--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read anything I saw lying around. Pulp…" description: "\"“I read anything I saw lying around. Pulp fiction, great literature and everything in between - I gave them all the same rough treatment.”\" — Ian McEwan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/ian-mcewan-494_books_i-read-anything-i-saw-lying-around-pulp_2201789.png" --- # I read anything I saw lying around. Pulp fiction, great… ![“I read anything I saw lying around. Pulp fiction, great literature and everything in between - I gave them all the same rough treatment.” quote by Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/ian-mcewan-494_books_i-read-anything-i-saw-lying-around-pulp_2201789.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/ian-mcewan-494_books_i-read-anything-i-saw-lying-around-pulp_2201789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b12/ian-mcewan-494_books_i-read-anything-i-saw-lying-around-pulp_2201789.png) > ““I read anything I saw lying around. Pulp fiction, great literature and everything in between - I gave them all the same rough treatment.”” [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. All reading is treated equally, regardless of genre or perceived value. **In simple terms:** Equal treatment of all books. Key Takeaway Value every text for its own merit. Themes literature equality critique Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - library curation - academic syllabus - personal reading lists Key Concepts postmodernism cultural hierarchy reading habits Questions to Reflect On - Do you judge books by cover? - How does genre influence your perception? A Different Perspective Some works deserve deeper analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Gave Rough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-rough-4839112/) [Literature Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-gave-2624317/) [Lying Pulp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying-pulp-4839111/) [Pulp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp/) [Pulp fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [“...what distinguishes pulp fiction from great literature is how emphatically the work challenges us to interpret it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-meyer/what-distinguishes-pulp-fiction-from-great-literature-is-how/) [Bruce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-meyer/) > [You look at John Travolta in 'Pulp Fiction', you look at Donnie Wahlberg in 'The Sixth Sense.' People have liens against them in crazy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-green/you-look-at-john-travolta-in-pulp-fiction-you-look-at-donnie-wahlberg/) [Seth Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-green/) > [Independent films will probably kill themselves off by virtue of their own success. With a crossover hit like PULP FICTION, the criteria by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-schamus/independent-films-will-probably-kill-themselves-off-by-virtue-of/) [James Schamus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-schamus/) > ['Pulp Fiction' blew my mind; beforehand, I'd watch films and there was a beginning, middle and an end, and that's it. There is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-clarke/pulp-fiction-blew-my-mind-beforehand-i-d-watch-films-and-there-was-a/) [Noel Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-clarke/) > [Meanwhile, however, what’s most bothersome about Pulp Fiction is its success. This is not to be mean-spirited about Tarantino himself; may he harvest all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-kauffmann/meanwhile-however-what-s-most-bothersome-about-pulp-fiction-is-its/) [Stanley Kauffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-kauffmann/) > [I was watching 'Pulp Fiction' when we were making 'Now and Then'. I didn't care about 'Now and Then,' you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/i-was-watching-pulp-fiction-when-we-were-making-now-and-then-i-didn-t/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [It took me a lot of times watching it that I started to appreciate 'Pulp Fiction.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/it-took-me-a-lot-of-times-watching-it-that-i-started-to-appreciate/) [Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/) > [Pulp Fiction' was probably one of the first films I ever saw that really kind of took effect on me. I was about four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pulp-fiction-was-probably-one-of-the-first-films-i-ever-saw-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't get enough of 'Pulp Fiction.' I just love it; it still holds up. And it didn't win Best Picture, by the way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-olyphant/i-can-t-get-enough-of-pulp-fiction-i-just-love-it-it-still-holds-up/) [Timothy Olyphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-olyphant/) > [Pulp Fiction's insane. I haven't watched it in so long because there was a time where I would watch it like 30 times in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/pulp-fiction-s-insane-i-haven-t-watched-it-in-so-long-because-there/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [I think, for sure, 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Pulp Fiction' were kind of bookends for - or the pillars of - my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-travolta/i-think-for-sure-saturday-night-fever-and-pulp-fiction-were-kind-of/) [John Travolta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-travolta/) > [ It remains a mystery to me why some of that \[pulp\] fiction should be judged inferior to the rafts and rafts of bad social… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moorcock/it-remains-a-mystery-to-me-why-some-of-that-pulp-fiction-should-be/) [Michael Moorcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moorcock/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“The instruction here is not for every kind of writer - not for the writer of nurse books or thrillers or porno or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-instruction-here-is-not-for-every-kind-of-writer-not-for-the/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [I wouldn't define myself as the girl from 'Pulp Fiction.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-de-medeiros/i-wouldn-t-define-myself-as-the-girl-from-pulp-fiction/) [Maria de Medeiros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-de-medeiros/) ## More by Ian McEwan > [“As you will see, we do not believe that artists have an obligation to strike up attitudes to the war. Indeed, they are wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/as-you-will-see-we-do-not-believe-that-artists-have-an-obligation-to/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [You could say that all novels are spy novels and all novelists are spy masters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/you-could-say-that-all-novels-are-spy-novels-and-all-novelists-are/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I've never had a moment's doubt. I love you. I believe in you completely. You are my dearest one. My reason for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-ve-never-had-a-moment-s-doubt-i-love-you-i-believe-in-you/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“It is shaming sometimes, how the body will not, or cannot, lie about emotions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-is-shaming-sometimes-how-the-body-will-not-or-cannot-lie-about/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“While my friends struggled and calculated, I reached a solution by a set of floating steps that were partly visual, partly just a feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/while-my-friends-struggled-and-calculated-i-reached-a-solution-by-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Once, on a walk by a river- Eskdale in low reddish sunlight, with a dusting of snow- his daughter quoted to him an opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/once-on-a-walk-by-a-river-eskdale-in-low-reddish-sunlight-with-a/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Perhaps it's one of those cases of a microcosm giving you the whole world. Like a spode dinner plate. Or a single cell. Or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/perhaps-it-s-one-of-those-cases-of-a-microcosm-giving-you-the-whole/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [Who you get, and how it works out- there's so much luck involved, as well as the million branching consequences of your conscious choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/who-you-get-and-how-it-works-out-there-s-so-much-luck-involved-as/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“On Chesil Beach he could have called out to Florence, he could have gone after her. He did not know, or would not have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/on-chesil-beach-he-could-have-called-out-to-florence-he-could-have/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [It was always the view of my parents...that hot weather encouraged loose morals among young people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/it-was-always-the-view-of-my-parents-that-hot-weather-encouraged/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I apologize for being obvious, but every time I watch the curtain come down on even a halfway decent production of a Shakespeare play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-apologize-for-being-obvious-but-every-time-i-watch-the-curtain-come/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I would rather be physically disabled obviously than mentally. I would rather be paraplegic than nuts. And it is a terrifying prospect and actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-would-rather-be-physically-disabled-obviously-than-mentally-i-would/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Words, as I'm beginning to appreciate, can make things true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/words-as-i-m-beginning-to-appreciate-can-make-things-true/) [Ian McEwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I did not kill my father, but I sometimes felt I had helped him on his way. And but for the fact that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-did-not-kill-my-father-but-i-sometimes-felt-i-had-helped-him-on-his/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) [Explore all 496 Ian McEwan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## 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": "“I read anything I saw lying around. 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