--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nicholson Baker talks about the way in…" description: "\"Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most successful nonfiction books are those that can be boiled down into an argument so that everybody ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/geoff-dyer-8822_argument_nicholson-baker-talks-about-the-way-in-w_2795149.jpg" --- # Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most… ![“Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most successful nonfiction books are those that can be boiled down into an argument so that everybody can wade in with an opinion without having to undergo the inconvenience of having to read the book itself. The more you can condense it, the better.” quote by Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/geoff-dyer-8822_argument_nicholson-baker-talks-about-the-way-in-w_2795149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/geoff-dyer-8822_argument_nicholson-baker-talks-about-the-way-in-w_2795149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b2e/geoff-dyer-8822_argument_nicholson-baker-talks-about-the-way-in-w_2795149.jpg) > “Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most successful nonfiction books are those that can be boiled down into an argument so that everybody can wade in with an opinion without having to undergo the inconvenience of having to read the book itself. The more you can condense it, the better.” [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective nonfiction distills complex ideas into clear arguments, enabling broad engagement. **In simple terms:** Simplify ideas for wider reach. Key Takeaway Write concise, compelling arguments. Themes communication clarity education Mood analytical critical Type essay instructional When to use this quote - academic writing - journalism - public speaking Key Concepts argumentation information design Questions to Reflect On - What details are essential? - How to balance depth and brevity? A Different Perspective Oversimplification can lose nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Boiled Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boiled-argument-3408216/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Boiled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-boiled-3408215/) [Inconvenience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inconvenience/) [Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicholson/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Nonfiction Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction-books-750539/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Successful Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful-nonfiction-3408214/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I like these nonfiction books where everything that is interesting about them is lost in that catch-all description of their "about"-ness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-like-these-nonfiction-books-where-everything-that-is-interesting/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [One of the reasons so many nonfiction books are so boring is because what they've done, very diligently, is fulfill the terms of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/one-of-the-reasons-so-many-nonfiction-books-are-so-boring-is-because/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [Ironically, in today's marketplace successful nonfiction has to be unbelievable, while successful fiction must be believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/ironically-in-today-s-marketplace-successful-nonfiction-has-to-be/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [My parents read me some typical children's books: 'Green Eggs and Ham,' 'The Little Engine That Could,' 'Peter Rabbit.' But I quickly developed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holzhauer/my-parents-read-me-some-typical-children-s-books-green-eggs-and-ham/) [James Holzhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holzhauer/) > [I like nonfiction books about people with wretched lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-like-nonfiction-books-about-people-with-wretched-lives/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I've written many nonfiction books, but that's a special gift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/i-ve-written-many-nonfiction-books-but-that-s-a-special-gift/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [“Rarely do page-turners written for middle-school kids also ignite excitement in adults. (A notable exception is the series of Harry Potter books.) Fewer still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/rarely-do-page-turners-written-for-middle-school-kids-also-ignite/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) > [My wife always says that I will be stuck with this forever: I am the difficult one. With Jack Nicholson they always said it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dustin-hoffman/my-wife-always-says-that-i-will-be-stuck-with-this-forever-i-am-the/) [Dustin Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dustin-hoffman/) > [And of course to work with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, and work with a wonderful, beautiful script directed by Nancy Meyers, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keanu-reeves/and-of-course-to-work-with-jack-nicholson-and-diane-keaton-and-work/) [Keanu Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keanu-reeves/) > [New Jersey is a great place to live. And we have given some of the best talent to the world, from Jack Nicholson, John…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/new-jersey-is-a-great-place-to-live-and-we-have-given-some-of-the/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [I want to keep on progressing. I definitely think acting is a long process to be one of the greats like Morgan Freeman or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-gamble/i-want-to-keep-on-progressing-i-definitely-think-acting-is-a-long/) [Nathan Gamble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-gamble/) > [If I could transform my stage life to the movies, I'd be Jack Nicholson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-dennehy/if-i-could-transform-my-stage-life-to-the-movies-i-d-be-jack-nicholson/) [Brian Dennehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-dennehy/) > [I would love to work with Jack Nicholson, Saoirse Ronan, Michael Shannon and James Franco in the future. I think those actors are amazing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-turner/i-would-love-to-work-with-jack-nicholson-saoirse-ronan-michael/) [Sophie Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-turner/) > [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is a movie that I just find flawless. Jack Nicholson... I just saw 'The Shining' again the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biehn/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-s-nest-is-a-movie-that-i-just-find-flawless/) [Michael Biehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biehn/) > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) ## More by Geoff Dyer > [I think I can recognize when a piece is at a state of completion. I always say to my wife, "Oh yeah, it's roughly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-think-i-can-recognize-when-a-piece-is-at-a-state-of-completion-i/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [“I've