--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think reading has got so many more…" description: "\"I think reading has got so many more enemies now that graphic novels have kind of flipped over to that side.\" — Gene Luen Yang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg" --- # I think reading has got so many more enemies now that… ![“I think reading has got so many more enemies now that graphic novels have kind of flipped over to that side.” quote by Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg) > “I think reading has got so many more enemies now that graphic novels have kind of flipped over to that side.” [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Graphic novels now face criticism, reversing their earlier counter‑cultural status. **In simple terms:** Changing perception of graphic novels. Key Takeaway Recognize shifting cultural attitudes toward media. Themes media criticism culture shift graphic novels Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical conversational When to use this quote - classroom curricula - library collections - publishing decisions Key Concepts censorship artistic expression public opinion Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate the merit of a medium? - What biases affect your view of graphic novels? A Different Perspective May ignore the value of diverse storytelling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Graphic novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graphic-novels/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [In the '40s and '50s, a lot of teachers and librarians saw the graphic novel as the enemy of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/in-the-40s-and-50s-a-lot-of-teachers-and-librarians-saw-the-graphic/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I'm a severe graphic novels junkie. People ask me about it, and I say I like the graphic novels. Comic books are for kids,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-pirner/i-m-a-severe-graphic-novels-junkie-people-ask-me-about-it-and-i-say-i/) [Dave Pirner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-pirner/) > [I have to read comic books all first, because now when you get into graphic novels, they are definitely in deep graphic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-madsen/i-have-to-read-comic-books-all-first-because-now-when-you-get-into/) [Virginia Madsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-madsen/) > [That pompous phrase (graphic novel) was thought up by some idiot in the marketing department of DC. I prefer to call them Big Expensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/that-pompous-phrase-graphic-novel-was-thought-up-by-some-idiot-in-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [One reason I've never been a fan of graphic novels is because a central aspect of literature for me has always been imagining what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-filler/one-reason-i-ve-never-been-a-fan-of-graphic-novels-is-because-a/) [Martin Filler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-filler/) > [I started on the original comics from Stan Lee and all the artists and storytellers did from there, and I got to the graphic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-helman/i-started-on-the-original-comics-from-stan-lee-and-all-the-artists/) [Josh Helman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-helman/) > [Graphic novels and comic books offer an easy foothold into that world, and screenwriters and studio execs gravitate toward those, because I think they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-reynolds/graphic-novels-and-comic-books-offer-an-easy-foothold-into-that-world/) [Ryan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-reynolds/) > [I love graphic novels - I love reading them, I enjoyed writing them, I would love to go back and do them again. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ridley/i-love-graphic-novels-i-love-reading-them-i-enjoyed-writing-them-i/) [John Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ridley/) > [“The book is almost always better than the movie. You could have no better case in point than FROM HELL, Alan Moore's best graphic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/the-book-is-almost-always-better-than-the-movie-you-could-have-no/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [I always loved comic books and I'm still a great fan of the graphic novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-hill/i-always-loved-comic-books-and-i-m-still-a-great-fan-of-the-graphic/) [Walter Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-hill/) > [When I get interested in a new topic I teach a class on it. There's a graduate seminar I teach in which the students…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/when-i-get-interested-in-a-new-topic-i-teach-a-class-on-it-there-s-a/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [ We \[Rodriguez and Frank Miller\] wanted to take the movies and turn them into a graphic novel, so that people wouldn't even know what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/we-rodriguez-and-frank-miller-wanted-to-take-the-movies-and-turn-them/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [One of my favorite graphic novels of all time is Grant Morrison's 'Earth-2.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/one-of-my-favorite-graphic-novels-of-all-time-is-grant-morrison-s/) [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/) > [Oh, I'm nerdy about science fiction and fantasy and graphic novels and reading, and I'm nerdy about board games. My favorite board game is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-campbell/oh-i-m-nerdy-about-science-fiction-and-fantasy-and-graphic-novels-and/) [Billy Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-campbell/) > [In many ways, my entire graphic novel career was a long diversion. Originally, all I wanted to do was to be an underground cartoonist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/in-many-ways-my-entire-graphic-novel-career-was-a-long-diversion/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) ## More by Gene Luen Yang > [“I do not make mistakes, little monkey. A monkey I intended you to be. A monkey you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-do-not-make-mistakes-little-monkey-a-monkey-i-intended-you-to-be-a/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [“Class, I'd like us all to give a warm Mayflower elementary welcome to your new friend and classmate Jing Jang!" "Jin Wang." "Jin Wang!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/class-i-d-like-us-all-to-give-a-warm-mayflower-elementary-welcome-to/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [My best teachers, the teachers who had the deepest effect on my reading, combined the two. They would mix required reading with reading where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/my-best-teachers-the-teachers-who-had-the-deepest-effect-on-my/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [Sometimes, a fight you cannot win is still worth fighting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/sometimes-a-fight-you-cannot-win-is-still-worth-fighting/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [Zombies aren't about zombies. It's not about the dead bodies. I think it's a very hopeful subgenre. It says that regardless of what happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/zombies-aren-t-about-zombies-it-s-not-about-the-dead-bodies-i-think/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [“Tell me, Little Bao, have you ever gotten close to woman?' 'Well. . . ' 'Close enough to smell her?' 'No.' 'Ah! Even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/tell-me-little-bao-have-you-ever-gotten-close-to-woman-well-close/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I find that nowadays it's just gotten harder for me to read for fun. It feels like all of my reading is research-based.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-find-that-nowadays-it-s-just-gotten-harder-for-me-to-read-for-fun/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [Wait." "So what am I supposed to do now?" "You know, Jin, I would have saved myself from five hundred years' imprisonment beneath a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/wait-so-what-am-i-supposed-to-do-now-you-know-jin-i-would-have-saved/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [In the '40s and '50s, a lot of teachers and librarians saw the graphic novel as the enemy of reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/in-the-40s-and-50s-a-lot-of-teachers-and-librarians-saw-the-graphic/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [If you look at our world, we're becoming so much more diverse in every sense of the word. It's not just about culture or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/if-you-look-at-our-world-we-re-becoming-so-much-more-diverse-in-every/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I was always a slow reader, from the very beginning. I remember in first grade our teacher divided us into groups, and I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-was-always-a-slow-reader-from-the-very-beginning-i-remember-in/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [What is China but a people and their stories?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/what-is-china-but-a-people-and-their-stories/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [As somebody who's kind of a technophile, I'm interested in how traditional and digital publishing connect. Maybe ten years ago they were seen as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/as-somebody-who-s-kind-of-a-technophile-i-m-interested-in-how/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [“Appa has feelings, too!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/appa-has-feelings-too/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I liked interacting with students. I liked having coworkers. For a long time, I was really worried that sitting at home by myself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-liked-interacting-with-students-i-liked-having-coworkers-for-a-long/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) [Explore all 27 Gene Luen Yang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) ## 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": "I think reading has got so many more enemies now that graphic novels have kind of flipped over to that side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gene Luen Yang" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-enemies-now-that-graphic-novels/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-enemies-now-that-graphic-novels/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/543/gene-luen-yang-22702_books_i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-ene_1929669.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think reading has got so many more enemies now that graphic novels have kind of flipped over to that side.” — Gene Luen Yang", "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": "Gene Luen Yang", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think reading has got so...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-enemies-now-that-graphic-novels/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/i-think-reading-has-got-so-many-more-enemies-now-that-graphic-novels/#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 } } ] } ```