---
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.\" — Haruki Murakami"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.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.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg)

> “If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”

[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.

Conformist reading limits perspective; diverse reading expands thinking.

**In simple terms:** Reading only popular books narrows your mind.

Key Takeaway

Seek varied sources to broaden ideas.

Themes

creativity thinking diversity

Mood

thoughtful inquisitive

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- education
- personal growth
- media consumption

Key Concepts

cognitive flexibility independent thought

Questions to Reflect On

- What books have you avoided that could challenge you?
- How does diverse reading affect your decisions?

A Different Perspective

Popularity may mask quality; not all popular books are insightful.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [“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/)

> [“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 you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. That’s the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only-2/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [ Kids absolutely not reading. I think it's because they're so screen-oriented \[TVs, computers, smartphones\]. They do read - girls in particular read a lot.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/kids-absolutely-not-reading-i-think-it-s-because-they-re-so-screen/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [I'm not going to make judgments about what people are reading. I just want them to be reading. And I think reading one book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/i-m-not-going-to-make-judgments-about-what-people-are-reading-i-just/)

[Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/)

> [I will find any excuse to go into somebody's study or ask them what they are reading. I can't think of too many other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-will-find-any-excuse-to-go-into-somebody-s-study-or-ask-them-what/)

[George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/)

> [“Read every day something no one else is reading.Think every day something no one else is thinking. It is bad for the mind to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/read-every-day-something-no-one-else-is-reading-think-every-day-4/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [“I reflected, not for the first or last time, that when you are reading, others think they can disturb you because you are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-tipton/i-reflected-not-for-the-first-or-last-time-that-when-you-are-reading/)

James Tipton

> [“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/read-every-day-something-no-one-else-is-reading-think-every-day-3/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/read-every-day-something-no-one-else-is-reading-think-every-day-2/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [For any kind of reading I think better than leaving a blank still a blank, because the mind must receive a degree of enlargement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/for-any-kind-of-reading-i-think-better-than-leaving-a-blank-still-a/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [Let us assume that entertainment is the sole end of reading; even so I think you would hold that no mental employment is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-us-assume-that-entertainment-is-the-sole-end-of-reading-even-so-i/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/read-every-day-something-no-one-else-is-reading-think-every-day/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [“By the time we'd moved into that rambling, lopsided wooden house, I'd already fallen in love with reading. I think my love for books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-we-d-moved-into-that-rambling-lopsided-wooden-house-i-d/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [One can't prescribe books, even the best books, to people unless one knows a good deal about each individual person. If a man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/one-can-t-prescribe-books-even-the-best-books-to-people-unless-one/)

[Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/)

## 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 Book 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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```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.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Haruki Murakami"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ba/haruki-murakami-21_book_if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone_671328.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” — Haruki Murakami",
                "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": "Haruki Murakami",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you only read the books...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-only-read-the-books-that-everyone-else-is-reading-you-can-only/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
