---
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/45d/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_411046.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? Good God, we’d be just as happy if we had no books at all…” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_411046.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_411046.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45d/franz-kafka-214_books_altogether-i-think-we-ought-to-read-only_411046.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? Good God, we’d be just as happy if we had no books at all; books that make us happy we could, in a pinch, also write ourselves. What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.””

[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.

Kafka argues that literature should provoke deep, painful emotion rather than provide comfort, serving as a catalyst for confronting inner emptiness.

**In simple terms:** Books should shock, not soothe.

Key Takeaway

Seek works that challenge you profoundly.

Themes

literature pain self‑reflection

Mood

intense reflective

Type

philosophical provocative

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- creative writing
- therapy
- philosophical study

Key Concepts

existentialism psychology artistic catharsis

Questions to Reflect On

- What book has truly shaken you?
- How do you handle discomfort from art?

A Different Perspective

Pleasure alone does not justify reading; depth matters more.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

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> [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/)

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[Daniel Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gilbert/)

> [I always thought happiness was a choice and I always chose things that made me happy, and books were one of those.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/i-always-thought-happiness-was-a-choice-and-i-always-chose-things/)

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[Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/)

## 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/)

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> [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/)

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