--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dominant question for us with regard…" description: "\"The dominant question for us with regard to literature has become, 'What does this have to do with me, with life as I know it?' That's the question ans..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/elif-batuman-2172_books_the-dominant-question-for-us-with-regard_1273711.jpg" --- # The dominant question for us with regard to literature has… ![“The dominant question for us with regard to literature has become, 'What does this have to do with me, with life as I know it?' That's the question answered by all these books about how Proust was actually a neuroscientist or how Proust can teach you emotional intelligence.” quote by Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/elif-batuman-2172_books_the-dominant-question-for-us-with-regard_1273711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/elif-batuman-2172_books_the-dominant-question-for-us-with-regard_1273711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/774/elif-batuman-2172_books_the-dominant-question-for-us-with-regard_1273711.jpg) > “The dominant question for us with regard to literature has become, 'What does this have to do with me, with life as I know it?' That's the question answered by all these books about how Proust was actually a neuroscientist or how Proust can teach you emotional intelligence.” [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Literature is judged by its relevance to personal experience and everyday life, linking classic works to modern self‑understanding. **In simple terms:** Books matter when they connect to our own lives. Key Takeaway Seek stories that reflect your world. Themes relevance personal growth literature Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - reading for self‑knowledge - teaching empathy - applying classic insights to modern challenges Key Concepts humanism neuroscience emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which books are personally relevant? - What value do abstract works hold? A Different Perspective Not all works can be directly applied to daily life; some remain abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Emotional intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-intelligence/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [What is art is not likely to be decided for decades or longer after the work has been producedand then is often redecidedso we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-condon/what-is-art-is-not-likely-to-be-decided-for-decades-or-longer-after/) [Richard Condon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-condon/) > [“There is a literature that does not reach the voracious mass. 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Literature does the contrary...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/reality-deals-in-specifics-under-the-guise-of-generalities-literature/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The sensuality, delicacy of literature does not exist for me; only the passion, energy and struggle… Most of my friends deplore this: they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-stead/the-sensuality-delicacy-of-literature-does-not-exist-for-me-only-the/) [Christina Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-stead/) > [Any writer worth his salt knows that only a small proportion of literature does nore than partly compensate people for the damage they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-writer-worth-his-salt-knows-that-only-a-small-proportion-of/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Serious literature does not exist to make life easy but to complicate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/serious-literature-does-not-exist-to-make-life-easy-but-to-complicate/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [Writers throughout the ages have one weapon, which is literature, but they also have their responsibilities as a citizen when literature does not seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-throughout-the-ages-have-one-weapon-which-is-literature-but/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Literature does not exist in a vacuum. Writers as such have a definite social function exactly proportional to their ability as writers. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-pound/literature-does-not-exist-in-a-vacuum-writers-as-such-have-a-definite/) [Ezra Pound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-pound/) > [Literature cannot develop between the categories "permitted"—"not permitted"—"this you can and that you can't." Literature that is not the air of its contemporary society,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/literature-cannot-develop-between-the-categories-permitted-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Drama - what literature does at night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/drama-what-literature-does-at-night/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) > [...the tale that's told for no other reason but companionship, which is another (and my favorite) definition of literature, the tale that's told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-tale-that-s-told-for-no-other-reason-but-companionship-which-is/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I soon realized that a student of English literature who does not know the Bible does not understand a good deal of what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/i-soon-realized-that-a-student-of-english-literature-who-does-not/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) ## More by Elif Batuman > [My parents were born into a secular country. They met in Turkey's top medical school, moved to America in the nineteen-seventies, and became researchers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/my-parents-were-born-into-a-secular-country-they-met-in-turkey-s-top/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I leafed through the phrase book. If a Martian read it, the Martian would probably decide to avoid Hungary.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-leafed-through-the-phrase-book-if-a-martian-read-it-the-martian/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [You can't invent something you have no epistemological access to. In a way, it's all recombination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/you-can-t-invent-something-you-have-no-epistemological-access-to-in-a/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Poetry is another space, like love, where we extend that extra credit to the writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/poetry-is-another-space-like-love-where-we-extend-that-extra-credit/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Svetlana said that she identified with that Madonna more than with any other woman in any other painting. She kept asking me what painting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/svetlana-said-that-she-identified-with-that-madonna-more-than-with/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [One of the most painful parts of a breakup is having the feeling that your life is a story, and then the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/one-of-the-most-painful-parts-of-a-breakup-is-having-the-feeling-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Dracula visited the Wolf Department at the Zoological Gardens. "These wolves seem upset at something," he observed. The next morning the cage was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/dracula-visited-the-wolf-department-at-the-zoological-gardens-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I like to think that I know a lot of words, but I definitely don't know all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-like-to-think-that-i-know-a-lot-of-words-but-i-definitely-don-t/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“I don't know if I ended up siding with the academics just because I happened to end up in graduate school, or if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ended-up-siding-with-the-academics-just-because-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [People don't become writers because they love having spontaneous, real-world interactions with living people as bodies with clothes in time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/people-don-t-become-writers-because-they-love-having-spontaneous-real/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“Each work of criticism is supposed to build on the body of work, to increase the total sum of human understanding. It's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/each-work-of-criticism-is-supposed-to-build-on-the-body-of-work-to/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/humor-is-really-important-to-me-all-my-favorite-writers-are-writers-i/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Every time a meteor comes close to the earth, we all think about the end of the world - but our internal soundtrack doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/every-time-a-meteor-comes-close-to-the-earth-we-all-think-about-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I felt grateful to Ataturk that my parents were so well educated, that they weren't held back by superstition or religion, that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/i-felt-grateful-to-ataturk-that-my-parents-were-so-well-educated-that/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [“For a moment it felt like we weren’t in the Danube at all but in the river of time, and everyone was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/for-a-moment-it-felt-like-we-weren-t-in-the-danube-at-all-but-in-the/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) [Explore all 182 Elif Batuman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) ## 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! 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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. 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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": "The dominant question for us with regard to literature has become, 'What does this have to do with me, with life as I know it?' 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