---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you like to read, sometimes it's…"
description: "\"If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the d..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png"
---

#  If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go…

![“If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the drunk or sober poet... Sometimes you can go looking for illumination.” quote by Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png)

> “If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the drunk or sober poet... Sometimes you can go looking for illumination.”

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Reading can be a way to test reality against imagined worlds, seeking truth beyond fiction.

**In simple terms:** Reading tests reality versus imagination.

Key Takeaway

Use reading to compare fact and fiction.

Themes

curiosity literature truth seeking

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

analytical reflective

When to use this quote

- book clubs
- research
- creative writing
- critical analysis

Key Concepts

epistemology narrative contrast

Questions to Reflect On

- How does reading change your perception of reality?
- What fiction challenges your beliefs?

A Different Perspective

Reading may reinforce bias if not approached critically.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Illumination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illumination/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poet Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet-looking-4537378/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Read Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-interesting-918119/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober/) [Sober Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober-poet-4537379/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Writer Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-drunk-4537380/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“People who read always have something interesting to say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-who-read-always-have-something-interesting-to-say/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Sometimes, readers, when they're young, are given, say, a book like 'Moby Dick' to read. And it is an interesting, complicated book, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/sometimes-readers-when-they-re-young-are-given-say-a-book-like-moby/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [I'm an amateur, so I read what's interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/i-m-an-amateur-so-i-read-what-s-interesting-to-me/)

[Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/)

> [“It is odd, isn’t it? Whenever I read something interesting, I tear out a piece and keep it as a talisman until I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/it-is-odd-isn-t-it-whenever-i-read-something-interesting-i-tear-out-a/)

[Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/)

> [The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audre-lorde/the-quality-of-light-by-which-we-scrutinize-our-lives-has-direct/)

[Audre Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audre-lorde/)

> [One function of the angels is illumination, and the other function is that of being a guardian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/one-function-of-the-angels-is-illumination-and-the-other-function-is/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [Don't hate the arising of thoughts or stop the thoughts that do arise. Simply realize that our original mind, right from the start, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/don-t-hate-the-arising-of-thoughts-or-stop-the-thoughts-that-do-arise/)

[Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/)

> [The investigation of making is illuminating towards that moment rather than the other way around, a reversal of the way that I would approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-mehretu/the-investigation-of-making-is-illuminating-towards-that-moment/)

[Julie Mehretu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-mehretu/)

> [ “He exuded wisdom-even the wisest...were pale, flickering candles next to the nourishing solar illumination of \[his\] insights.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aprilynne-pike/he-exuded-wisdom-even-the-wisest-were-pale-flickering-candles-next-to/)

[Aprilynne Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aprilynne-pike/)

> [Most new discoveries are suddenly-seen things that were always there. A new idea is a light that illuminates presences which simply had no form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanne-katherina-langer/most-new-discoveries-are-suddenly-seen-things-that-were-always-there/)

[Susanne Katherina Langer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanne-katherina-langer/)

> [An unsophisticated forecaster uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than for illumination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/an-unsophisticated-forecaster-uses-statistics-as-a-drunken-man-uses/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The end for which we are created invites us to walk a road that is surely sown with a lot of thorns, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pier-giorgio-frassati/the-end-for-which-we-are-created-invites-us-to-walk-a-road-that-is/)

[Pier Giorgio Frassati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pier-giorgio-frassati/)

> [We can find meaning and reward by serving some higher purpose than ourselves, a shining purpose, the illumination of a Thousand Points of Light...We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-h-w-bush/we-can-find-meaning-and-reward-by-serving-some-higher-purpose-than/)

[George H. W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-h-w-bush/)

> [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/act-as-if-the-universe-is-a-prodigious-miracle-created-for-your/)

[Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/)

> [You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/you-are-unique-and-there-may-be-incidents-in-your-experience-that-are/)

[Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/)

## More by Harold Brodkey

> [Being ill like this combines shock - this time I will die - with a pain and agony that are unfamiliar, that wrench me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/being-ill-like-this-combines-shock-this-time-i-will-die-with-a-pain/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [“I figured I had kept her from being too depressed after fucking--it's hard for a girl with any force in her and any brains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-figured-i-had-kept-her-from-being-too-depressed-after-fucking-it-s/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [I was always crazy about New York, dependent on it, scared of it - well, it is dangerous - but beyond that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-was-always-crazy-about-new-york-dependent-on-it-scared-of-it-well/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [In our opposed forms of loneliness and self-recognition and recognition of the other, we touched each other often as we spoke; and on shore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-our-opposed-forms-of-loneliness-and-self-recognition-and/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [It is death that goes down to the center of the earth, the great burial church the earth is, and then to the curved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-death-that-goes-down-to-the-center-of-the-earth-the-great/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [“Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act. I say that because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/reading-is-an-intimate-act-perhaps-more-intimate-than-any-other-human/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [“There is a certain shade of red brick--a dark, almost melodious red, sombre and riddled with blue--that is my childhood in St.Louis. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/there-is-a-certain-shade-of-red-brick-a-dark-almost-melodious-red/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [I'm sixty-two, and it's ecological sense to die while you're still productive, die and clear a space for others, old and young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-m-sixty-two-and-it-s-ecological-sense-to-die-while-you-re-still/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [It is like visiting one's funeral, like visiting loss in its purest and most monumental form, this wild darkness, which is not only unknown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/it-is-like-visiting-one-s-funeral-like-visiting-loss-in-its-purest/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [In New York one lives in the moment rather more than Socrates advised, so that at a party or alone in your room it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/in-new-york-one-lives-in-the-moment-rather-more-than-socrates-advised/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [I have thousands of opinions still - but that is down from millions - and, as always, I know nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-have-thousands-of-opinions-still-but-that-is-down-from-millions-and/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [Almost the first thing I did when I became ill was to buy a truly good television set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/almost-the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-became-ill-was-to-buy-a-truly/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [I am startled when people are themselves and are not my thoughts of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-am-startled-when-people-are-themselves-and-are-not-my-thoughts-of/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [You really can’t write unless you read. You have to know what the game is all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/you-really-can-t-write-unless-you-read-you-have-to-know-what-the-game/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

> [I often thought men stank of rage; it is why I preferred women, and homosexuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/i-often-thought-men-stank-of-rage-it-is-why-i-preferred-women-and/)

[Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

[Explore all 47 Harold Brodkey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/)

## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the drunk or sober poet... Sometimes you can go looking for illumination.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Harold Brodkey"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-interesting-just-to-go-and-see/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-interesting-just-to-go-and-see/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0dd/harold-brodkey-14369_books_if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-inter_2965242.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the…” — Harold Brodkey",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Harold Brodkey",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you like to read, sometimes...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-interesting-just-to-go-and-see/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/if-you-like-to-read-sometimes-it-s-interesting-just-to-go-and-see/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
