--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Semiotics is really interested in the…" description: "\"Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what keeps you watching something, what keeps you - you know, what keeps you listening to a story..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png" --- # Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what… ![“Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what keeps you watching something, what keeps you - you know, what keeps you listening to a story on the radio? Like, what keeps you turning the pages in a book? What's the pleasure of it that's moving you forward, that's pulling you in and…” quote by Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png) > “Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what keeps you watching something, what keeps you - you know, what keeps you listening to a story on the radio? Like, what keeps you turning the pages in a book? What's the pleasure of it that's moving you forward, that's pulling you in and grabbing you and pulling you forward?” [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explores why people are drawn to stories, music, and books, focusing on the pleasure of being engaged and moved forward. **In simple terms:** Stories captivate us by pulling us in and driving curiosity. Key Takeaway Create compelling narratives that sustain audience interest. Themes storytelling engagement media pleasure attention Mood curious enthusiastic Type creative educational When to use this quote - Podcast scripting - advertising copywriting - educational content design - creative writing workshops Key Concepts Narrative theory psychology of curiosity media studies Questions to Reflect On - What elements most effectively sustain audience attention? - How can creators balance depth with immediate appeal? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on engagement can lead to shallow content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Semiotics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/semiotics/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [I am really more interested in questions than in giving answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/i-am-really-more-interested-in-questions-than-in-giving-answers/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [I'm definitely interested in two questions: 'Is anybody ever really irredeemable?' and 'How much are we all prepared to do for each other?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-giles/i-m-definitely-interested-in-two-questions-is-anybody-ever-really/) [Jeff Giles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-giles/) > [William Shakespeare tried hard to see every facet of every question, probably because he was more interested in questions than in answers. That's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-arthur/william-shakespeare-tried-hard-to-see-every-facet-of-every-question/) [James Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-arthur/) > [I was interested in the questions that come up when the Internet gives you access not just to JSTOR libraries and to digital information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-goldberg/i-was-interested-in-the-questions-that-come-up-when-the-internet/) [Ken Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-goldberg/) > [I was a semiotics major at Brown, and there's this idea that stories are better, books are better, and movies are better if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-was-a-semiotics-major-at-brown-and-there-s-this-idea-that-stories/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I don't like that whole "art should challenge you" thing. Because I don't feel like art actually does challenge you. I was a semiotics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-don-t-like-that-whole-art-should-challenge-you-thing-because-i-don/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I don't read novels, but my semiotics study influenced everything about the way I read and edit and write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-don-t-read-novels-but-my-semiotics-study-influenced-everything/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [When Britney shaves off all her hair and beats paparazzi with umbrellas - that's what celebrities are supposed to do. They're not supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/when-britney-shaves-off-all-her-hair-and-beats-paparazzi-with/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [“Speech is a spell, and words, once ejected into the air, warp the weave of worlds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ho-tzu-nyen/speech-is-a-spell-and-words-once-ejected-into-the-air-warp-the-weave/) Ho Tzu Nyen > [“True wrestling, wrong called amateur wrestling, is performed in second-rate halls, where the public spontaneously attunes itself to the spectacular nature of the contest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/true-wrestling-wrong-called-amateur-wrestling-is-performed-in-second/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [“The good of a book lies in its being read. A book is made up of signs that speak of other signs, which in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-good-of-a-book-lies-in-its-being-read-a-book-is-made-up-of-signs/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [The good of a book lies in its being read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-good-of-a-book-lies-in-its-being-read/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [“natural language will always remain the basic interpretation of, and reservoir for, the development of the artificial formalized languages of science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-bradbury/natural-language-will-always-remain-the-basic-interpretation-of-and/) Doris Bradbury > [“No algorithm exists for the metaphor, nor can a metaphor be produced by means of a computer’s precise instructions, no matter what the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/no-algorithm-exists-for-the-metaphor-nor-can-a-metaphor-be-produced/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) ## More by Ira Glass > [I think the most famous person I've ever met is Brad Pitt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-think-the-most-famous-person-i-ve-ever-met-is-brad-pitt/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'm a big Penn & Teller fan. But I myself was never very good; I was a teenage magician who performed at kids' parties.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-a-big-penn-teller-fan-but-i-myself-was-never-very-good-i-was-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I think the thing that I wish somebody would ask me is just to ask about the business side of the radio show. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-think-the-thing-that-i-wish-somebody-would-ask-me-is-just-to-ask/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [Many times I see you as a portrait of torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/many-times-i-see-you-as-a-portrait-of-torture/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [It's tricky, performing the show live. Because when you're in a big auditorium, in front of 700 people, the natural tendency is to want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/it-s-tricky-performing-the-show-live-because-when-you-re-in-a-big/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [When you're working in public radio, you don't have any money to advertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/when-you-re-working-in-public-radio-you-don-t-have-any-money-to/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I suppose I shouldn't go around admitting I speak untruths on the radio. When I say something untrue on the air, I mean for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-suppose-i-shouldn-t-go-around-admitting-i-speak-untruths-on-the/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [But you can make good radio, interesting radio, great radio even, without an urgent question, a burning issue at stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/but-you-can-make-good-radio-interesting-radio-great-radio-even/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'm a cliche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-a-cliche/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I dont know how to read. I get all my news from Jon Stewart every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-dont-know-how-to-read-i-get-all-my-news-from-jon-stewart-every-day/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I am such a do-goody, people-pleasing kid - or I was - I don't think I've ever been fired, not even from an ice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-am-such-a-do-goody-people-pleasing-kid-or-i-was-i-don-t-think-i-ve/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [In some theoretical way I know that a half-million people hear the show. But in a day-to-day way, there's not much evidence of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/in-some-theoretical-way-i-know-that-a-half-million-people-hear-the/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'll meet listeners who tell me what a great voice I have. But I don't have a great voice for radio. My voice is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-ll-meet-listeners-who-tell-me-what-a-great-voice-i-have-but-i-don-t/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [ I remember clearly that when I was little it was explained to me \[that\] the way that babies were made was that God put… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-remember-clearly-that-when-i-was-little-it-was-explained-to-me-that/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) [Explore all 165 Ira Glass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) ## 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": "Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what keeps you watching something, what keeps you - you know, what keeps you listening to a story on the radio? Like, what keeps you turning the pages in a book? What's the pleasure of it that's moving you forward, that's pulling you in and grabbing you and pulling you forward?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ira Glass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-questions-like-what-keeps-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-questions-like-what-keeps-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39f/ira-glass-2464_book_semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-qu_1205496.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Semiotics is really interested in the questions like, what keeps you watching something, what keeps you…” — Ira Glass", "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": "Ira Glass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Semiotics is really interested in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-questions-like-what-keeps-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/semiotics-is-really-interested-in-the-questions-like-what-keeps-you/#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 } } ] } ```