--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you only read the books that everyone…" description: "\"“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That’s the world of hicks and slobs. Real..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4a/haruki-murakami-21_books_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_1780310.jpg" --- # If you only read the books that everyone else is reading… ![“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That’s the world of hicks and slobs. Real people would be ashamed of themselves doing that.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4a/haruki-murakami-21_books_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_1780310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4a/haruki-murakami-21_books_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_1780310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4a/haruki-murakami-21_books_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_1780310.jpg) > ““If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That’s the world of hicks and slobs. Real people would be ashamed of themselves doing that.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conforming to popular reading limits perspective; originality requires seeking diverse ideas beyond mainstream choices. **In simple terms:** Reading only popular books narrows thinking. Key Takeaway Explore unconventional sources. Themes creativity independence critical thinking Mood reflective challenging Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - academic research - creative writing - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive diversity intellectual humility Questions to Reflect On - What unconventional source could broaden your view? - How do you decide when to follow trends? A Different Perspective Mainstream books can still offer value; balance is key. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hicks Slobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hicks-slobs-1856898/) [People Ashamed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-ashamed-372035/) [Read Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-books-250428/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-think-1400644/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) ## Related quotes > [“Balzac, Dante, Joseph Conrad, Dickens," he answered without hesitation. "Not Exactly fashionable." "That's why I read them. If you only read the books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/balzac-dante-joseph-conrad-dickens-he-answered-without-hesitation-not/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“If u only read the books that everyone's reading, you can think what everyone else is thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-u-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-s-reading-you-can-think-what/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [There are a great many colored people who are ashamed of the cake-walk, but I think they ought to be proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-weldon-johnson/there-are-a-great-many-colored-people-who-are-ashamed-of-the-cake/) [James Weldon Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-weldon-johnson/) > [“People are always ashamed of the misery that has befallen them, as though it were an act of divine retribution for a long-forgotten sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-garnier/people-are-always-ashamed-of-the-misery-that-has-befallen-them-as/) [Pascal Garnier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-garnier/) > [Crimes of which a people is ashamed constitute its real history. The same is true of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-genet/crimes-of-which-a-people-is-ashamed-constitute-its-real-history-the/) [Jean Genet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-genet/) > [Spiritual people should not be ashamed of being wealthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/spiritual-people-should-not-be-ashamed-of-being-wealthy/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [People are ashamed to admit they need a revival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-ham/people-are-ashamed-to-admit-they-need-a-revival/) [Mordecai Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-ham/) > [Usually people are ashamed when they do something wrong. People love to live in the darkness... I live in the light. I didn't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mosab-hassan-yousef/usually-people-are-ashamed-when-they-do-something-wrong-people-love/) [Mosab Hassan Yousef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mosab-hassan-yousef/) > [There are many people still ashamed of their roots because of the negative connotations that come with being an 'African.' That sentiment exists many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachi-kirby/there-are-many-people-still-ashamed-of-their-roots-because-of-the/) [Malachi Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachi-kirby/) > [There are few people who are not ashamed of having been in love when they no longer love each other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-few-people-who-are-not-ashamed-of-having-been-in-love-when/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The politics of courts are so mean that private people would be ashamed to act in the same way; all is trick and finesse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horatio-nelson/the-politics-of-courts-are-so-mean-that-private-people-would-be/) [Horatio Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horatio-nelson/) > [It has always been incomprehensible for me: people are ashamed of the poverty but aren't ashamed of the wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faina-ranevskaya/it-has-always-been-incomprehensible-for-me-people-are-ashamed-of-the/) [Faina Ranevskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faina-ranevskaya/) > [No one should ever feel shame in being different to other people, other people should be more ashamed of being the exact same. People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/levita-charin/no-one-should-ever-feel-shame-in-being-different-to-other-people/) [Levita Charin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/levita-charin/) > [What people are ashamed of usually makes a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-people-are-ashamed-of-usually-makes-a-good-story/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## 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 only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That’s the world of hicks and slobs. 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