--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Do not read as children do to enjoy…" description: "\"“Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.”\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/gustave-flaubert-354_books_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-enjoy-them_1489578.jpg" --- # Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the… ![“Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/gustave-flaubert-354_books_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-enjoy-them_1489578.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/gustave-flaubert-354_books_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-enjoy-them_1489578.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/83e/gustave-flaubert-354_books_do-not-read-as-children-do-to-enjoy-them_1489578.jpg) > ““Do not read as children do to enjoy themselves, or, as the ambitious do to educate themselves. No, read to live.”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should be a means to experience life fully, not merely for pleasure or self‑improvement. **In simple terms:** Read to live life, not just to enjoy or learn. Key Takeaway Seek depth in reading. Themes literature purpose experience Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - education - travel - empathy Key Concepts existentialism authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How does reading change your daily actions? - What does “living” mean to you? A Different Perspective Reading alone does not guarantee living fully; application matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ## Related quotes > [The man who seeks to educate himself must first read and then travel in order to correct what he has learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-man-who-seeks-to-educate-himself-must-first-read-and-then-travel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Educate yourself: Read up on current events and books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-justice/educate-yourself-read-up-on-current-events-and-books/) [Victoria Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-justice/) > [Do not read, as children do, to amuse yourself, or like the ambitious, for the purpose of instruction. No, read in order to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/do-not-read-as-children-do-to-amuse-yourself-or-like-the-ambitious/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We can live in a society founded on the book and yet not read, or we can live in a society where the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/we-can-live-in-a-society-founded-on-the-book-and-yet-not-read-or-we/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [I read so I can live more than one life in more than one place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/i-read-so-i-can-live-more-than-one-life-in-more-than-one-place/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [“Read to live the life you want. Embrace every page and start over again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaa-zainol/read-to-live-the-life-you-want-embrace-every-page-and-start-over-again/) Shaa Zainol > [I heard David Sedaris read live recently which was a complete delight. Few writers make me laugh out loud on the bus. He does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hattie-morahan/i-heard-david-sedaris-read-live-recently-which-was-a-complete-delight/) [Hattie Morahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hattie-morahan/) > [“It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live us many more lives and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa-2/it-is-not-true-that-we-have-only-one-life-to-live-if-we-can-read-we/) [S.I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa-2/) > [“I live to write but, I read to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-gentry/i-live-to-write-but-i-read-to-live/) Gail Gentry > [“Read to live, not live to read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer/read-to-live-not-live-to-read/) Edward Bulwer > [“Read to live another life, even if only for a chapter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-urtso/read-to-live-another-life-even-if-only-for-a-chapter/) Jordan Urtso > [I think that it's not enough to do the little Band-Aid things of having celebrities come and read to children. Not that we don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-think-that-it-s-not-enough-to-do-the-little-band-aid-things-of/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [“In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time -- none,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-whole-life-i-have-known-no-wise-people-over-a-broad-subject/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can still remember. I was ill, and I was seven, and my father didn't want me to just read children's books. He came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/i-can-still-remember-i-was-ill-and-i-was-seven-and-my-father-didn-t/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [“The writer whose words are going to be read by children has a heavy responsibility. And yet, despite the undeniable fact that the children’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/the-writer-whose-words-are-going-to-be-read-by-children-has-a-heavy/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## 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. 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