always liked things I can just trance out to. Because what that means is that you've escaped the chafe of time. Often when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-ve-always-liked-things-i-can-just-trance-out-to-because-what-that/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [One of the reasons so many nonfiction books are so boring is because what they've done, very diligently, is fulfill the terms of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/one-of-the-reasons-so-many-nonfiction-books-are-so-boring-is-because/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [I really like the George Clooney of Solaris also filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky, before Steven Soderbergh: that's very obviously sci-fi, and it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-really-like-the-george-clooney-of-solaris-also-filmed-by-andrei/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [When you are lonely, writing can keep you company. It is also a form of self-compensation, a way of making up for things—as opposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/when-you-are-lonely-writing-can-keep-you-company-it-is-also-a-form-of/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [Nine times out of 10, the most charming thing to say in any given situation will be the exact opposite of what one really feels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/nine-times-out-of-10-the-most-charming-thing-to-say-in-any-given/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [In foreign countries, when people see what Donald Trump is saying on Twitter since the election and seeing what he's saying in these calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/in-foreign-countries-when-people-see-what-donald-trump-is-saying-on/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [I would agree on the aging thing. Because, at a certain point, once you start noticing it, it is your subject. And I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-would-agree-on-the-aging-thing-because-at-a-certain-point-once-you/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [If you help them (the crew) create good memories, they'll forget all the bad stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/if-you-help-them-the-crew-create-good-memories-they-ll-forget-all-the/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [“Photographers sometimes take pictures of each other; occasionally they take pictures of each other at work; more usually they take photographs - or versions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/photographers-sometimes-take-pictures-of-each-other-occasionally-they/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/have-more-than-one-idea-on-the-go-at-any-one-time-if-it-s-a-choice/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [“We'd never seen anything as green as these rice paddies. It was not just the paddies themselves: the surrounding vegetation - foliage so dense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/we-d-never-seen-anything-as-green-as-these-rice-paddies-it-was-not/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [I always like to be in the presence of people who are good at and love their jobs, Irrespective of their jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-always-like-to-be-in-the-presence-of-people-who-are-good-at-and/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [“The paradox is that some of the most artistically valuable contemporary photographs are content with being photographs, are not under the same compulsion to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/the-paradox-is-that-some-of-the-most-artistically-valuable/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [“So far I’ve only read a page but I like that page a lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/so-far-i-ve-only-read-a-page-but-i-like-that-page-a-lot/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) [Explore all 76 Geoff Dyer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) ## More Argument quotes > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [Preaching to the choir actually arms the choir with arguments and elevates the choir's discourse. There's a reason the right does it and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-savage/preaching-to-the-choir-actually-arms-the-choir-with-arguments-and/) [Dan Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-savage/) > [Lutherans, whose arguments and mistakes will not be difficult to contest or discover, do not want to attribute any value to works, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-servetus/lutherans-whose-arguments-and-mistakes-will-not-be-difficult-to/) [Michael Servetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-servetus/) > [Any comprehensive doctrine, religious or secular, can be introduced into any political argument at any time, but I argue that people who do this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rawls/any-comprehensive-doctrine-religious-or-secular-can-be-introduced/) [John Rawls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rawls/) > [As opposed to getting into arguments about, well, these folks have been treated fairly so now we're going to be doing things that, very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/as-opposed-to-getting-into-arguments-about-well-these-folks-have-been/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [One argument goes that recessions are good for female artists because when money flies out the window, women are allowed in the house. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/one-argument-goes-that-recessions-are-good-for-female-artists-because/) [Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/) > [All of the barriers to innovation in the energy sector are arguments for a big commitment to public investment. Only the public sector can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nordhaus/all-of-the-barriers-to-innovation-in-the-energy-sector-are-arguments/) [Ted Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nordhaus/) > [“Arguments led by subjectivity are a waste of time. And, if they take place online, add to that, a waste of one’s keyboard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/arguments-led-by-subjectivity-are-a-waste-of-time-and-if-they-take/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [If in the middle of an argument I suddenly fall silent it does not mean you have won... No it means you should probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/if-in-the-middle-of-an-argument-i-suddenly-fall-silent-it-does-not/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) > [“The motive behind my arguments have always been to come at truth. I am not interested in conquering anyone with my ideologies or seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-evans/the-motive-behind-my-arguments-have-always-been-to-come-at-truth-i-am/) [Crystal Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-evans/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) [Browse all 3,479 Argument quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nicholson Baker talks about the way in which the most successful nonfiction books are those that can be boiled down into an argument so that everybody can wade in with an opinion without having to undergo the inconvenience of having to read the book itself. 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