Humor Quote by Elif Batuman
“Humor is really important to me. All my favorite writers are writers I consider to be funny, including Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, even though that's not necessarily their rap.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The New Yorker, 2017
Humor is a key criterion for Batuman when judging literature, even if the author's primary genre isn’t comedic.
In simple terms: She values humor in all writing, regardless of genre.
Key Takeaway
Seek humor in unexpected places.
Themes
literature
humor
personal taste
genre
writing style
Mood
thoughtful
playful
Type
personal
literary
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- creative writing classes
- personal reading lists
Key Concepts
aesthetic appreciation
subjective criteria
Questions to Reflect On
- Do you prioritize humor over other qualities?
- How does humor affect your engagement with a text?
A Different Perspective
Humor may not be the sole measure of literary merit.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
