--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is why I read novels: so I can…" description: "\"This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.\" — Carol Shields" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg" --- # This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own… ![“This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.” quote by Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg) > “This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.” [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading novels offers a temporary refuge from one's relentless inner voice, allowing immersion in other lives and perspectives. **In simple terms:** Novels provide an escape from constant self‑talk. Key Takeaway Read to quiet your inner monologue. Themes escape literature self‑reflection Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary personal When to use this quote - During stressful periods - when feeling isolated - seeking empathy - creative inspiration Key Concepts Narrative immersion psychological relief Questions to Reflect On - What inner thoughts do you silence when reading? - How does a story change your self‑dialogue? A Different Perspective Escapism may avoid confronting personal issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Monologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologue/) [Monologues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monologues/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Escape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-escape-3879201/) [Read Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-novels/) [Unrelenting Monologue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrelenting-monologue-3879200/) ## Related quotes > [The novels were an escape from reality in the sense that we could marvel at their beauty and perfection. 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My inclination to adopt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/theatre-aside-my-penchant-for-the-extended-monologue-began-with-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [There should be a rule against your own inner monologue throwing around that much sarcasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/there-should-be-a-rule-against-your-own-inner-monologue-throwing/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [I must remind the right honourable gentleman that a monologue is not a decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-attlee/i-must-remind-the-right-honourable-gentleman-that-a-monologue-is-not/) [Clement Attlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-attlee/) ## More by Carol Shields > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“He wondered exactly how lost a person could get. Lost at sea, lost in the woods. Fatally lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/he-wondered-exactly-how-lost-a-person-could-get-lost-at-sea-lost-in/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Dorrie gave Larry's hand an excited, distracted squeeze that said: almost home. 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Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/open-a-book-this-minute-and-start-reading-don-t-move-until-you-ve/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [A woman's life isn't worth a plateful of cabbage if she hasn't felt life stir under her heart. Taking a little one to nurse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/a-woman-s-life-isn-t-worth-a-plateful-of-cabbage-if-she-hasn-t-felt/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“I won't even mention the swift, transitory reward of lemon spray wax. Danielle Westerman and I have discussed the matter of housework. 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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. 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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": "This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carol Shields" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escape-my-own-unrelenting-monologue/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escape-my-own-unrelenting-monologue/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d22/carol-shields-9916_books_this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escap_2053136.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is why I read novels: so I can escape my own unrelenting monologue.” — Carol Shields", "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": "Carol Shields", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "This is why I read novels:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escape-my-own-unrelenting-monologue/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/this-is-why-i-read-novels-so-i-can-escape-my-own-unrelenting-monologue/#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 } } ] } ```