--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You really ought to read more books - you…" description: "\"You really ought to read more books - you know, those things that look like blocks but come apart on one side.\" — F. Scott Fitzgerald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_block_you-really-ought-to-read-more-books-you_2777051.jpg" --- # You really ought to read more books - you know, those… ![“You really ought to read more books - you know, those things that look like blocks but come apart on one side.” quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_block_you-really-ought-to-read-more-books-you_2777051.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_block_you-really-ought-to-read-more-books-you_2777051.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f63/f-scott-fitzgerald-72_block_you-really-ought-to-read-more-books-you_2777051.jpg) > “You really ought to read more books - you know, those things that look like blocks but come apart on one side.” [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading books expands understanding; they appear solid but reveal layers when examined. **In simple terms:** Books are layered knowledge. Key Takeaway Read actively and dissect ideas. Themes reading knowledge learning analysis depth literature Mood curious inspired Type literary educational When to use this quote - education - self‑improvement - book clubs - academic study Key Concepts critical reading interpretive skills intellectual growth Questions to Reflect On - What hidden ideas have you uncovered in a book? - How does active reading change perception? A Different Perspective Surface reading misses deeper insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block/) [Blocks Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blocks-come-3282772/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Come Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come-apart-861330/) [Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Like Blocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-blocks-3282771/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Ought Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought-read-1374634/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Things Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-look/) ## Related quotes > [Some books are serials, not to be mistaken for anything else. 'The Two Towers,' for example, ought never to be read in isolation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/some-books-are-serials-not-to-be-mistaken-for-anything-else-the-two/) [Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/) > [I hope that you have re-read the Constitution of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/i-hope-that-you-have-re-read-the-constitution-of-the-united-states-in/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“So -- I confess I have been a rake at reading. I have read those things which I ought not to have read, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/so-i-confess-i-have-been-a-rake-at-reading-i-have-read-those-things/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [ \[Examiners\] spend their lives in discovering which pages of a text-book a man ought to read and which will not be likely to 'pay'. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tait/examiners-spend-their-lives-in-discovering-which-pages-of-a-text-book/) [Peter Tait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tait/) > [“Now and then I am asked as to "what books a statesman should read," and my answer is, poetry and novels—including short stories under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/now-and-then-i-am-asked-as-to-what-books-a-statesman-should-read-and-2/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn't shake us awake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-2/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/nobody-i-think-ought-to-read-poetry-or-look-at-pictures-or-statues-2/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I hate the idea that you ought to read the whole of anybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-hate-the-idea-that-you-ought-to-read-the-whole-of-anybody/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“Nobody, I think, ought to read poetry, or look at pictures or statues, who cannot find a great deal more in them than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/nobody-i-think-ought-to-read-poetry-or-look-at-pictures-or-statues/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn't wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-the-kind-of-books-that-wound-and-stab/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [A man ought to read just as inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-man-ought-to-read-just-as-inclination-leads-him-for-what-he-reads/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“That's good,' she said, 'you go on like that, reading books. I'll make you a list myself of the books you ought to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/that-s-good-she-said-you-go-on-like-that-reading-books-i-ll-make-you/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn’t shake us awake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“What then? Are we only to buy the books that we read? The question has merely to be thus bluntly put, and it answers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/what-then-are-we-only-to-buy-the-books-that-we-read-the-question-has/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) > [In the main, there are two sorts of books: those that no one reads and those that no one ought to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/in-the-main-there-are-two-sorts-of-books-those-that-no-one-reads-and/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) ## More by F. Scott Fitzgerald > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms upstairs more beautiful and cool than other bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/there-was-a-ripe-mystery-about-it-a-hint-of-bedrooms-upstairs-more/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I want you to take a red-hot bath as hot as you can bear it, and just relax your nerves. You can read in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-want-you-to-take-a-red-hot-bath-as-hot-as-you-can-bear-it-and-just/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Tireless passion, fierce jealousy, longing to possess and crush-these alone were left of all his love for Rosalind; these remained to him as payment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/tireless-passion-fierce-jealousy-longing-to-possess-and-crush-these/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I found something! Courage--just that; courage as a rule of life and something to cling to always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-found-something-courage-just-that-courage-as-a-rule-of-life-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Life is a series of successful gestures...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/life-is-a-series-of-successful-gestures/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“Another dawn flung itself across the river; a belated taxi hurried along the street, its lamps still shining like burning eyes in a face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/another-dawn-flung-itself-across-the-river-a-belated-taxi-hurried/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“She plucked a twig and broke it, but she found no spring in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/she-plucked-a-twig-and-broke-it-but-she-found-no-spring-in-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“I'm one of those people who go through the world giving other people thrills but getting few myself except those I read into men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/i-m-one-of-those-people-who-go-through-the-world-giving-other-people/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [The Montana sunset lay between the mountains like a giant bruise from which darkened arteries spread across a poisoned sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-montana-sunset-lay-between-the-mountains-like-a-giant-bruise-from/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“You loved me too?" he repeated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/you-loved-me-too-he-repeated/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“He was good looking, "sort of distinguished when he wants to be", had a line, and was properly inconstant. In fact, he summed up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/he-was-good-looking-sort-of-distinguished-when-he-wants-to-be-had-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [What are you going to do? "Can't say - run for president, write -" "Greenwich Village?" "Good heavens, no - I said write -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-are-you-going-to-do-can-t-say-run-for-president-write-greenwich/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“The latter was considered a good fellow and a fine leader, until a year later, when he disappeared with a mess fund of eleven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/the-latter-was-considered-a-good-fellow-and-a-fine-leader-until-a/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [“It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And then one fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/it-eluded-us-then-but-that-s-no-matter-tomorrow-we-will-run-faster/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Explore all 1,568 F. Scott Fitzgerald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More Block quotes > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character. 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It's the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/styles-p/i-mean-family-is-more-important-than-anything-in-life-family-is/) [Styles P](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/styles-p/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [One of those blocks (that prevent the 'Middle East from entering the mainstream of modernity') is the orthodox tenet that the Koran and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-beichman/one-of-those-blocks-that-prevent-the-middle-east-from-entering-the/) [Arnold Beichman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-beichman/) > [The family is the building block for whatever solidarity there is in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ruckelshaus/the-family-is-the-building-block-for-whatever-solidarity-there-is-in/) [William Ruckelshaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ruckelshaus/) > [New York is so serious about the creation of work. 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It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I think you can train yourself to block out some of that pressure and replace it with confidence. It's about preparation, and the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rodgers/i-think-you-can-train-yourself-to-block-out-some-of-that-pressure-and/) [Aaron Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rodgers/) > [Writer's block? I've never heard of a plumber complain about plumber's block.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-parker/writer-s-block-i-ve-never-heard-of-a-plumber-complain-about-plumber-s/) [Robert B. Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-parker/) [Browse all 1,755 Block quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/block/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You really ought to read more books - you know, those things that look like blocks but come apart on one side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "F. 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