--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I do not know but it is too much to read…" description: "\"I do not know but it is too much to read one newspaper a week. I have tried it recently, and for so long it seems to me that I have not dwelt in my nat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/henry-david-thoreau-20_clouds_i-do-not-know-but-it-is-too-much-to-read_162401.jpg" --- # I do not know but it is too much to read one newspaper a… ![“I do not know but it is too much to read one newspaper a week. I have tried it recently, and for so long it seems to me that I have not dwelt in my native region. The sun, the clouds, the snow, the trees say not so much to me. You cannot serve two masters.” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/henry-david-thoreau-20_clouds_i-do-not-know-but-it-is-too-much-to-read_162401.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/henry-david-thoreau-20_clouds_i-do-not-know-but-it-is-too-much-to-read_162401.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43e/henry-david-thoreau-20_clouds_i-do-not-know-but-it-is-too-much-to-read_162401.jpg) > “I do not know but it is too much to read one newspaper a week. I have tried it recently, and for so long it seems to me that I have not dwelt in my native region. The sun, the clouds, the snow, the trees say not so much to me. You cannot serve two masters.” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels overwhelmed by excessive reading and disconnected from nature, emphasizing the need to focus on immediate surroundings rather than distant information sources. **In simple terms:** Too much reading isolates from nature and local life. Key Takeaway Limit media consumption to stay present. Themes focus nature media consumption mindfulness balance Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - daily routine - travel - education - personal growth Key Concepts information overload disconnection localism Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance reading with experiencing the world? - What local experiences are you missing? A Different Perspective Reading excessively can replace direct experience with second‑hand knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/snow/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Two masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-masters/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) ## Related quotes > [I felt like I've prepared myself every week and tried to play as hard as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-gurley/i-felt-like-i-ve-prepared-myself-every-week-and-tried-to-play-as-hard/) [Todd Gurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-gurley/) > [I'm one of those people that read a newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-miller/i-m-one-of-those-people-that-read-a-newspaper/) [Ben Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-miller/) > [Basically for me a story can be anything. Anything you tell me, anything I read in the newspaper, in any mode. I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/basically-for-me-a-story-can-be-anything-anything-you-tell-me/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [I would rather exercise than read a newspaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/i-would-rather-exercise-than-read-a-newspaper/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [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/) > [I read a ton of paper every day. I read the newspapers, I read my intelligence materials, I read all the briefing materials. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-rice/i-read-a-ton-of-paper-every-day-i-read-the-newspapers-i-read-my/) [Susan Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-rice/) > [To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worth while. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/to-read-a-newspaper-is-to-refrain-from-reading-something-worth-while/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [I read the newspaper every day just to see if there's anyone I know in the obituaries or the underwear ads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-read-the-newspaper-every-day-just-to-see-if-there-s-anyone-i-know/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I can't read the newspaper without crying. I'm easily affected by horrible events, you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aurora/i-can-t-read-the-newspaper-without-crying-i-m-easily-affected-by/) [Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aurora/) > [Newspapers are so boring. How can you read a newspaper that starts with a 51-word lead sentence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/newspapers-are-so-boring-how-can-you-read-a-newspaper-that-starts/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-do-read-the-newspaper-you-are-misinformed/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I read the newspaper avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-read-the-newspaper-avidly-it-is-my-one-form-of-continuous-fiction/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't listen to the news. I don't read the newspaper unless it's eccentric information - and the obituaries, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maira-kalman/i-don-t-listen-to-the-news-i-don-t-read-the-newspaper-unless-it-s/) [Maira Kalman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maira-kalman/) > [I still read newspaper comics, but without much hope for their future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-still-read-newspaper-comics-but-without-much-hope-for-their-future/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I read the newspaper, but I live in my own little bubble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-read-the-newspaper-but-i-live-in-my-own-little-bubble/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Clouds quotes > [How wonderful it would be, I thought, if only we could practice the teachings of the Buddha as he really taught them from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/how-wonderful-it-would-be-i-thought-if-only-we-could-practice-the/) [Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. 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A photographer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edouard-boubat/sometimes-i-envy-painters-it-is-wonderful-to-remain-in-front-of-a/) [Edouard Boubat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edouard-boubat/) > [Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/above-the-clouds-i-lift-my-wing-to-hear-the-bells-of-heaven-ring-some/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [If you like I'll be furious flesh elemental, or- changing to tones that the sunset arouses- if you like- I'll be extraordinary gentle, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-mayakovsky/if-you-like-i-ll-be-furious-flesh-elemental-or-changing-to-tones-that/) [Vladimir Mayakovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-mayakovsky/) > [Sometimes in life the clouds are too dark to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/sometimes-in-life-the-clouds-are-too-dark-to-see/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [May you eat an unfamiliar dessert in a strange land at least once every three years. 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