--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Her father had never bothered with books…" description: "\"“Her father had never bothered with books, but when his daughter sat reading the newspaper at the age of five he wasn’t so stupid that he tried to avoi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg" --- # Her father had never bothered with books, but when his… ![“Her father had never bothered with books, but when his daughter sat reading the newspaper at the age of five he wasn’t so stupid that he tried to avoid doing something about it. “A girl can’t read shit like that: she’ll lose her head,” quote by Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg) > ““Her father had never bothered with books, but when his daughter sat reading the newspaper at the age of five he wasn’t so stupid that he tried to avoid doing something about it. “A girl can’t read shit like that: she’ll lose her head,”” [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A father, despite low literacy, recognizes his daughter's early reading and intervenes, fearing harmful content. **In simple terms:** Father worries about inappropriate reading for his child. Key Takeaway Guide children toward age‑appropriate material while encouraging curiosity. Themes parenting literacy protectiveness Mood concerned thoughtful Type narrative parental When to use this quote - home schooling - library visits - media monitoring Key Concepts early education media influence family values Questions to Reflect On - What criteria define appropriate reading for a child? - How can you balance protection with intellectual freedom? A Different Perspective The fear of “bad” content can limit learning opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) ## Related quotes > [“I was a shy girl, but when I read, I was adventurous. Books made me bolder.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-shy-girl-but-when-i-read-i-was-adventurous-books-made-me/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Give my book The Sixties Girl a read. You'll love it. You'll laugh, cry and find yoursel wanting more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-staat/give-my-book-the-sixties-girl-a-read-you-ll-love-it-you-ll-laugh-cry/) Victoria Staat > [“Top 3 favorite books? I love finding really great children’s books. My daughter was given "Pickle Chiffon Pie" which is so fantastic. We also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbie-schiller/top-3-favorite-books-i-love-finding-really-great-children-s-books-my/) Abbie Schiller > [We've always read to the kids, every night both kids get books. That's really important, and they love books. Our daughter is obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremiah-brent/we-ve-always-read-to-the-kids-every-night-both-kids-get-books-that-s/) [Jeremiah Brent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremiah-brent/) > [Sometimes I'll say, "I wrote that book," and the person will look at you as if you're really strange. One time that happened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/sometimes-i-ll-say-i-wrote-that-book-and-the-person-will-look-at-you/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [That abominable and sensual act called reading the newspaper, thanks to which all the misfortunes and cataclysms in the universe over the last twenty-four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/that-abominable-and-sensual-act-called-reading-the-newspaper-thanks/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Reading someone else's newspaper is like sleeping with someone else's wife. Nothing seems to be precisely in the right place, and when you find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-bradbury/reading-someone-else-s-newspaper-is-like-sleeping-with-someone-else-s/) [Malcolm Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-bradbury/) > [Given how few young people actually read the newspaper, it's a good thing they'll be reading a newspaper on a screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/given-how-few-young-people-actually-read-the-newspaper-it-s-a-good/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I read 'The Washington Post' every day from a very young age. Reading the newspaper taught me how to organize my thoughts on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pelecanos/i-read-the-washington-post-every-day-from-a-very-young-age-reading/) [George Pelecanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pelecanos/) > [I think I have a serious problem---Today I was reading the newspaper and found myself looking for the Like button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/i-think-i-have-a-serious-problem-today-i-was-reading-the-newspaper/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [When you're reading a newspaper and you're seeing ads on the page, it's not kind of invasive. Like, it's on the page next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gross/when-you-re-reading-a-newspaper-and-you-re-seeing-ads-on-the-page-it/) [Terry Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gross/) > [Growing up, I was so sick of politics - it was in the house all the time - I was proud of not reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shabana-azmi/growing-up-i-was-so-sick-of-politics-it-was-in-the-house-all-the-time/) [Shabana Azmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shabana-azmi/) > [When you're a kid, you see your parents reading the newspaper and you're like, 'God, why are they reading the newspaper?' When you're young,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/when-you-re-a-kid-you-see-your-parents-reading-the-newspaper-and-you/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [We always talk about how everyone is unifocal. You can't possibly be interested in jazz and Beethoven. Of course you can. You can't