--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Altogether, I think we ought to read only…" description: "\"“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 like a blow to the skull, wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg" --- # Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite… ![“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 like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it?” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg) > ““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 like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it?”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should provoke strong emotional reactions; otherwise it lacks purpose. **In simple terms:** Books should shake you awake. Key Takeaway Seek challenging literature. Themes literature growth provocative reading Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - book clubs - critical essays - personal reflection Key Concepts Aesthetic experience emotional impact Questions to Reflect On - What book has shaken you? - Do you avoid uncomfortable reads? A Different Perspective Some readers prefer comfort over challenge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-reading/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Bite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-bite-1753355/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Ought Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought-read-1374634/) [Read Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-books-250428/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [I believe that we should read only those books that bite and sting us. If a book we are reading does not rouse us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-believe-that-we-should-read-only-those-books-that-bite-and-sting-us/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe that we should only read those books that bite and sting us. If a book does not rouse us with a blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-believe-that-we-should-only-read-those-books-that-bite-and-sting-us/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“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-2/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-the-kind-of-books-that-wound-and-stab-us/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [It's not an accident that successful people read more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/it-s-not-an-accident-that-successful-people-read-more-books/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I read books all the time, I'm always reading. I'm not like somebody that reads really fast or a lot or anything, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-owens/i-read-books-all-the-time-i-m-always-reading-i-m-not-like-somebody/) [Christopher Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-owens/) > [If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read? So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/if-the-book-we-are-reading-does-not-wake-us-as-with-a-fist-hammering-3/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-the-kind-of-books-that-wound-or-stab-us/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/if-the-book-we-re-reading-doesn-t-wake-us-up-with-a-blow-on-the-head/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skull, why then do we read it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/if-the-book-we-are-reading-does-not-wake-us-as-with-a-fist-hammering/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skulls, then why do we read it?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/if-the-book-we-are-reading-does-not-wake-us-as-with-a-fist-hammering-2/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## 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": "“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 like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book reading" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df8/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_1591648.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book we are reading doesn't…” — Franz Kafka", "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": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Altogether, I think we ought to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only-books-that-bite-and-sting-us-2/#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 } } ] } ```