--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're sitting there going, 'Well…" description: "\"If you're sitting there going, 'Well, these particular genres are the only genres I like,' that's like saying, 'I only like books with this particular ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/chris-thile-4170_books_if-you-re-sitting-there-going-well-these_1784999.jpg" --- # If you're sitting there going, 'Well, these particular… ![“If you're sitting there going, 'Well, these particular genres are the only genres I like,' that's like saying, 'I only like books with this particular kind of cover.' Because that's all genre is. It's a discussion of texture.” quote by Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/chris-thile-4170_books_if-you-re-sitting-there-going-well-these_1784999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/chris-thile-4170_books_if-you-re-sitting-there-going-well-these_1784999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9cd/chris-thile-4170_books_if-you-re-sitting-there-going-well-these_1784999.jpg) > “If you're sitting there going, 'Well, these particular genres are the only genres I like,' that's like saying, 'I only like books with this particular kind of cover.' Because that's all genre is. It's a discussion of texture.” [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Genre is a superficial label; true taste is about the feel and texture of the work, not the category name. **In simple terms:** Taste is about texture, not genre labels. Key Takeaway Focus on the feeling a work gives you. Themes creativity perception artistic taste Mood curious reflective open‑minded Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - Choosing music - reading books - curating playlists - discussing art - teaching literature Key Concepts Aesthetics categorization subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on texture change your artistic choices? - Can you enjoy a work that defies your usual genre? A Different Perspective Genres can be useful for discovery but may limit openness to new experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genres/) ## Related quotes > [I never looked or really believed that music should be categorized into particular genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-reeves/i-never-looked-or-really-believed-that-music-should-be-categorized/) [Dianne Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-reeves/) > [It all comes down to what is best for those particular genres, and if you believe in the stories that you're telling and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wan/it-all-comes-down-to-what-is-best-for-those-particular-genres-and-if/) [James Wan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wan/) > [There are two genres of music: there's good music and there's bad music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/there-are-two-genres-of-music-there-s-good-music-and-there-s-bad-music/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I don't think I make genre films. I think studios try to sell films as genres because they know how to do that. There's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-aronofsky/i-don-t-think-i-make-genre-films-i-think-studios-try-to-sell-films-as/) [Darren Aronofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-aronofsky/) > [Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and nonfiction. And even there, who can be sure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/writing-is-writing-and-stories-are-stories-perhaps-the-only-true/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [I'm eager to do movies of different genres. I would love to not be confined by genre and do a lot of different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winer/i-m-eager-to-do-movies-of-different-genres-i-would-love-to-not-be/) [Jason Winer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winer/) > [There are certain tenets set in place for all different types on genres. For thrillers, women usually die first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-aselton/there-are-certain-tenets-set-in-place-for-all-different-types-on/) [Katie Aselton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-aselton/) > [I love all kinds of movies. I love a really good comedy and not the cheesy ones. My parents hate this, but I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liana-liberato/i-love-all-kinds-of-movies-i-love-a-really-good-comedy-and-not-the/) [Liana Liberato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liana-liberato/) > [Eventually I would like to touch all the genres. I would like to do some detective stories, and I want to do a Western.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-aragones/eventually-i-would-like-to-touch-all-the-genres-i-would-like-to-do/) [Sergio Aragones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-aragones/) > [I have the death sentence in seven genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/i-have-the-death-sentence-in-seven-genres/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [What genres are good for is being like, 'Here are the parameters. Here's something about the way it's going to make you feel. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/what-genres-are-good-for-is-being-like-here-are-the-parameters-here-s/) [David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/) > [Playing with different genres and perspectives and ways of telling stories is one of the perks of being a novelist, but at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linn-ullmann/playing-with-different-genres-and-perspectives-and-ways-of-telling/) Linn Ullmann > [Music is there for us to explore. To intentionally limit yourself to one, two, or three genres is limitation at its worst. Music is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-anselmo/music-is-there-for-us-to-explore-to-intentionally-limit-yourself-to/) [Phil Anselmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-anselmo/) > [I'm not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-a-fan-of-any-genre-but-am-a-fan-of-movies-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/the-great-thing-about-the-arts-and-especially-popular-music-is-that/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) ## More by Chris Thile > [A cocktail and an oyster is an awfully good thing after a park, especially one close to water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/a-cocktail-and-an-oyster-is-an-awfully-good-thing-after-a-park/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I think people react so strongly to hearing the human voice, you can't give them too much of it or else they want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-think-people-react-so-strongly-to-hearing-the-human-voice-you-can-t/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I'm always going to need to play in front of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-m-always-going-to-need-to-play-in-front-of-people/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I love music so much. It's like the one thing I'm good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-love-music-so-much-it-s-like-the-one-thing-i-m-good-at/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Like a sporting event, live events are the one thing you can't have anytime you want them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/like-a-sporting-event-live-events-are-the-one-thing-you-can-t-have/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Musicians and non-musicians alike are priding themselves on the width and breadth of their musical interests, which I think is to be encouraged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/musicians-and-non-musicians-alike-are-priding-themselves-on-the-width/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [There's a lot of steps between there not being music and there being music. Composition is one part of that, but if no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/there-s-a-lot-of-steps-between-there-not-being-music-and-there-being/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [The fact that I'm a fifth of Punch Brothers... that's lucky for me because I feel like I get to operate in the context…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/the-fact-that-i-m-a-fifth-of-punch-brothers-that-s-lucky-for-me/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It seems like if they'd given Bob Dylan a pen and paper in the cradle that he would've come up with a great song.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-seems-like-if-they-d-given-bob-dylan-a-pen-and-paper-in-the-cradle/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Improvising is writing, too - there was no music and now there's music. So that's composition. And any time you take any sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/improvising-is-writing-too-there-was-no-music-and-now-there-s-music/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It's very hard to make grand, romantic gestures on a mandolin, and there are times, particularly when playing Bach, that you long for just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-s-very-hard-to-make-grand-romantic-gestures-on-a-mandolin-and/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Everything in our lives is encouraging us to turn inward with all the technology that we have available to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/everything-in-our-lives-is-encouraging-us-to-turn-inward-with-all-the/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [Improvisation is an important part of bluegrass, and I would hasten to add that classical music wasn't always such an improvisational void. Back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/improvisation-is-an-important-part-of-bluegrass-and-i-would-hasten-to/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [It was kind of sort of the heavens opened up and I realized that Bach, at least, you know - out of all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/it-was-kind-of-sort-of-the-heavens-opened-up-and-i-realized-that-bach/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) > [I think that we'll see the concept of 'genre' continue to die a slow and painful death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-thile/i-think-that-we-ll-see-the-concept-of-genre-continue-to-die-a-slow/) [Chris Thile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) [Explore all 115 Chris Thile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-thile/) ## 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": "If you're sitting there going, 'Well, these particular genres are the only genres I like,' that's like saying, 'I only like books with this particular kind of cover.' Because that's all genre is. 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