--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The greatest compliments I’ve ever…" description: "\"“The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were complaints from readers that I made them stay up all night reading.”\" — H.E. Fairbanks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/h-e-fairbanks-97475_books_the-greatest-compliments-i-ve-ever-recei_266104.jpg" --- # The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were… ![“The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were complaints from readers that I made them stay up all night reading.” quote by H.E. Fairbanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/h-e-fairbanks-97475_books_the-greatest-compliments-i-ve-ever-recei_266104.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/h-e-fairbanks-97475_books_the-greatest-compliments-i-ve-ever-recei_266104.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d0/h-e-fairbanks-97475_books_the-greatest-compliments-i-ve-ever-recei_266104.jpg) > ““The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were complaints from readers that I made them stay up all night reading.”” H.E. Fairbanks ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers’ complaints of staying up all night reflect the book’s gripping suspense. **In simple terms:** A gripping book keeps readers up late. Key Takeaway Craft compelling, suspenseful narratives. Themes writing reading suspense authorial skill engagement Mood excited intrigued Type Books:1 Compliments:0 Reading:1 Suspense:1 Suspense-thriller:0 Writing:0 Compliments Ve:0 Greatest Compliments:0 Complaints Readers:0 Readers Stay:0 When to use this quote - author workshops - book clubs - editing sessions - marketing - publishing Key Concepts narrative tension reader immersion literary craft Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance tension and rest? - What makes a story unforgettable? A Different Perspective Not all readers enjoy sleeplessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Compliments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compliments/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Suspense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspense/) [Suspense-thriller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspense-thriller/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ Really, the greatest compliments about a book \[One Thousand Gifts\] are never about the book, or the author of the book, but about the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/really-the-greatest-compliments-about-a-book-one-thousand-gifts-are/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [I tend to give 90 percent of compliments on something they've achieved. My daughter is beautiful and my son is handsome, but I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirstie-alley/i-tend-to-give-90-percent-of-compliments-on-something-they-ve/) [Kirstie Alley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirstie-alley/) > [“No wonder you’re so successful in your business. You’re a scoundrel.” “Why thank you, sweetheart. That’s so nice of you to say.” “Only you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-force/no-wonder-you-re-so-successful-in-your-business-you-re-a-scoundrel/) [Marie Force](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-force/) > [I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing, because from all the compliments I've received so far, it sounds like I'm on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-cole/i-ve-just-got-to-keep-doing-what-i-m-doing-because-from-all-the/) [Gerrit Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-cole/) > [Readers will stay with an author, no matter what the variations in style and genre, as long as they get that sense of story,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/readers-will-stay-with-an-author-no-matter-what-the-variations-in/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [One of the biggest complaints readers have about my work is that I don't tell them often enough what they can do. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-kristof/one-of-the-biggest-complaints-readers-have-about-my-work-is-that-i/) [Nicholas Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-kristof/) > [I think one of the greatest compliments I've ever received was when a young kid came backstage at Joe's Pub, when I had the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dion-dimucci/i-think-one-of-the-greatest-compliments-i-ve-ever-received-was-when-a/) [Dion DiMucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dion-dimucci/) > [I think most of the compliments I've received during the years has been about my competitiveness. My desire to win and do things for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manu-ginobili/i-think-most-of-the-compliments-i-ve-received-during-the-years-has/) [Manu Ginobili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manu-ginobili/) > [“Just when he thinks he's adjusting to anxiety as a constant condition, Jake feels several internal organs shrinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-blauner/just-when-he-thinks-he-s-adjusting-to-anxiety-as-a-constant-condition/) Peter Blauner > [“Well, you should have a chat with your boyfriend, clarify your desires. Hate to break the news, but, uh, he’s cheatin’ on you. Tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-vail/well-you-should-have-a-chat-with-your-boyfriend-clarify-your-desires/) [Courtney Vail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-vail/) > [“Crossing the line, that's what the Highway Patrol woman said. 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(from GAMELAND Episode 1: Deep into the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-tanpepper/reggie-had-a-way-of-picking-the-bad-ideas-which-is-why-we-should-ve/) Saul Tanpepper > [“Peeing on a stick is not as easy as it sounds! #WhenRavensFall”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-wren/peeing-on-a-stick-is-not-as-easy-as-it-sounds-whenravensfall/) Matilda Wren > [“Everyday is another adventure!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-raptis/everyday-is-another-adventure/) Tracee Raptis ## More by H.E. Fairbanks > [“Books are the safest and greatest mind-altering substances in the world. But be safe; don't read and drive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-e-fairbanks/books-are-the-safest-and-greatest-mind-altering-substances-in-the/) H.E. Fairbanks Explore all 2 H.E. Fairbanks 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": "“The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were complaints from readers that I made them stay up all night reading.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "H.E. 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