--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If everyone could learn how to read books…" description: "\"“If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how to use them as effective tools for daily living, the facilities of colleges could easily go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg" --- # If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how… ![“If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how to use them as effective tools for daily living, the facilities of colleges could easily go out of existence without any loss to society.' -From a speech by the president of Mount Holyoke College, as reported in the Philadelphia Public…” quote by Francis Beauchesne Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg) > ““If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how to use them as effective tools for daily living, the facilities of colleges could easily go out of existence without any loss to society.' -From a speech by the president of Mount Holyoke College, as reported in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, May 13, 1938”” [Francis Beauchesne Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If everyone could read and use books effectively, colleges might become unnecessary without harming society. **In simple terms:** Effective reading could reduce need for colleges. Key Takeaway Promote critical reading skills. Themes education reading technology societal change efficiency Mood optimistic thoughtful Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - library programs - online courses - self‑directed learning - public workshops Key Concepts Pedagogy information literacy democratization of knowledge Questions to Reflect On - What functions do colleges serve beyond teaching? - How can we preserve community in self‑learning? A Different Perspective The quote underestimates the social role of colleges beyond knowledge transmission. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Properly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-properly-2000347/) [Books-reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-reading/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Colleges Easily](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colleges-easily-2000350/) [Critical thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critical-thinking/) [Daily living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-living/) [Holyoke College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holyoke-college-2000348/) [Learn Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-read/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-books/) [Society Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-speech-2000349/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [University](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/university/) ## Related quotes > [I will take classes in Kannada and will learn to read and write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-thukral/i-will-take-classes-in-kannada-and-will-learn-to-read-and-write-it/) [Nikita Thukral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-thukral/) > [“You learn to read so you can identify the reality in which you live, so that you can become a protagonist history rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/you-learn-to-read-so-you-can-identify-the-reality-in-which-you-live/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [“When I started to learn how to read, I discovered the same kind of power. I could create an environment that I didn't have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-richie/when-i-started-to-learn-how-to-read-i-discovered-the-same-kind-of/) [Donald Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-richie/) > [“To enjoy and learn from what you read you must understand the meanings of the words a writer uses. You do yourself a grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-harrington-elster/to-enjoy-and-learn-from-what-you-read-you-must-understand-the/) [Charles Harrington Elster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-harrington-elster/) > [“You’ve grown tired of your four-year-old pointing to words and asking, “What does this say?” Apparently it’s not okay to respond to them with,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/you-ve-grown-tired-of-your-four-year-old-pointing-to-words-and-asking/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [You have to learn to read between the lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hightower/you-have-to-learn-to-read-between-the-lies/) [Jim Hightower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hightower/) > [You are at some point exposed to a wonderful story, and you really want to know what happens next, so you learn to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/you-are-at-some-point-exposed-to-a-wonderful-story-and-you-really/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [We are cyborgs already. If you learn to read, it causes permanent changes to the structure of your brain for your entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-are-cyborgs-already-if-you-learn-to-read-it-causes-permanent/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [I'm trying to learn how to read. I have a tutor out on the road. It is great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lanegan/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-read-i-have-a-tutor-out-on-the-road-it-is/) [Mark Lanegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lanegan/) > [If all our children learn to do is read, they will not be literate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-warlick/if-all-our-children-learn-to-do-is-read-they-will-not-be-literate/) [David Warlick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-warlick/) > [Reading, at the deepest level, is a physical experience. Most people are not attuned to this, most people don't learn how to read -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/reading-at-the-deepest-level-is-a-physical-experience-most-people-are/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/a-good-book-can-teach-you-about-the-world-and-about-yourself-you/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [The dear good people don't know how long it takes to learn to read. I've been at it eighty years, and can't say yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-dear-good-people-don-t-know-how-long-it-takes-to-learn-to-read-i/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The more that learn to read the less learn how to make a living. That's one thing about a little education. It spoils you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-more-that-learn-to-read-the-less-learn-how-to-make-a-living-that/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I had the fortune or misfortune to learn how to read fluently starting at the age of three. So I had read maybe 150…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-kay/i-had-the-fortune-or-misfortune-to-learn-how-to-read-fluently/) [Alan Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-kay/) ## More by Francis Beauchesne Thornton > [“Truth, an objective thing, is usually conceived of as something simple. Quite the opposite is correct: truth is enormously complicated; it calls for effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/truth-an-objective-thing-is-usually-conceived-of-as-something-simple/) [Francis Beauchesne Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/) > [“Poetry was not meant to be a workhorse; it was not designed to paint pretty moral pictures of life; it was not brought into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/poetry-was-not-meant-to-be-a-workhorse-it-was-not-designed-to-paint/) [Francis Beauchesne Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/) > [“The modern world has forgotten the necessity of encouraging men to be better. They speak of sick men or healthy men, of interesting people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/the-modern-world-has-forgotten-the-necessity-of-encouraging-men-to-be/) [Francis Beauchesne Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/) [Explore all 4 Francis Beauchesne Thornton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/) ## More Book reading quotes > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“For the last five centuries, ever since Gutenberg's printing press made book reading a popular pursuit, the linear, literary mind has been at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/for-the-last-five-centuries-ever-since-gutenberg-s-printing-press/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [I don't care if a reader hates one of my stories, just as long as he finishes the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-care-if-a-reader-hates-one-of-my-stories-just-as-long-as-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [I'm kind of old-school and love nothing more than sitting, opening a book, and reading it. But I also love listening to audio books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-m-kind-of-old-school-and-love-nothing-more-than-sitting-opening-a/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [There was no answer, no solution, no sop, no deliverance. What, then, did I do? I read faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-rosten/there-was-no-answer-no-solution-no-sop-no-deliverance-what-then-did-i/) [Leo Rosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-rosten/) > [More than 3,500 hardcover novels are published each year. Even the most avid reader buys fewer than one a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-rose/more-than-3-500-hardcover-novels-are-published-each-year-even-the/) [M.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-rose/) > [In five minutes the earth would be a desert, and you cling to books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/in-five-minutes-the-earth-would-be-a-desert-and-you-cling-to-books/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [There are two kinds of reading, reading which is contemplation - even a kind of vision & reading for information. For the first only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-butts/there-are-two-kinds-of-reading-reading-which-is-contemplation-even-a/) [Mary Butts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-butts/) > [Books only spoil the originality of genius. Very well for those who can't think for themselves - But when one has made up one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/books-only-spoil-the-originality-of-genius-very-well-for-those-who/) [Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/) > [In reading, one should notice and fondle details.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/in-reading-one-should-notice-and-fondle-details/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Where do I find the time for not reading so many books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/where-do-i-find-the-time-for-not-reading-so-many-books/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-can-t-imagine-a-man-really-enjoying-a-book-and-reading-it-only-once/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 267 Book reading quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how to use them as effective tools for daily living, the facilities of colleges could easily go out of existence without any loss to society.' -From a speech by the president of Mount Holyoke College, as reported in the Philadelphia Public Ledger, May 13, 1938”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Francis Beauchesne Thornton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-books-properly-and-how-to-use/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book reading" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-books-properly-and-how-to-use/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba0/francis-beauchesne-thornton-66_book-reading_if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-book_2607684.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If everyone could learn how to read books properly and how to use them as effective tools for daily living…” — Francis Beauchesne Thornton", "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": "Francis Beauchesne Thornton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-beauchesne-thornton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If everyone could learn how to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-books-properly-and-how-to-use/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-beauchesne-thornton/if-everyone-could-learn-how-to-read-books-properly-and-how-to-use/#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 } } ] } ```