--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By deciding what is, and is not, allowed…" description: "\"“By deciding what is, and is not, allowed to be discussed in a review, by removing discussion of social context, and saying that only the words on the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/g-r-reader-31875_censorship_by-deciding-what-is-and-is-not-allowed-t_1810653.jpg" --- # By deciding what is, and is not, allowed to be discussed… ![“By deciding what is, and is not, allowed to be discussed in a review, by removing discussion of social context, and saying that only the words on the page count, Goodreads is ignoring fifty years of development of literary criticism, and is engaging in censorship.” quote by G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/g-r-reader-31875_censorship_by-deciding-what-is-and-is-not-allowed-t_1810653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/g-r-reader-31875_censorship_by-deciding-what-is-and-is-not-allowed-t_1810653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/220/g-r-reader-31875_censorship_by-deciding-what-is-and-is-not-allowed-t_1810653.jpg) > ““By deciding what is, and is not, allowed to be discussed in a review, by removing discussion of social context, and saying that only the words on the page count, Goodreads is ignoring fifty years of development of literary criticism, and is engaging in censorship.”” [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that limiting review focus to text alone discards decades of literary criticism and amounts to censorship. **In simple terms:** Restricting reviews to words ignores broader criticism and censors discussion. Key Takeaway Consider broader context when evaluating works. Themes literary criticism censorship media ethics review standards Mood critical concerned Type analytical ethical When to use this quote - book clubs - academic courses - editorial guidelines - online platforms Key Concepts contextual analysis historical perspective critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How does context shape your interpretation of a text? - What responsibilities do reviewers have to broader discourse? A Different Perspective Ignoring context may oversimplify meaning and silence diverse perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Literary criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-criticism/) ## Related quotes > [“There was something so unutterably ridiculous about the sight of a US company deleting posts accusing it of censorship that many other people began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/there-was-something-so-unutterably-ridiculous-about-the-sight-of-a-us/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“If people wrote their reviews on paper and put them into a real, physical library, I am sure that the Goodreads administrators would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/if-people-wrote-their-reviews-on-paper-and-put-them-into-a-real/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“. . . I can see how the issue of exercising corporate control over users content is truly enraging here, on a site significantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/i-can-see-how-the-issue-of-exercising-corporate-control-over-users/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“Modernism and feminism are two broad axes on which Woolf criticism turns, and there are many other categories that reflect the range of positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/modernism-and-feminism-are-two-broad-axes-on-which-woolf-criticism/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“In 1925 Woolf began an affair with Sackville-West, who was married to Harold Nicolson, the diplomat and writer, and the development of their close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/in-1925-woolf-began-an-affair-with-sackville-west-who-was-married-to/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“It is already the fashion to diminish Eliot by calling him derivative, the mouthpiece of Pound, and so forth; and yet if one wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/it-is-already-the-fashion-to-diminish-eliot-by-calling-him-derivative/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [“Bloomsbury lost Fry, in 1934, and Lytton Strachey before him, in January 1932, to early deaths. The loss of Strachey was compounded by Carrington’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/bloomsbury-lost-fry-in-1934-and-lytton-strachey-before-him-in-january/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [ “I tossed up whether I'd see \[the critic\] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-or-not-i-knew-too-well-the/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“By the close of the nineteenth century her studies with her father were being supplemented by tuition in the classics from Dr Warr of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goldman/by-the-close-of-the-nineteenth-century-her-studies-with-her-father/) [Jane Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goldman/) > [“Because it is written by a nineteenth-century American, and because of its closeness to the twentieth century, The Portrait of a Lady foregoes Victorian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregor/because-it-is-written-by-a-nineteenth-century-american-and-because-of/) [Ian Gregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-gregor/) > [Criticism even should not be without its charms. When quite devoid of all amenities, it is no longer literary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/criticism-even-should-not-be-without-its-charms-when-quite-devoid-of/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Historical investigation and literary criticism have taken the magic out of the Bible and have made it a composite human book, written by many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/historical-investigation-and-literary-criticism-have-taken-the-magic/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [“If you were to stare at this box of matches, you could extract entire worlds out of it. If you search for tastes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witold-gombrowicz/if-you-were-to-stare-at-this-box-of-matches-you-could-extract-entire/) [Witold Gombrowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witold-gombrowicz/) > [“Milton argued, in 1649, after the execution of Charles I, that a people 'free by nature' had a right to overthrow a tyrant; a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-carter/milton-argued-in-1649-after-the-execution-of-charles-i-that-a-people/) [Ronald Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-carter/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) ## More by G.R. Reader > [“I am not Amish enough to emigrate when my way of life is threatened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/i-am-not-amish-enough-to-emigrate-when-my-way-of-life-is-threatened/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“. . . I can see how the issue of exercising corporate control over users content is truly enraging here, on a site significantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/i-can-see-how-the-issue-of-exercising-corporate-control-over-users/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“If people wrote their reviews on paper and put them into a real, physical library, I am sure that the Goodreads administrators would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/if-people-wrote-their-reviews-on-paper-and-put-them-into-a-real/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“There was something so unutterably ridiculous about the sight of a US company deleting posts accusing it of censorship that many other people began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/there-was-something-so-unutterably-ridiculous-about-the-sight-of-a-us/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“You won’t believe this. 99% of reviews on GoodBetterBestReads are written by less than one percent of the members. Did you hear that? 99%!