they can put you in a bad mood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-schirripa/i-read-a-lot-of-true-crime-books-but-sometimes-they-can-put-you-in-a/)

[Steve Schirripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-schirripa/)

## More by Benjamin Disraeli

> [Next to the assumption of power was the responsibility of relinquishing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/next-to-the-assumption-of-power-was-the-responsibility-of/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [We make our fortunes and we call them fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/we-make-our-fortunes-and-we-call-them-fate/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [It shows you exactly how a star is formed; nothing else can be so pretty! A cluster of vapor, the cream of the milky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/it-shows-you-exactly-how-a-star-is-formed-nothing-else-can-be-so/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Terror has its inspiration, as well as competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/terror-has-its-inspiration-as-well-as-competition/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-am-prepared-for-the-worst-but-hope-for-the-best/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Religion should be the rule of life, not a casual incident in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/religion-should-be-the-rule-of-life-not-a-casual-incident-in-it/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Frank and explicit - that is the right line to take when you wish to conceal your own mind and confuse the minds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/frank-and-explicit-that-is-the-right-line-to-take-when-you-wish-to/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [I was told that the privileged and the people formed two nations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-was-told-that-the-privileged-and-the-people-formed-two-nations/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [The praise of a fool is incense to the wisest of us . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-praise-of-a-fool-is-incense-to-the-wisest-of-us/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Expediency is a law of nature. The camel is a wonderful animal, but the desert made the camel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/expediency-is-a-law-of-nature-the-camel-is-a-wonderful-animal-but-the/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Is man an ape or an angel? Now I am on the side of the angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/is-man-an-ape-or-an-angel-now-i-am-on-the-side-of-the-angels/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Real politics are the possession and distribution of power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/real-politics-are-the-possession-and-distribution-of-power/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/desperation-is-sometimes-as-powerful-an-inspirer-as-genius/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

> [Why, I say, that to tax the community for the advantage of a class is not protection; it is plunder, and I entirely disclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/why-i-say-that-to-tax-the-community-for-the-advantage-of-a-class-is/)

[Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

[Explore all 603 Benjamin Disraeli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/)

## More Bad mother quotes

> [As a boy, when I was bad, my mother would chew me out in Spanish. And since I was bad a lot, I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/as-a-boy-when-i-was-bad-my-mother-would-chew-me-out-in-spanish-and/)

[John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/)

> [“I didn't feel like a slut, a bad mother, a terrible person. I didn't worry about my nudity or if he liked what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/i-didn-t-feel-like-a-slut-a-bad-mother-a-terrible-person-i-didn-t/)

[Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/)

> [“As a teenager, he made screaming noises at night in his room, like a deranged person. He threw his electrical pencil sharpener at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/as-a-teenager-he-made-screaming-noises-at-night-in-his-room-like-a/)

[Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/)

> [“Admitting that this job isn’t always easy doesn’t make somebody a bad mother. At least, it shouldn’t. We’re all on this ride together. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/admitting-that-this-job-isn-t-always-easy-doesn-t-make-somebody-a-bad/)

[Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/)

> [“Even if I’m setting myself up for failure, I think it’s worth trying to be a mother who delights in who her children are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/even-if-i-m-setting-myself-up-for-failure-i-think-it-s-worth-trying/)

[Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/)

> [And that's the insult of it, how always it comes back to a woman being a "good" mother in the world's eyes or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-that-s-the-insult-of-it-how-always-it-comes-back-to-a-woman-being/)

[Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/)

> [Say what you mean to your children and mean exactly what you say about them to the world while keeping in mind they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-pickett/say-what-you-mean-to-your-children-and-mean-exactly-what-you-say/)

Fay Pickett

> [“Social expectations about what constitutes a good or a bad mother haunt every decision, and the rise of the parental advice industry ensures that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-expectations-about-what-constitutes-a-good-or-a-bad-mother/)

[Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/)

> [It was always me and my sister against the big bad world. The world was bad because of our mother. Now that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-always-me-and-my-sister-against-the-big-bad-world-the-world/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Good mothers make all kinds of choices. Making a decision that might sound selfish does not make a woman a bad mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jada-pinkett-smith/good-mothers-make-all-kinds-of-choices-making-a-decision-that-might/)

[Jada Pinkett Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jada-pinkett-smith/)

> [In reality the world is as full of bad mothers as it is of bad fathers, and it is not the motherless children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-bernieres/in-reality-the-world-is-as-full-of-bad-mothers-as-it-is-of-bad/)

[Louis de Bernieres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-bernieres/)

> [Around a third of parents still worry that they will look like a bad mother or father if their child has a mental health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-middleton/around-a-third-of-parents-still-worry-that-they-will-look-like-a-bad/)

[Kate Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-middleton/)

> [I love my husband more than I love my children,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/i-love-my-husband-more-than-i-love-my-children/)

[Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/)

> [Wanna know something I don't like?? Little girls that have a wonderful home and a loving mother!! And they get EVERYTHING they ask for!!!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha/wanna-know-something-i-don-t-like-little-girls-that-have-a-wonderful/)

[Alisha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha/)

> [“Fear is at the root of so many of the barriers that women face. Fear of not being liked. Fear of making the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/fear-is-at-the-root-of-so-many-of-the-barriers-that-women-face-fear/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

[Browse all 55 Bad mother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-mother/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Benjamin Disraeli"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bad mother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/802/benjamin-disraeli-390_bad-mother_i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about_448802.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think that an author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own…” — Benjamin Disraeli",
                "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": "Benjamin Disraeli",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think that an author who...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/i-think-that-an-author-who-speaks-about-his-own-books-is-almost-as/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
