--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does it matter how cultivated and…" description: "\"What does it matter how cultivated and up-to-date we are, or how many thousands of books we’ve read? What matters is how we feel, how we see, what we d..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/gabriel-zaid-42507_alive_what-does-it-matter-how-cultivated-and-u_425479.jpg" --- # What does it matter how cultivated and up-to-date we are… ![“What does it matter how cultivated and up-to-date we are, or how many thousands of books we’ve read? What matters is how we feel, how we see, what we do after reading; whether the street and the clouds and the existence of others mean anything to us; whether reading makes us, physically, more alive.” quote by Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/gabriel-zaid-42507_alive_what-does-it-matter-how-cultivated-and-u_425479.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/gabriel-zaid-42507_alive_what-does-it-matter-how-cultivated-and-u_425479.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c73/gabriel-zaid-42507_alive_what-does-it-matter-how-cultivated-and-u_425479.jpg) > “What does it matter how cultivated and up-to-date we are, or how many thousands of books we’ve read? What matters is how we feel, how we see, what we do after reading; whether the street and the clouds and the existence of others mean anything to us; whether reading makes us, physically, more alive.” [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) ## 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 the value of reading lies not in the quantity of knowledge but in the emotional and experiential impact it creates, shaping perception and vitality. **In simple terms:** Reading matters for feeling and living, not just facts. Key Takeaway Seek books that make you feel alive. Themes reading experience perception emotion life Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - creative work - social interaction - mindful walking Key Concepts existentialism embodied cognition literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How does a book change your feeling about the world? - When did reading make you feel more alive? A Different Perspective It may overlook the practical benefits of extensive knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) ## Related quotes > [Does not matter how you look it matters how you feel you look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/does-not-matter-how-you-look-it-matters-how-you-feel-you-look/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It doesn't matter what you read. What matters is you read. Whether it’s Tolstoy or Twilight, Kierkegaard or Betty and Veronica, keep reading, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-zelazny/it-doesn-t-matter-what-you-read-what-matters-is-you-read-whether-it-s/) [Trent Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-zelazny/) > [“Because what you read matters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penguin-classics/because-what-you-read-matters/) Penguin Classics > [In a course of a lifetime, what does it matter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/in-a-course-of-a-lifetime-what-does-it-matter/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [You can make the best of it and be content, or you can complain, it makes no difference. What does it matter that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/you-can-make-the-best-of-it-and-be-content-or-you-can-complain-it/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [I mean, at the end of the day, what the hell does it matter who I end up with if it can't be you?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabitha-suzuma/i-mean-at-the-end-of-the-day-what-the-hell-does-it-matter-who-i-end/) [Tabitha Suzuma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabitha-suzuma/) > [Keep going don't worry about results. If you love it why does it matter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dom-kennedy/keep-going-don-t-worry-about-results-if-you-love-it-why-does-it-matter/) [Dom Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dom-kennedy/) > [“Does it matter, when you read, if the person who wrote still lives?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gruber/does-it-matter-when-you-read-if-the-person-who-wrote-still-lives/) [Michael Gruber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gruber/) > [Sir, what does it matter whom I serve, so long as I am right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/sir-what-does-it-matter-whom-i-serve-so-long-as-i-am-right/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [As long as we're together, does it matter where we go?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-aplin/as-long-as-we-re-together-does-it-matter-where-we-go/) [Gabrielle Aplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-aplin/) > [Everything's plastic, we're all going to die sooner or later, so what does it matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/everything-s-plastic-we-re-all-going-to-die-sooner-or-later-so-what/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [At the end of the day, if we don't win that game, we're going home, anyway, so what does it matter. I just wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-kershaw/at-the-end-of-the-day-if-we-don-t-win-that-game-we-re-going-home/) [Clayton Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-kershaw/) > [What does it matter where my body happens to be?' he said. 'My mind goes on working all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/what-does-it-matter-where-my-body-happens-to-be-he-said-my-mind-goes/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [What does it matter that we take different roads so long as we reach the same goal?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/what-does-it-matter-that-we-take-different-roads-so-long-as-we-reach/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Then Henry speaks again. "Did he do it?" I turn to him slowly. "Does it matter?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/then-henry-speaks-again-did-he-do-it-i-turn-to-him-slowly-does-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More by Gabriel Zaid > [The truly cultured are capable of owning thousands of unread books without losing their composure or their desire for more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/the-truly-cultured-are-capable-of-owning-thousands-of-unread-books/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [As publishing has become less expensive, the urge to write my own self has become the opportunity to publish my own self. Everyone now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/as-publishing-has-become-less-expensive-the-urge-to-write-my-own-self/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [Confronted with the choice between having time and having things, we’ve chosen to have things. Today it is a luxury to read what Socrates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/confronted-with-the-choice-between-having-time-and-having-things-we/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [Those who aspire to the status of cultured individuals visit bookstores with trepidation, overwhelmed by the immensity of all they have not read. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/those-who-aspire-to-the-status-of-cultured-individuals-visit/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [The probability of finding a particular book increases in relation to the clarity of the store's focus, the diligence and shrewdness of the bookseller,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/the-probability-of-finding-a-particular-book-increases-in-relation-to/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) > [Wealth is above all an accumulation of possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-zaid/wealth-is-above-all-an-accumulation-of-possibilities/) [Gabriel Zaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) [Explore all 7 Gabriel Zaid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-zaid/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What does it matter how cultivated and up-to-date we are, or how many thousands of books we’ve read? 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