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/you-won-t-believe-this-99-of-reviews-on-goodbetterbestreads-are/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“And that's the most horrible thing about censorship: To avoid falling afoul of the censors, we question ourselves and censor ourselves and make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/and-that-s-the-most-horrible-thing-about-censorship-to-avoid-falling/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“This book is irrelevant to Goodreads because you can’t buy it on Amazon. Also it talks about oppression, censorship etc. and no one really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/this-book-is-irrelevant-to-goodreads-because-you-can-t-buy-it-on/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“The Internet is transient. Information can be removed with a couple of mouse-clicks; it is an Orwellian dream. We have been advised, by people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/the-internet-is-transient-information-can-be-removed-with-a-couple-of/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“At your next book club meeting, picture me sitting quietly in the corner, taking notes on your preferences. Imagine the next day you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/at-your-next-book-club-meeting-picture-me-sitting-quietly-in-the/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“And then they started deleting the protest reviews. That was my line. When they started to stamp out dissent, actually to make it disappear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/and-then-they-started-deleting-the-protest-reviews-that-was-my-line/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“No, I have never had a problem finding books to read. But I have had a problem finding people who understand what it's like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/no-i-have-never-had-a-problem-finding-books-to-read-but-i-have-had-a/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“The GR site has acquired its market value through the work of its community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/the-gr-site-has-acquired-its-market-value-through-the-work-of-its/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“As the voices fall silent, the individuals who make up the amorphous and always changing community must decide for themselves, as they always have.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/as-the-voices-fall-silent-the-individuals-who-make-up-the-amorphous/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“I urge you strongly not to give Stop the Goodreads Bullies traffic. Their initial postings were all doxings of reviewers. ... There are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/i-urge-you-strongly-not-to-give-stop-the-goodreads-bullies-traffic/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) > [“You may wish to spend a moment thinking about whether this person is an asset or a liability to your company”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-r-reader/you-may-wish-to-spend-a-moment-thinking-about-whether-this-person-is/) [G.R. Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) [Explore all 16 G.R. Reader quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-r-reader/) ## More Censorship quotes > [“Medical studies have shown that cursing reduces levels of stress and pain. Repressing your anger is not healthy. It's much better to verbalize it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus-malloy/medical-studies-have-shown-that-cursing-reduces-levels-of-stress-and/) [Oliver Markus Malloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus-malloy/) > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [I don't believe in censorship in any form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-bigelow/i-don-t-believe-in-censorship-in-any-form/) [Kathryn Bigelow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-bigelow/) > [We must be talented, powerful and resilient creatures indeed given how much we manage to produce despite the constant undercutting, ridicule and needless censorship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth/we-must-be-talented-powerful-and-resilient-creatures-indeed-given-how/) [Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth/) > [When a critic sets himself up as an arbiter of morality, a judge of the matter and not the manner of a work, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/when-a-critic-sets-himself-up-as-an-arbiter-of-morality-a-judge-of/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [When there is official censorship it is a sign that speech is serious. Where there is none, it is pretty certain that the official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/when-there-is-official-censorship-it-is-a-sign-that-speech-is-serious/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“I agree that it's a shame some books have to suffer ratings that clearly are invalid. However I can't think of a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otis-y-chandler/i-agree-that-it-s-a-shame-some-books-have-to-suffer-ratings-that/) Otis Y. Chandler > [I think that, honestly, people's censorship issues are personal but I disagree with most of those personal choices that I see others make. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-rogen/i-think-that-honestly-people-s-censorship-issues-are-personal-but-i/) [Seth Rogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-rogen/) > [Art made tongue-tied by authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/art-made-tongue-tied-by-authority/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“The tendency to want what has been banned and therefore to presume that it is more worthwhile is not limited to such commodities as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-cialdini/the-tendency-to-want-what-has-been-banned-and-therefore-to-presume/) [Robert B. Cialdini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-cialdini/) > [The only thing that is obscene is censorship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-thing-that-is-obscene-is-censorship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In a feature film, the question of censorship always comes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javed-jaffrey/in-a-feature-film-the-question-of-censorship-always-comes-up/) [Javed Jaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javed-jaffrey/) > [“Don't join the book burners. Don't think you're going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/don-t-join-the-book-burners-don-t-think-you-re-going-to-conceal/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [ If no one speaks out for \[young readers\], if they don’t speak out for themselves, all they’ll get for required reading will be the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/if-no-one-speaks-out-for-young-readers-if-they-don-t-speak-out-for/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) [Browse all 884 Censorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“By deciding what is, and is not, allowed to be discussed in a review, by removing discussion of social context, and saying that only the words on the page count, Goodreads is ignoring fifty years of development of literary criticism, and is engaging in censorship.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G.R. 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