--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love the idea that more people would…" description: "\"I love the idea that more people would read short fiction. I think it's such a humanizing form. It softens the boundaries between people.\" — George Sau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/george-saunders-317_boundaries_i-love-the-idea-that-more-people-would-r_1216232.jpg" --- # I love the idea that more people would read short fiction… ![“I love the idea that more people would read short fiction. I think it's such a humanizing form. It softens the boundaries between people.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/george-saunders-317_boundaries_i-love-the-idea-that-more-people-would-r_1216232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/george-saunders-317_boundaries_i-love-the-idea-that-more-people-would-r_1216232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d26/george-saunders-317_boundaries_i-love-the-idea-that-more-people-would-r_1216232.jpg) > “I love the idea that more people would read short fiction. I think it's such a humanizing form. It softens the boundaries between people.” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Short stories humanize readers, breaking down barriers and fostering empathy. **In simple terms:** Short fiction builds empathy. Key Takeaway Read more short fiction. Themes empathy literature human connection Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - book clubs - education - community workshops - personal reading Key Concepts narrative empathy storytelling power Questions to Reflect On - What stories have changed your view of others? - How does brevity affect emotional impact? A Different Perspective Some may find short fiction less impactful than novels. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-think-411914/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Read Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-short-1642270/) [Short Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-fiction-456299/) [Think Humanizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-humanizing-3707896/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/when-you-read-a-short-story-you-come-out-a-little-more-aware-and-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I am really excited by the form of short fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-am-really-excited-by-the-form-of-short-fiction/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [I read a lot of short fiction, like Kurt Vonnegut and Raymond Carver and Wells Tower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/i-read-a-lot-of-short-fiction-like-kurt-vonnegut-and-raymond-carver/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [We get so many people saying short fiction is not economical, that it doesn't sell; but there are so many of us enjoying writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/we-get-so-many-people-saying-short-fiction-is-not-economical-that-it/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Short fiction is the medium I love the most, because it requires that I bring everything I've learned about poetry - the concision, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/short-fiction-is-the-medium-i-love-the-most-because-it-requires-that/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [If you read my short stories, there's a lot of sex in those in all different ways. To me, it's a really good, useful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/if-you-read-my-short-stories-there-s-a-lot-of-sex-in-those-in-all/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [“Read a short story every day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/read-a-short-story-every-day/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“She begin to read. And read. And in short order, she became dangerous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-porath/she-begin-to-read-and-read-and-in-short-order-she-became-dangerous/) [Jason Porath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-porath/) > [Do three things each night before you go to bed: read a poem, read a short story, read an essay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/do-three-things-each-night-before-you-go-to-bed-read-a-poem-read-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The reader really has to step up to the plate and read a short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/the-reader-really-has-to-step-up-to-the-plate-and-read-a-short-story/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Science fiction is a weird category, because it's the only area of fiction I can think of where the story is not of primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-e-westlake/science-fiction-is-a-weird-category-because-it-s-the-only-area-of/) [Donald E. Westlake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-e-westlake/) > [I've always loved science fiction. I think the smartest writers are science fiction writers dealing with major things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/i-ve-always-loved-science-fiction-i-think-the-smartest-writers-are/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [There are certain kinds of people who write science fiction. I think a lot of us married late. A lot of us are mama's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/there-are-certain-kinds-of-people-who-write-science-fiction-i-think-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Short fiction isn't my natural form. It's taken a lot of work over the years to finally feel more comfortable writing stories under 80,000 words!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/short-fiction-isn-t-my-natural-form-it-s-taken-a-lot-of-work-over-the/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [ “ … The best pieces in \[Queeries\] - such as … Raymond John Woolfrey’s “Pages from My Window: Red Geraniums” - are more traditional… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-woolfrey/the-best-pieces-in-queeries-such-as-raymond-john-woolfrey-s-pages/) [John Woolfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-woolfrey/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Boundaries quotes > [I think the next 50 years are going to present the human race with challenges that so far exceed the limitations of geopolitical boundaries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/i-think-the-next-50-years-are-going-to-present-the-human-race-with/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I never go anywhere or do anything that transports me outside the boundaries of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-never-go-anywhere-or-do-anything-that-transports-me-outside-the/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [As a kid, in the Runaways, I would see the interviewers start to ask about our personal lives and what we did — and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/as-a-kid-in-the-runaways-i-would-see-the-interviewers-start-to-ask/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/understanding-science-and-pushing-the-boundaries-of-science-is-what/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [“Let us not subside into a single mandatory way of thinking or feeling, immersed by a spirit of self-gratification. But let’s dig into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/let-us-not-subside-into-a-single-mandatory-way-of-thinking-or-feeling/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [The question of boundaries is a major question of the Jewish people because the Jews are the great experts of crossing boundaries. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/the-question-of-boundaries-is-a-major-question-of-the-jewish-people/) [A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/) > [Working against a restriction - for me - often produces greater things than getting rid of all boundaries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-lord/working-against-a-restriction-for-me-often-produces-greater-things/) [Jon Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-lord/) > [That's what all art's about - a sense of moving away from boundaries that you can't in real life. Like a dancer is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/that-s-what-all-art-s-about-a-sense-of-moving-away-from-boundaries/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [The boundaries between contemporary art and cinema are so rigid. It's unbelievable. The film critics don't know my artwork and the art world doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/the-boundaries-between-contemporary-art-and-cinema-are-so-rigid-it-s/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) [Browse all 2,012 Boundaries quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boundaries/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love the idea that more people would read short fiction. I think it's such a humanizing form. 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