--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While I love to read contemporary…" description: "\"While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn to writing it. Perhaps it's because the former journalist in me is too inhibited by the press ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_while-i-love-to-read-contemporary-fictio_2831734.png" --- # While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn… ![“While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn to writing it. Perhaps it's because the former journalist in me is too inhibited by the press of reality; when I think about writing of my own time I always think about nonfiction narratives. Or perhaps it's just that I find the present too…” quote by Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_while-i-love-to-read-contemporary-fictio_2831734.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_while-i-love-to-read-contemporary-fictio_2831734.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/geraldine-brooks-1324_books_while-i-love-to-read-contemporary-fictio_2831734.png) > “While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn to writing it. Perhaps it's because the former journalist in me is too inhibited by the press of reality; when I think about writing of my own time I always think about nonfiction narratives. Or perhaps it's just that I find the present too confounding.” [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A journalist’s reality‑bound mindset can hinder creative fiction, favoring nonfiction narratives. **In simple terms:** Reality can stifle imagination. Key Takeaway Allow space for imaginative storytelling. Themes writing reality creativity Mood thoughtful curious Type literary analytical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - personal essays Key Concepts fiction vs nonfiction creative block journalistic bias Questions to Reflect On - What real events inspire your fiction? - How can you blend truth with imagination? A Different Perspective Fiction may feel less credible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Contemporary fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-fiction/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love to read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-to-read/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I don't like to read contemporary fiction while writing - I need a sense of isolation, a kind of silence, and I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/i-don-t-like-to-read-contemporary-fiction-while-writing-i-need-a/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [Anyway I read more contemporary poetry than contemporary fiction so my mind goes first to a kind of crass "conceptualism" that repeats vanguard gestures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/anyway-i-read-more-contemporary-poetry-than-contemporary-fiction-so/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Nonfiction narratives are really powerful and valid in themselves. But one thing that you don't get sometimes from the more clinical or academic books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/nonfiction-narratives-are-really-powerful-and-valid-in-themselves-but/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally weighty that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-book-under-300-pages-because-i/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [Everyone else thinks I'm a nonfiction writer. I think it's because my nonfiction is easier to find. But I write both in equal measure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/everyone-else-thinks-i-m-a-nonfiction-writer-i-think-it-s-because-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [I never really understood the idea that nonfiction ought to be this dispensary of data that we have at the moment. Also, roughly around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-never-really-understood-the-idea-that-nonfiction-ought-to-be-this/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Imagination is really dependent on memory and observation, these things that we think of as part of nonfiction writing, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/imagination-is-really-dependent-on-memory-and-observation-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [Honestly, I haven't the time to read contemporary writers. I know this is awful, but in the main it is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/honestly-i-haven-t-the-time-to-read-contemporary-writers-i-know-this/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [I like Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, but some of the older ones it's hard for me to sit down with - when I sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-like-wallace-stevens-robert-frost-but-some-of-the-older-ones-it-s/) [Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/) > [I think book clubs should read more contemporary poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-think-book-clubs-should-read-more-contemporary-poetry/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I read a couple of books a week. About 80 percent of what I read is contemporary literature for adults. The other 20 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/i-read-a-couple-of-books-a-week-about-80-percent-of-what-i-read-is/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [“A writer looks at an issue and asks, 'What if this were to occur? Or what if that was thrown into the mix? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venita-ellick/a-writer-looks-at-an-issue-and-asks-what-if-this-were-to-occur-or/) [Venita Ellick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venita-ellick/) > [Aimee Parkison offers a distinct new voice to contemporary fiction. Her seductive stories explore childhood as a realm of sorrows, and reveal the afflictions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-anshaw/aimee-parkison-offers-a-distinct-new-voice-to-contemporary-fiction/) [Carol Anshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-anshaw/) > [Most of my writer friends are women, and they're all extremely talented, so of course I think the state of contemporary fiction for women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jami-attenberg/most-of-my-writer-friends-are-women-and-they-re-all-extremely/) [Jami Attenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jami-attenberg/) > [“Ava glanced over at Napoleon, who was walking back toward them. She smirked at Juliet and said, "Sweetie, you are \*not\* the one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-fingers/ava-glanced-over-at-napoleon-who-was-walking-back-toward-them-she/) Jay Fingers ## More by Geraldine Brooks > [“The word for mother, umm, is the root of the words for “source, nation, mercy, first principle, rich harvest; stupid, illiterate, parasite, weak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-word-for-mother-umm-is-the-root-of-the-words-for-source-nation/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The lieutenant colonel wondered if the high scores reflected a defect in the newly built shooting range at the women’s academy. To find out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-lieutenant-colonel-wondered-if-the-high-scores-reflected-a-defect/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“No wonder simple men have always had their gods dwell in the high places. For as soon as a man lets his eye drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/no-wonder-simple-men-have-always-had-their-gods-dwell-in-the-high/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [I was really interested in how marriages work, how you can, you know, be in love with somebody and spend many years with your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/i-was-really-interested-in-how-marriages-work-how-you-can-you-know-be/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Writing is like bricklaying; you put down one word after another. Sometimes the wall goes up straight and true and sometimes it doesn't and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/writing-is-like-bricklaying-you-put-down-one-word-after-another/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“... So this was how it was to be, now: I would do my best to live in the quick world, but the ghosts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-this-was-how-it-was-to-be-now-i-would-do-my-best-to-live-in-the/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“They threw rotten fruit at me and told me next time it would be acid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/they-threw-rotten-fruit-at-me-and-told-me-next-time-it-would-be-acid/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“You," he continued, grabbing my wrist. "All of you, from the safe world, with your air bags and your tamper-proof packaging and your fat-free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/you-he-continued-grabbing-my-wrist-all-of-you-from-the-safe-world/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“This is how an owl must look to a mouse in that last second before the talons sink into the flesh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/this-is-how-an-owl-must-look-to-a-mouse-in-that-last-second-before/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [And so, as generally happens, those who have most give least, and those with less somehow make shrift to share.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/and-so-as-generally-happens-those-who-have-most-give-least-and-those/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The author of this text did not write to provoke, but merely to express a truth as he conceives it. Your own theologians have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-author-of-this-text-did-not-write-to-provoke-but-merely-to/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“So, you are happy to be a pigeon?” “Maybe so. But at least a pigeon does no harm. The hawk lives at the expense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/so-you-are-happy-to-be-a-pigeon-maybe-so-but-at-least-a-pigeon-does/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“Many men believe in the saying that educating women is like allowing the nose of the camel into the tent: eventually the beast will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/many-men-believe-in-the-saying-that-educating-women-is-like-allowing/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“No, no,” he said. “She can’t raise it at all. She may only clap. Women must be very careful of their voices. If”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/no-no-he-said-she-can-t-raise-it-at-all-she-may-only-clap-women-must/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [If a man is to lose his fortune, it is a good thing if he were poor before he acquired it, for poverty requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/if-a-man-is-to-lose-his-fortune-it-is-a-good-thing-if-he-were-poor/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) [Explore all 256 Geraldine Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) ## 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": "While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn to writing it. Perhaps it's because the former journalist in me is too inhibited by the press of reality; when I think about writing of my own time I always think about nonfiction narratives. 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