--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No fiction is worth reading except for…" description: "\"No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of readi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_best-literature_no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-e_1565943.png" --- # No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If… ![“No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature.” quote by Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_best-literature_no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-e_1565943.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_best-literature_no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-e_1565943.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/edgar-rice-burroughs-2892_best-literature_no-fiction-is-worth-reading-except-for-e_1565943.png) > “No fiction is worth reading except for entertainment. If it entertains and is clean, it is good literature, or its kind. If it forms the habit of reading, in people who might not read otherwise, it is the best literature.” [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature should primarily entertain and be wholesome; if it encourages reading in reluctant readers, it attains its highest value. **In simple terms:** Good literature entertains, is clean, and promotes reading habits. Key Takeaway Prioritize enjoyable, wholesome books to foster reading. Themes entertainment morality reading habits literary value Mood joyful thoughtful Type advice observational When to use this quote - teaching children to read - library programs - book clubs - personal reading goals Key Concepts genre theory habit formation educational impact Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance entertainment with literary depth? - What makes a book both fun and morally uplifting? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper artistic merit in favor of amusement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-literature/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Entertainment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainment/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-worth-5777951/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Good literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-literature/) [Habit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habit/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Worth reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worth-reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Reading good literature is not so different then taking good drugs, do it enough and it will certainly alter your mind. 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I call it our 'sacred book.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-the-blues-is-the-best-literature-that-we-as-blacks-have/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [All the world's a stage, and all the men and women mearly players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-the-world-s-a-stage-and-all-the-men-and-women-mearly-players/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-my-younger-and-more-vulnerable-years-my-father-gave-me-some-advice-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [My greatest influence has been the blues. 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Facts contain a great deal of poetry, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-don-t-know-anything-that-mars-a-good-literature-so-completely-as/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Edgar Rice Burroughs > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“If man spoke only when he had something worth while to say and said that as quickly as possible, ninety-eight per cent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/if-man-spoke-only-when-he-had-something-worth-while-to-say-and-said/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [For a time Jack was angry; but when he had been without the jacket for a short while he began to realize that being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/for-a-time-jack-was-angry-but-when-he-had-been-without-the-jacket-for/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [Even brave men, and D'Arnot was a brave man, are sometimes frightened by solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/even-brave-men-and-d-arnot-was-a-brave-man-are-sometimes-frightened/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“I am a very old man. 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Civilization held nothing like this in its narrow and circumscribed sphere, hemmed in by restrictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/this-was-life-ah-how-he-loved-it-civilization-held-nothing-like-this/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“The path of the mighty beast was guided telepathically by the two people who sat in a huge saddle that was cinched to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/the-path-of-the-mighty-beast-was-guided-telepathically-by-the-two/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“The whole fabric of our religion is based on superstitious belief in lies that have been foisted upon us for ages by those directly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/the-whole-fabric-of-our-religion-is-based-on-superstitious-belief-in/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“There was but a single forlorn hope, and I took it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/there-was-but-a-single-forlorn-hope-and-i-took-it/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“A thousand times rather face the wild hordes of the dead sea bottoms than meet the eyes of this beautiful young girl and tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/a-thousand-times-rather-face-the-wild-hordes-of-the-dead-sea-bottoms/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“P33- the wail of the living had answered the call of universal motherhood within her wild beast which the dead could not still.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/p33-the-wail-of-the-living-had-answered-the-call-of-universal/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [It never seems to occur to some people, that, like beauty, a sense of humor may sometimes be fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-never-seems-to-occur-to-some-people-that-like-beauty-a-sense-of/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [“He was a splendid specimen of manhood, standing a good two inches over six feet, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/he-was-a-splendid-specimen-of-manhood-standing-a-good-two-inches-over/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) [Explore all 140 Edgar Rice Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) ## More Best literature quotes > [ The best literature is always a take \[in the musical sense\]; there is an implicit risk in its execution, a margin of danger that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-best-literature-is-always-a-take-in-the-musical-sense-there-is-an/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Because the only people for me are the mad ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/because-the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' but that ain't no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-don-t-know-about-me-without-you-have-read-a-book-by-the-name-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Everything that is printed and bound in a book contains some echo at least of the best that is in literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/everything-that-is-printed-and-bound-in-a-book-contains-some-echo-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-only-people-for-me-are-the-mad-ones-the-ones-who-are-mad-to-live-3/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/in-my-younger-and-more-vulnerable-years-my-father-gave-me-some-advice-2/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Reading good literature is not so different then taking good drugs, do it enough and it will certainly alter your mind. The drugs can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/reading-good-literature-is-not-so-different-then-taking-good-drugs-do/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [All the world's a stage, and all the men and women mearly players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/all-the-world-s-a-stage-and-all-the-men-and-women-mearly-players/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I think the blues is the best literature that we as blacks have created since we've been here. 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