both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/we-always-talk-about-how-everyone-is-unifocal-you-can-t-possibly-be/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Reading a newspaper is as important to me as reading a script. Sitting in a cafe and drinking coffee is as important as going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-kulkarni/reading-a-newspaper-is-as-important-to-me-as-reading-a-script-sitting/) [Atul Kulkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-kulkarni/) ## More by Fredrik Backman > [“So she bowed her head and devoted herself to Beartown’s real traditional sports: shame and silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/so-she-bowed-her-head-and-devoted-herself-to-beartown-s-real/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“If Peter has learned one thing about human nature during all his years in hockey, it’s that almost everyone regards themselves as a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/if-peter-has-learned-one-thing-about-human-nature-during-all-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“That’s what parents often do, I think, we persuade ourselves we’re doing everything for the sake of the child. It’s too painful to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/that-s-what-parents-often-do-i-think-we-persuade-ourselves-we-re/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Uve je dobro znao da njeni prijatelji nisu shvatali zbog čega se onda svakog jutra budila sa odlukom da provede dan sa njim. Nije…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/uve-je-dobro-znao-da-njeni-prijatelji-nisu-shvatali-zbog-ega-se-onda/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Somebody has one of the worst hairstyles Britt-Marie has ever laid eyes on, as if she’s combed her hair with a terrified animal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/somebody-has-one-of-the-worst-hairstyles-britt-marie-has-ever-laid/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Hate can be a deeply stimulating emotion. The world becomes easier to understand and much less terrifying if you divide everything and everyone into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/hate-can-be-a-deeply-stimulating-emotion-the-world-becomes-easier-to/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/another-morning-comes-it-always-does-time-always-moves-at-the-same/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“The girl glances at the surface of the desk, which looks as if toddlers have been trying to eat potatoes off it. With pitchforks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/the-girl-glances-at-the-surface-of-the-desk-which-looks-as-if/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Mnogim ljudima je teško da žive sa nekim ko ceni samoću. To neprijatno žulja one koji nisu i sami takvi.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/mnogim-ljudima-je-te-ko-da-ive-sa-nekim-ko-ceni-samo-u-to-neprijatno/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“But his taste buds are as dysfunctional as the volume control on his voice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/but-his-taste-buds-are-as-dysfunctional-as-the-volume-control-on-his/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Throughout their childhood Maya loved her best friend because she wasn’t like any other girl she had met, but life as a teenager seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/throughout-their-childhood-maya-loved-her-best-friend-because-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“For more than half a century they belonged to one another. She detested the same characteristics in him that last day as she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/for-more-than-half-a-century-they-belonged-to-one-another-she/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“His heart is too big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/his-heart-is-too-big/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“Back in the days when there were still things to boast about, the city council erected a sign beside the road at the entrance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/back-in-the-days-when-there-were-still-things-to-boast-about-the-city/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) > [“And after all those hours in the locker room, all those nights on the team bus, all the conversations and all the jokes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/and-after-all-those-hours-in-the-locker-room-all-those-nights-on-the/) [Fredrik Backman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) [Explore all 320 Fredrik Backman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Her father had never bothered with books, but when his daughter sat reading the newspaper at the age of five he wasn’t so stupid that he tried to avoid doing something about it. “A girl can’t read shit like that: she’ll lose her head,”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fredrik Backman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books-but-when-his-daughter-sat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books-but-when-his-daughter-sat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/333/fredrik-backman-857_books_her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books_3132409.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Her father had never bothered with books, but when his daughter sat reading the newspaper at the age of five…” — Fredrik Backman", "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": "Fredrik Backman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredrik-backman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Her father had never bothered with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books-but-when-his-daughter-sat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredrik-backman/her-father-had-never-bothered-with-books-but-when-his-daughter-sat/#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 } } ] } ```