--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to read a book at the right time…" description: "\"“You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for it is the key to the enjoyment of literatur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png" --- # You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I… ![“You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for it is the key to the enjoyment of literature.” quote by Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png) > ““You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for it is the key to the enjoyment of literature.”” [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading the right book at the right moment unlocks true literary enjoyment. **In simple terms:** Timing matters for reading pleasure. Key Takeaway Choose books that match your current life stage. Themes reading timing literature personal growth Mood thoughtful curious Type advisory reflective When to use this quote - Choosing a novel during a life transition - selecting a textbook for a course - finding comfort in poetry after a loss Key Concepts Literary appreciation psychology of reading cognitive resonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when a book is right for you? - What signals indicate a book will resonate now? A Different Perspective If the book is poorly written, timing alone won’t help. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reading books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-books/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Don't read a book out of its right time for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/don-t-read-a-book-out-of-its-right-time-for-you/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Read a book at the right age and it will stay with you for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/read-a-book-at-the-right-age-and-it-will-stay-with-you-for-life/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“Choosing a book is so gratifying, it’s worth dragging out the process, starting even before finishing the current one. As the final chapters approach,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-paul/choosing-a-book-is-so-gratifying-it-s-worth-dragging-out-the-process/) [Pamela Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-paul/) > [There is only one way to read, which is to browse in libraries and bookshops, picking up books that attract you, reading only those,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-way-to-read-which-is-to-browse-in-libraries-and-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“Enjoyment of literature is achieved only by reading without expectation but with anticipation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcdonald/enjoyment-of-literature-is-achieved-only-by-reading-without/) [David McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcdonald/) > [“Don't read a book to let the time pass...let the time pass to read a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholaa-spencer/don-t-read-a-book-to-let-the-time-pass-let-the-time-pass-to-read-a/) [Nicholaa Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholaa-spencer/) > [I find reading books about music is sometimes tricky, because you can't hear it. But when you read a book about filmmaking, it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bear-mccreary/i-find-reading-books-about-music-is-sometimes-tricky-because-you-can/) [Bear McCreary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bear-mccreary/) > [“All I wanted to do was go back inside to the library and read a book.I used to spend all my time reading books,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-magendie/all-i-wanted-to-do-was-go-back-inside-to-the-library-and-read-a-book/) Kathryn Magendie > [“The right book at the right time, may mean more in a persone's life than anything else”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-shippey/the-right-book-at-the-right-time-may-mean-more-in-a-persone-s-life/) Lee shippey > [Remember that the book which bores you when you are twenty or thirty will open doors for you when you are forty or fifty-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/remember-that-the-book-which-bores-you-when-you-are-twenty-or-thirty-2/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Usually when I'm on a plane, I try to enjoy the fact that I have to be still for eight hours and read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiel-huisman/usually-when-i-m-on-a-plane-i-try-to-enjoy-the-fact-that-i-have-to-be/) [Michiel Huisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiel-huisman/) > [Free time is a terrible thing to waste. Read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri-2/free-time-is-a-terrible-thing-to-waste-read-a-book/) E. A. Bucchianeri > [“When you read a book, you don't give up on it. You might soon feel like your part of the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/when-you-read-a-book-you-don-t-give-up-on-it-you-might-soon-feel-like/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence, but imagining the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-kodaly/we-should-read-music-in-the-same-way-that-an-educated-adult-will-read/) [Zoltan Kodaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-kodaly/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More by Doris Lessing > [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/) > [“In the morning, when she wishes me to wake, she crouches on my chest, and pats my face with her paw. Or, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/in-the-morning-when-she-wishes-me-to-wake-she-crouches-on-my-chest/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [You know, whenever women make imaginary female kingdoms in literature, they are always very permissive, to use the jargon word, and easy and generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-know-whenever-women-make-imaginary-female-kingdoms-in-literature/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [There is only one real sin and that is to persuade oneself that the second best is anything but second best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/there-is-only-one-real-sin-and-that-is-to-persuade-oneself-that-the/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“She was using the water as she had used the fruit earlier—to calm herself, to assure herself of the possibility of normality. Yet all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/she-was-using-the-water-as-she-had-used-the-fruit-earlier-to-calm/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I remember World War II when there were very few books, very little paper available. For me to walk into a shop or look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-remember-world-war-ii-when-there-were-very-few-books-very-little/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [They can't give a Nobel to someone who's dead so I think they were probably thinking they had better give it to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/they-can-t-give-a-nobel-to-someone-who-s-dead-so-i-think-they-were/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“While she strode rapidly through the ward to the door at the other end, she was able to see that every bed or cot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/while-she-strode-rapidly-through-the-ward-to-the-door-at-the-other/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I do not think that marriage is one of my talents. I've been much happier unmarried than married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-do-not-think-that-marriage-is-one-of-my-talents-i-ve-been-much/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [I haven't got the energy to write now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/i-haven-t-got-the-energy-to-write-now/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What really fascinates me is this need that is so strong now that if you read a work of the imagination you instantly have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-really-fascinates-me-is-this-need-that-is-so-strong-now-that-if/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“The charge that the United Nations are using bacteriological warfare in Korea cannot be dismissed merely because it would be insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-charge-that-the-united-nations-are-using-bacteriological-warfare/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [What I did have, which others perhaps didn't, was a capacity for sticking at it, which really is the point, not the talent at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/what-i-did-have-which-others-perhaps-didn-t-was-a-capacity-for/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The human community is evolving... . We can survive anything you care to mention. We are supremely equipped to survive, to adapt and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/the-human-community-is-evolving-we-can-survive-anything-you-care-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [So love is rest? The cosy corner? The little nook? Sometimes it ought to be. Sometimes it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/so-love-is-rest-the-cosy-corner-the-little-nook-sometimes-it-ought-to/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) [Explore all 508 Doris Lessing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) ## 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! 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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": "“You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for it is the key to the enjoyment of literature.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Doris Lessing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-time-for-you-and-i-am-sure-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-time-for-you-and-i-am-sure-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/299/doris-lessing-501_book_you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-tim_497152.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You have to read a book at the right time for you, and I am sure this cannot be insisted on too often, for…” — Doris Lessing", "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": "Doris Lessing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You have to read a book...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-time-for-you-and-i-am-sure-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/you-have-to-read-a-book-at-the-right-time-for-you-and-i-am-sure-this/#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 } } ] } ```