--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which…" description: "\"Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness count for something. The fu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg" --- # Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is… ![“Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness count for something. The fun of reading is not that something is told to you, but that you stretch your mind. Your own imagination works along with the authors, or even goes…” quote by Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg) > “Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness count for something. The fun of reading is not that something is told to you, but that you stretch your mind. Your own imagination works along with the authors, or even goes beyond his, yields the same or different conclusions, and your ideas develop as you understand his.” [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading engages the mind like a sport, requiring eagerness, knowledge, and quickness, and it expands imagination through interaction with authors, fostering personal insight. **In simple terms:** Reading is a mental sport that stretches imagination. Key Takeaway Approach reading as active, imaginative exercise. Themes learning creativity mindfulness reading imagination Mood inspired curious reflective Type educational motivational When to use this quote - education - personal growth - creative writing - literary appreciation Key Concepts cognitive engagement interactive imagination mental agility Questions to Reflect On - How can you make reading more interactive? - What mental skills does reading develop? A Different Perspective Reading may become passive if not actively engaged. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Conclusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conclusion/) [Eagerness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eagerness/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind your own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-your-own/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Having so much fun reading/annotating Great Expectations! said no one ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-so-much-fun-reading-annotating-great-expectations-said-no-one/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I still can't decide which is more fun - reading or writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/i-still-can-t-decide-which-is-more-fun-reading-or-writing/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [Topic of the day:'LOVE' !HV FUN reading the quotes :)!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayma/topic-of-the-day-love-hv-fun-reading-the-quotes/) [Mayma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayma/) > [“Hey! Thanks for taking the time to read Trapped in a Video Game: Book Three. I hope you had as much fun reading it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-brady/hey-thanks-for-taking-the-time-to-read-trapped-in-a-video-game-book/) [Dustin Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-brady/) > [The fun of reading as "an exchange between consciousnesses, a way for human beings to talk to each other about stuff we can't normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-fun-of-reading-as-an-exchange-between-consciousnesses-a-way-for/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Whitney and I have fun reading the newspaper sometimes. You'd be amazed at the places they say I've been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-brown/whitney-and-i-have-fun-reading-the-newspaper-sometimes-you-d-be/) [Bobby Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-brown/) > [The whole point of reading is that the writer is speaking to you, and if you're not listening, you're not going to have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/the-whole-point-of-reading-is-that-the-writer-is-speaking-to-you-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [If a reviewer is beating me up, I just say, 'Oh well, my writing is not to his or her taste.' And that's as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/if-a-reviewer-is-beating-me-up-i-just-say-oh-well-my-writing-is-not/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Anarchism may be described as the doctrine that all the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/anarchism-may-be-described-as-the-doctrine-that-all-the-affairs-of/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Here we are, then, once more back at the old doctrine - Laissez faire. Let us translate it into blunt English, and it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/here-we-are-then-once-more-back-at-the-old-doctrine-laissez-faire-let/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [What you think you become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/what-you-think-you-become/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [I don't know how people get so anti-something. Just mind your own business, take care of your own affairs, and don't worry about other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-white/i-don-t-know-how-people-get-so-anti-something-just-mind-your-own/) [Betty White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-white/) > [Mind your own Brazilian!" The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them. Oops. OK. The trick when you've said something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/mind-your-own-brazilian-the-words-fly-out-of-my-mouth-before-i-can/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [There are three proven rules for good teeth: brush after every meal; see your dentist twice a year; and mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-boyd/there-are-three-proven-rules-for-good-teeth-brush-after-every-meal/) Henry Boyd > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More by Bennett Cerf > [Television, I love it, everything that happened before television lumped together, never caused folks to turn on a street to stare at me, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/television-i-love-it-everything-that-happened-before-television/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [A person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/a-person-who-can-bring-the-spirit-of-laughter-into-a-room-is-indeed/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [“Coleridge was a drug addict. Poe was an alcoholic. Marlowe was killed by a man whom he was treacherously trying to stab. Pope took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/coleridge-was-a-drug-addict-poe-was-an-alcoholic-marlowe-was-killed/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Politicians are like ships: noisiest when lost in a fog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/politicians-are-like-ships-noisiest-when-lost-in-a-fog/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [The person who can bring the spirit of laughter into a room is indeed blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/the-person-who-can-bring-the-spirit-of-laughter-into-a-room-is-indeed/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [The Atomic Age is here to stay - but are we?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/the-atomic-age-is-here-to-stay-but-are-we/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Everybody was being decent, and when people are decent, thing work out for everybody. That has been my theory all through life. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/everybody-was-being-decent-and-when-people-are-decent-thing-work-out/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [The Detroit String Quartet played Brahms last night. Brahms lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/the-detroit-string-quartet-played-brahms-last-night-brahms-lost/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Middle age is when your old classmates are so grey and wrinkled and bald they don't recognize you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/middle-age-is-when-your-old-classmates-are-so-grey-and-wrinkled-and/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Gross ignorance is 144 times worse than ordinary ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/gross-ignorance-is-144-times-worse-than-ordinary-ignorance/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [Football season: The only time of the year when a man can walk down the street with a blond on one arm and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/football-season-the-only-time-of-the-year-when-a-man-can-walk-down/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [They tell about a fifteen-year-old boy in an orphans' home who had an incurable stutter. One Sunday the minister was detained and the boy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/they-tell-about-a-fifteen-year-old-boy-in-an-orphans-home-who-had-an/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [For me, a hearty elly laugh is one of the beautiful sounds in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/for-me-a-hearty-elly-laugh-is-one-of-the-beautiful-sounds-in-the-world/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [There is a mass of people, we might as well admit, who if they weren't watching television, would be doing absolutely nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/there-is-a-mass-of-people-we-might-as-well-admit-who-if-they-weren-t/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) > [For me, a hearty "belly laugh" is one of the beautiful sounds in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/for-me-a-hearty-belly-laugh-is-one-of-the-beautiful-sounds-in-the/) [Bennett Cerf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) [Explore all 37 Bennett Cerf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/) ## 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": "Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and knowledge and quickness count for something. The fun of reading is not that something is told to you, but that you stretch your mind. Your own imagination works along with the authors, or even goes beyond his, yields the same or different conclusions, and your ideas develop as you understand his.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bennett Cerf" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which-means-that-it-is-a-little/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which-means-that-it-is-a-little/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b89/bennett-cerf-17226_books_reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which_1366139.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reading is a pleasure of the mind, which means that it is a little like a sport: your eagerness and…” — Bennett Cerf", "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": "Bennett Cerf", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bennett-cerf/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reading is a pleasure of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which-means-that-it-is-a-little/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bennett-cerf/reading-is-a-pleasure-of-the-mind-which-means-that-it-is-a-little/#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 } } ] } ```