--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a period when I lived on book…" description: "\"“There was a period when I lived on book reviews, when I had basked and drawn sustenance from what I deemed the light of their intelligence, the benefi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/frederick-exley-33559_books_there-was-a-period-when-i-lived-on-book_1062855.jpg" --- # There was a period when I lived on book reviews, when I… ![“There was a period when I lived on book reviews, when I had basked and drawn sustenance from what I deemed the light of their intelligence, the beneficience of their charm. But something had gone sour. Over the years I had read too much, in dim-lighted railway stations, lying on the davenports of…” quote by Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/frederick-exley-33559_books_there-was-a-period-when-i-lived-on-book_1062855.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/frederick-exley-33559_books_there-was-a-period-when-i-lived-on-book_1062855.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/frederick-exley-33559_books_there-was-a-period-when-i-lived-on-book_1062855.jpg) > ““There was a period when I lived on book reviews, when I had basked and drawn sustenance from what I deemed the light of their intelligence, the beneficience of their charm. But something had gone sour. Over the years I had read too much, in dim-lighted railway stations, lying on the davenports of strangers' houses, in the bleak and dismal wards of insane asylums. That reading had forced the charm to relinquish itself. Now I found that reviews were not only bland but scarcely, if ever, relevant; and that all books, whether works of imagination or the blatant frauds of literary whores, were approached by the reviewer with the same crushing sobriety. I wanted to reviewer to be fair, kind, and funny. I wanted to be made to laugh.”” [Frederick Exley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-exley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on how excessive, detached reading of reviews drained their vitality, making criticism bland and overly sober, and longs for humor and kindness in literary critique. **In simple terms:** Too many reviews made criticism dull; desire humor and kindness. Key Takeaway Seek balance, inject humor into critique. Themes literary criticism humor authenticity balance creativity Mood reflective melancholic hopeful Type observational philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - writing process - literary analysis Key Concepts critical fatigue intellectual saturation artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How can reviewers stay fresh and humane? - What role does humor play in criticism? A Different Perspective Reviews can become formulaic and lose relevance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approached Reviewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approached-reviewer-2605767/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Frauds Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frauds-literary-2605766/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reviewer Crushing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviewer-crushing-2605768/) [Reviews Basked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviews-basked-2605764/) [Reviews Bland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviews-bland-2605765/) ## Related quotes > [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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