--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is so tiring to the reader as…" description: "\"“Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets of meaning from mountains of words.”\" — Harold Evans" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg" --- # Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets… ![“Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets of meaning from mountains of words.” quote by Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg) > ““Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets of meaning from mountains of words.”” [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers waste energy trying to extract deep meaning from overly verbose prose. **In simple terms:** Clarity beats unnecessary complexity. Key Takeaway Seek simplicity in writing. Themes clarity reading literature Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical educational When to use this quote - academic papers - journalism - novels Key Concepts verbosity interpretation reader fatigue Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance depth and brevity? - When is dense prose effective? A Different Perspective Complex texts can also enrich understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Excavating Nuggets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excavating-nuggets-4692868/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mountains Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountains-words-4445908/) [Reader Excavating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-excavating-4692866/) [Tiring Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tiring-reader-4692867/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) ## Related quotes > [“You can move mountains with words, but you need a bulldozer of creativity to find the gold nuggets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasza-waters/you-can-move-mountains-with-words-but-you-need-a-bulldozer-of/) [Natasza Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasza-waters/) > [“As an author you can move mountains with words, but you need a bulldozer of creativity to find the gold nuggets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasza-waters/as-an-author-you-can-move-mountains-with-words-but-you-need-a/) [Natasza Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasza-waters/) > [“sometimes words are not big enough to contain all the feelings you are trying to pour into them. My”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/sometimes-words-are-not-big-enough-to-contain-all-the-feelings-you/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The oldest, shortest words - 'yes' and 'no' - are those which require the most thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pythagoras/the-oldest-shortest-words-yes-and-no-are-those-which-require-the-most/) [Pythagoras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pythagoras/) > [“I've been impressed by the extent to which one gets sentenced by one's own sentences. One explores certain things in play and then in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/i-ve-been-impressed-by-the-extent-to-which-one-gets-sentenced-by-one/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [A woman who is careful with her words is a gift to all who know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/a-woman-who-is-careful-with-her-words-is-a-gift-to-all-who-know-her/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [“The word for mother, umm, is the root of the words for “source, nation, mercy, first principle, rich harvest; stupid, illiterate, parasite, weak of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/the-word-for-mother-umm-is-the-root-of-the-words-for-source-nation/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [When deeds speak, words are nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/when-deeds-speak-words-are-nothing/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [Words can only have an effect on you if you choose to listen to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernajoy-vaal/words-can-only-have-an-effect-on-you-if-you-choose-to-listen-to-them/) [Bernajoy Vaal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernajoy-vaal/) > [“Willa. Ellen. A world in two words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliann-garey/willa-ellen-a-world-in-two-words/) [Juliann Garey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliann-garey/) > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Words can kill you trust towards someone, mind you language people, every reaction had its consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-can-kill-you-trust-towards-someone-mind-you-language-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The words for what I want to say right now don't exist. Everything sounds…so cliché.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-crane/the-words-for-what-i-want-to-say-right-now-don-t-exist-everything/) [Shelly Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-crane/) > [“I only have two words to say More or Less”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timbur/i-only-have-two-words-to-say-more-or-less/) [TimBur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timbur/) ## More by Harold Evans > [ \[The web\] is going to end up being a tremendous advantage, providing we can work out the financial structure. I think we’ll see newspapers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-web-is-going-to-end-up-being-a-tremendous-advantage-providing-we/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“Here’s a sampling I made from the usual suspects (print, TV, radio, magazines). Zombies on the left, purgatives on the right, word counts in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/here-s-a-sampling-i-made-from-the-usual-suspects-print-tv-radio/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [The democratization of news is fine and splendid, but it's not reporting. It's based on a fragment of information picked up from television or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-democratization-of-news-is-fine-and-splendid-but-it-s-not/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [If I want to spend the rest of my life reading one day's output of information, which is about what it would take, OK…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/if-i-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-reading-one-day-s-output-of/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“The grossest offenders are in the field of, in connection with, in order to, in respect of, so far as… is concerned. All sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-grossest-offenders-are-in-the-field-of-in-connection-with-in/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [People were murdered for the camera; and some photographers and a television camera crew departed without taking a picture in the hope that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/people-were-murdered-for-the-camera-and-some-photographers-and-a/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“The proliferation of nominalizations in a discursive formation may be an indication of a tendency toward pomposity and abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-proliferation-of-nominalizations-in-a-discursive-formation-may-be/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [I often see cases of Internet news where there's no reconciliation for what's gone before and what's newly arrived. That training for me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/i-often-see-cases-of-internet-news-where-there-s-no-reconciliation/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Propaganda is persuading people to make up their minds while withholding some of the facts from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/propaganda-is-persuading-people-to-make-up-their-minds-while/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [The camera cannot lie, but it can be an accessory to untruth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-camera-cannot-lie-but-it-can-be-an-accessory-to-untruth/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Actions are always more complex and nuanced than they seem. We have to be willing to wrestle with paradox in pursuing understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/actions-are-always-more-complex-and-nuanced-than-they-seem-we-have-to/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [“Prepositional verbs grow like toadstools. Once there was credit in facing a problem. Now problems have to be faced up to. The prepositions add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/prepositional-verbs-grow-like-toadstools-once-there-was-credit-in/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [We always talk about how everyone is unifocal. You can't possibly be interested in jazz and Beethoven. Of course you can. You can't both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/we-always-talk-about-how-everyone-is-unifocal-you-can-t-possibly-be/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [What I'm driving at is let's not lose sight in our excitement of the democratization of the media that some things are bad, false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/what-i-m-driving-at-is-let-s-not-lose-sight-in-our-excitement-of-the/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Television and radio are what I call sequential media; they're not simultaneous media. With simultaneous media, you can scan your eye down an electronic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/television-and-radio-are-what-i-call-sequential-media-they-re-not/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) [Explore all 42 Harold Evans quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) ## 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": "“Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets of meaning from mountains of words.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harold Evans" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-excavating-nuggets-of-meaning/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-excavating-nuggets-of-meaning/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a5/harold-evans-15687_books_nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-ex_1366355.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is so tiring to the reader as excavating nuggets of meaning from mountains of words.” — Harold Evans", "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 Evans", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Nothing is so tiring to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-excavating-nuggets-of-meaning/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/nothing-is-so-tiring-to-the-reader-as-excavating-nuggets-of-meaning/#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 } } ] } ```