--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We did not have a television while I was…" description: "\"We did not have a television while I was growing up, and so I read voraciously. My earliest memory of being utterly transfixed by a book was Madeleine ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/dan-brown-203_book_we-did-not-have-a-television-while-i-was_48015.jpg" --- # We did not have a television while I was growing up, and… ![“We did not have a television while I was growing up, and so I read voraciously. My earliest memory of being utterly transfixed by a book was Madeleine L'Engle's 'A Wrinkle in Time.'” quote by Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/dan-brown-203_book_we-did-not-have-a-television-while-i-was_48015.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/dan-brown-203_book_we-did-not-have-a-television-while-i-was_48015.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e64/dan-brown-203_book_we-did-not-have-a-television-while-i-was_48015.jpg) > “We did not have a television while I was growing up, and so I read voraciously. My earliest memory of being utterly transfixed by a book was Madeleine L'Engle's 'A Wrinkle in Time.'” [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker attributes a love of reading to the absence of TV, recalling a formative experience with a classic sci‑fi novel. **In simple terms:** Reading shaped by lack of TV Key Takeaway Early media scarcity can spark deep literary engagement Themes nostalgia literary influence media consumption imagination personal growth Mood reflective inspired Type personal anecdote literary reflection When to use this quote - discussing reading habits - exploring media influence on development - teaching about classic literature Key Concepts impact of technology on reading childhood experiences genre fascination Practical Applications - encouraging kids to read more - using personal anecdotes in literacy advocacy Questions to Reflect On - How might limited screen time affect creativity? - What books have defined your early imagination? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing-up/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wrinkle in time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrinkle-in-time/) ## Related quotes > [Do you remember A Wrinkle in Time? It's a good one example. I think the character's name is Meg. I just remember she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-fine-frenzy/do-you-remember-a-wrinkle-in-time-it-s-a-good-one-example-i-think-the/) [A Fine Frenzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-fine-frenzy/) > [One of my favorite stories growing up was A Wrinkle in Time. I loved that book. I still remember the image, so strongly, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/one-of-my-favorite-stories-growing-up-was-a-wrinkle-in-time-i-loved-2/) [Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/) > [“Un asno viejo sabe mas que un potro. (An old ass knows more than an old colt.)-A Wrinkle in Time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/un-asno-viejo-sabe-mas-que-un-potro-an-old-ass-knows-more-than-an-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of my favorite stories growing up was 'A Wrinkle in Time'. I loved that book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/one-of-my-favorite-stories-growing-up-was-a-wrinkle-in-time-i-loved/) [Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/) > [A WRINKLE IN TIME is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read it so often, I know it by heart. Meg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/a-wrinkle-in-time-is-one-of-my-favorite-books-of-all-time-i-ve-read/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [I didn't look at the previous 'A Wrinkle in Time' movie. I wrote ideas down from the book, but I didn't really want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-reid/i-didn-t-look-at-the-previous-a-wrinkle-in-time-movie-i-wrote-ideas/) [Storm Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-reid/) > [I was shocked that I even got the opportunity to audition for 'A Wrinkle in Time.' Meg Murry is a Caucasian girl in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/storm-reid/i-was-shocked-that-i-even-got-the-opportunity-to-audition-for-a/) [Storm Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/storm-reid/) > [“Ab honesto virum bonum nihil deterret. (Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honorable.)-A Wrinkle in Time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-annaeus-seneca/ab-honesto-virum-bonum-nihil-deterret-nothing-deters-a-good-man-from/) [Lucius Annaeus Seneca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-annaeus-seneca/) > ['A Wrinkle in Time' was almost never published. You can't name a major publisher who didn't reject it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/a-wrinkle-in-time-was-almost-never-published-you-can-t-name-a-major/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [“Fans of the Peanuts comic strip may also remember Snoopy beginning his novel again and again, always starting with the line 'It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-beha/fans-of-the-peanuts-comic-strip-may-also-remember-snoopy-beginning/) [Christopher Beha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-beha/) > [Speculative fiction is where my heart lies. It's what I read growing up, and it's what I read as an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/speculative-fiction-is-where-my-heart-lies-it-s-what-i-read-growing/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [When I was growing up, I had to read for 30 minutes a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-hayward/when-i-was-growing-up-i-had-to-read-for-30-minutes-a-day/) [Gordon Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-hayward/) > [ “...my grandmother \[Madeleine L'Engle\] would get very annoyed when anyone would talk about 'the power of love.' Love, she insisted, is not power, which… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-jones-voiklis/my-grandmother-madeleine-l-engle-would-get-very-annoyed-when-anyone/) Charlotte Jones Voiklis > [“It's like Madeleine L'Engle says. We are made up of all our ages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-devenish-ford/it-s-like-madeleine-l-engle-says-we-are-made-up-of-all-our-ages/) Rachel Devenish Ford > [“Those who believe they believe in God but without passion in the heart, without anguish of mind, without uncertainty, without doubt, and even at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg-jr/those-who-believe-they-believe-in-god-but-without-passion-in-the/) [John Ortberg Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg-jr/) ## More by Dan Brown > [The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics becomes metaphysics and numbers become imaginary numbers. The farther you go into science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-more-science-i-studied-the-more-i-saw-that-physics-becomes/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [A little faith can do wonders...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/a-little-faith-can-do-wonders/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [For me, the spiritual quest will be a life-long work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/for-me-the-spiritual-quest-will-be-a-life-long-work-in-progress/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-tiny-shift-of-perspective-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The price of greatness...is responsibility - Winston Churchill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-price-of-greatness-is-responsibility-winston-churchill/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Robert,” Ambra whispered, “just remember the wise words of Disney’s Princess Elsa.” Langdon turned. “I’m sorry?” Ambra smiled softly. “Let it go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/robert-ambra-whispered-just-remember-the-wise-words-of-disney-s/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“¿Tienes enemigos? Bien. ¡Eso significa que has defendido algo!”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/tienes-enemigos-bien-eso-significa-que-has-defendido-algo/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Who will guard the guards ? If we're the guards of society, then who will watch us and make sure that we're not dangerous?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/who-will-guard-the-guards-if-we-re-the-guards-of-society-then-who/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Dante's poem, Langdon was now reminded, was not so much about the misery of hell as it was about the power of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/dante-s-poem-langdon-was-now-reminded-was-not-so-much-about-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [It's kind of a catch-22 now because since the 'Da Vinci Code,' I have access to places and people that I didn't have access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/it-s-kind-of-a-catch-22-now-because-since-the-da-vinci-code-i-have/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The man was no stranger to deception, and yet his heart was pounding wildly now. He took another deep, throbbing breath. You've been deceiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-man-was-no-stranger-to-deception-and-yet-his-heart-was-pounding/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“the entire operating system of the cosmos could be summed up by a single overriding command: spread energy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-entire-operating-system-of-the-cosmos-could-be-summed-up-by-a/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“When a computer creates art, who is the artist—the computer or the programmer? At MIT, a recent exhibit of highly accomplished algorithmic art had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/when-a-computer-creates-art-who-is-the-artist-the-computer-or-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) [Explore all 833 Dan Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We did not have a television while I was growing up, and so I read voraciously. 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