--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My ideal reader is somebody who trips…" description: "\"My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as they walk. Somebody who comes in knowing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/greil-marcus-10438_book_my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-ov_355172.jpg" --- # My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my… ![“My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as they walk. Somebody who comes in knowing nothing, caring nothing, but responds to the story.” quote by Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/greil-marcus-10438_book_my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-ov_355172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/greil-marcus-10438_book_my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-ov_355172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da3/greil-marcus-10438_book_my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-trips-ov_355172.jpg) > “My ideal reader is somebody who trips over a copy of my book on the sidewalk; then they pick it up and read as they walk. Somebody who comes in knowing nothing, caring nothing, but responds to the story.” [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A reader should discover the book serendipitously and become absorbed while moving. **In simple terms:** Unexpected discovery leads to immersive reading. Key Takeaway Embrace chance encounters with books. Themes serendipity engagement storytelling Mood curious inspired Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - walking - public spaces - commuting - parks Key Concepts Reader immersion spontaneity Questions to Reflect On - How can a book capture attention in a busy environment? - What design makes a story portable? A Different Perspective Not everyone will stop to read; distraction may prevent engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Sidewalk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-sidewalk-3272651/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Caring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caring/) [Copy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copy/) [Ideal Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-reader-911499/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Read Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-walk-971199/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reader Somebody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-somebody-3272650/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Walk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walk/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [My ideal reader is somebody who reads my poems out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/my-ideal-reader-is-somebody-who-reads-my-poems-out-loud/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [What you look for as a reader is somebody who is going to take you and say, 'C'mon. Come into the story. I'm going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/what-you-look-for-as-a-reader-is-somebody-who-is-going-to-take-you/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [One of the strategies for doing first-person is to make the narrator very knowing, so that the reader is with somebody who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/one-of-the-strategies-for-doing-first-person-is-to-make-the-narrator/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [If you have time to chatter,Read books.If you have time to read,Walk into mountain, desert and ocean.If you have time to walk,Sing songs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanao-sakaki/if-you-have-time-to-chatter-read-books-if-you-have-time-to-read-walk/) [Nanao Sakaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nanao-sakaki/) > [I'm writing for my ideal reader, for somebody who's willing to take the time, who's willing to get lost in a new world, who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-m-writing-for-my-ideal-reader-for-somebody-who-s-willing-to-take/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“If it has a staple in it it doesn't get read. 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I'm your fan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-tesla/are-you-imperfect-romantically-irrational-ridiculously-fearless-and/) [Brook Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-tesla/) > [Who is the ideal reader? God only knows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-is-the-ideal-reader-god-only-knows/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“With this book I hope what I always hope—that readers will nod their heads (not constantly, you know, but at the odd juncture) and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jincy-willett/with-this-book-i-hope-what-i-always-hope-that-readers-will-nod-their/) [Jincy Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jincy-willett/) > [I don't have an ideal reader. I'm trying to reach something simple and, I believe, universal, in every single person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayad-akhtar/i-don-t-have-an-ideal-reader-i-m-trying-to-reach-something-simple-and/) [Ayad Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayad-akhtar/) > [I'm my own "ideal reader" in the sense that I write novels that I would want to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-erickson/i-m-my-own-ideal-reader-in-the-sense-that-i-write-novels-that-i-would/) [Steve Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-erickson/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More by Greil Marcus > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [You're going to react to a painting in a way that the painting demands you react.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/you-re-going-to-react-to-a-painting-in-a-way-that-the-painting/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [No failure in America, whether of love or money, is ever simple; it is always a kind of betrayal, of a mass of shadowy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/no-failure-in-america-whether-of-love-or-money-is-ever-simple-it-is/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [ “\[Listening to a song\] one could experience a freedom from one's physical body, and from one's social body - the mask you wore to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/listening-to-a-song-one-could-experience-a-freedom-from-one-s/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Records that were the sound of somebody - more often than not, a she - speaking with a voice that had never been heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/records-that-were-the-sound-of-somebody-more-often-than-not-a-she/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I never could understand - it was impossible for me to get my head around - what the furor was, what the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-never-could-understand-it-was-impossible-for-me-to-get-my-head/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [There is no pop category, let alone any infinitely gene-sliced genre name, to contain the lead in Rihanna's voice in 'Needed Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/there-is-no-pop-category-let-alone-any-infinitely-gene-sliced-genre/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I'm a fan of Oliver Stone. I like his movies, I like his excess, and I think he has a great capacity for empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-m-a-fan-of-oliver-stone-i-like-his-movies-i-like-his-excess-and-i/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Bob Dylan continues to release odd and unsettling records, and to do odd and unsettling things on stage. So the term 'still' seems meaningless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/bob-dylan-continues-to-release-odd-and-unsettling-records-and-to-do/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [When you're writing criticism or thinking critically, to draw a very limited minor conclusion from solid evidence is really not thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/when-you-re-writing-criticism-or-thinking-critically-to-draw-a-very/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I don't know that there's a division between American and British, European, South American, Asian sensibilities when it comes to rock n' roll or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/i-don-t-know-that-there-s-a-division-between-american-and-british/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [We fight our way through the massed and leveled collective safe taste of the Top 40, just looking for a little something we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/we-fight-our-way-through-the-massed-and-leveled-collective-safe-taste/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Banishing the love song, people discovered what else there was to sing about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/banishing-the-love-song-people-discovered-what-else-there-was-to-sing/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [“Every time Elvis sings, he makes a bargain with the devil -- just like Captain Ahab in MOBY DICK!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/every-time-elvis-sings-he-makes-a-bargain-with-the-devil-just-like/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) [Explore all 65 Greil Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) ## More Book 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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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