--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading is a sage way to bump up against…" description: "\"“Reading is a sage way to bump up against life. Reading may be an escape, but it is not an escape from my own life and problems. It is an escape from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/gladys-hunt-70199_books_reading-is-a-sage-way-to-bump-up-against_2896296.jpg" --- # Reading is a sage way to bump up against life. Reading may… ![“Reading is a sage way to bump up against life. Reading may be an escape, but it is not an escape from my own life and problems. It is an escape from the narrow boundaries of being only me. Reading in some wonderful ways helps me find out who I am. When she was a young girl Patricia MacLachlan's…” quote by Gladys Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/gladys-hunt-70199_books_reading-is-a-sage-way-to-bump-up-against_2896296.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/gladys-hunt-70199_books_reading-is-a-sage-way-to-bump-up-against_2896296.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/867/gladys-hunt-70199_books_reading-is-a-sage-way-to-bump-up-against_2896296.jpg) > ““Reading is a sage way to bump up against life. Reading may be an escape, but it is not an escape from my own life and problems.  It is an escape from the narrow boundaries of being only me. Reading in some wonderful ways helps me find out who I am. When she was a young girl Patricia MacLachlan's mother encouraged her to "read a book and find out who you are." And it is true that in some ways reading defines me as it refines me. Reading enlarges my vision of the world; it helps me understand someone who is different from me. It makes me bigger on the inside. We tend to see the world from our own perspective; it is good to see it from the eyes of others. Good literature helps me understand who I am in relation to what others experience. Far from being an escape from reality, good literature is a window into reality. I read to feel life.”” Gladys Hunt ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading expands self‑knowledge and empathy by exposing us to perspectives beyond our own, turning escape into growth. **In simple terms:** Reading broadens self‑understanding and empathy. Key Takeaway Read to grow, not just to flee. Themes self‑discovery empathy growth perspective Mood reflective inspired Type personal philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal reflection - education - therapy - creative writing Key Concepts identity formation literary empathy psychological development Questions to Reflect On - How does reading change your view of yourself? - What stories have reshaped your empathy? A Different Perspective Reading alone cannot replace lived experience; it must be paired with action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Escape from reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escape-from-reality/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perspective/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [People learn in different ways: reading, listening, pictures, watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-edwards-deming/people-learn-in-different-ways-reading-listening-pictures-watching/) [W. Edwards Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-edwards-deming/) > [“There are, you see, two ways of reading a book: you either see it as a box with something inside and start looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilles-deleuze/there-are-you-see-two-ways-of-reading-a-book-you-either-see-it-as-a/) [Gilles Deleuze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilles-deleuze/) > [I didn't really fit with other kids. I had problems in school all my life and problems with authority. But my parents never did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-delpy/i-didn-t-really-fit-with-other-kids-i-had-problems-in-school-all-my/) [Julie Delpy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-delpy/) > [There are no makeovers in my books. The ugly duckling does not become a beautiful swan. She becomes a confident duck able to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/there-are-no-makeovers-in-my-books-the-ugly-duckling-does-not-become/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [“DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM ? - The best way to live in this world is live to self it is current philosophy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-t-v-rao-md/do-you-have-a-problem-the-best-way-to-live-in-this-world-is-live-to/) [Dr.T.V.Rao MD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-t-v-rao-md/) > [I feel that good fantasy will always be in demand. I think children especially need literature that helps them escape from the real world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-l-stine/i-feel-that-good-fantasy-will-always-be-in-demand-i-think-children/) [R. L. Stine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-l-stine/) > [Dryden's literature helps us to the study of the human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rmkatta/dryden-s-literature-helps-us-to-the-study-of-the-human-nature/) RMKATTA > [“We are tied down, all our days and for the greater part of our days, to the commonplace. That is where contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-j-adler/we-are-tied-down-all-our-days-and-for-the-greater-part-of-our-days-to/) [Mortimer J. Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-j-adler/) > [Literature helps us transcend ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/literature-helps-us-transcend-ourselves/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Thinking - in particular abstract thinking, which most of us are introduced to through the study of mathematics and literature - helps us learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/thinking-in-particular-abstract-thinking-which-most-of-us-are/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [“How are you coming with your home library? Do you need some good ammunition on why it's so important to read? The last time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/how-are-you-coming-with-your-home-library-do-you-need-some-good/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [You cant start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-cant-start-the-next-chapter-of-your-life-if-you-keep-re-reading-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can't start the next chapter of you life if you keep re-reading the last one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-start-the-next-chapter-of-you-life-if-you-keep-re-reading/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cant start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harsh/you-cant-start-the-next-chapter-of-your-life-if-you-keep-re-reading/) [Harsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harsh/) > [“Reading is not life. Reading is creating life in your head. And that can only help you so much in a storm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/reading-is-not-life-reading-is-creating-life-in-your-head-and-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More by Gladys Hunt > [“What is home? My favorite definition is "a safe place," a place where one is free from attack, a place where one experiences secure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-hunt/what-is-home-my-favorite-definition-is-a-safe-place-a-place-where-one/) Gladys Hunt > [“No book is really worth reading at the age of 10 which is not equally worth reading at the age of 50.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-hunt/no-book-is-really-worth-reading-at-the-age-of-10-which-is-not-equally/) Gladys Hunt > [“Books are like people: fascinating, inspiring, thought-provoking, some laugh, some meditate, others ache with old age, but still have wisdom: some are disease-ridden, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-hunt/books-are-like-people-fascinating-inspiring-thought-provoking-some/) Gladys Hunt Explore all 4 Gladys Hunt quotes ## 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": "“Reading is a sage way to bump up against life. Reading may be an escape, but it is not an escape from my own life and problems.  It is an escape from the narrow boundaries of being only me. Reading in some wonderful ways helps me find out who I am. 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