--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course reading and thinking are…" description: "\"Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png" --- # Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God… ![“Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png) > “Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Murdoch emphasizes that while intellectual pursuits matter, basic physical needs like food are equally essential. **In simple terms:** Thinking is important, but food is vital. Key Takeaway Balance mind and body needs. Themes philosophy wellbeing balance Mood contemplative practical Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily life - study habits - nutrition planning Key Concepts humanism practicality Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize mental or physical needs? - How can you integrate both? A Different Perspective Neglecting basics undermines higher goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-important-1040061/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-thinking-272383/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-important-731357/) ## Related quotes > [Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too. How fortunate we are to be food-consuming animals. Each meal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-important-but-my-god-food-is-2/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I ate and drank slowly as one should (cook fast, eat slowly) and without distractions such as (thank heavens) conversation or reading. Indeed eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-ate-and-drank-slowly-as-one-should-cook-fast-eat-slowly-and-without/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Many times, I know before I speak to the player what they are thinking. It's very important to know when to push, when to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-conte/many-times-i-know-before-i-speak-to-the-player-what-they-are-thinking/) [Antonio Conte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-conte/) > [There's a conventional wisdom that says that strategic thinking is much more important than relationship building, which doesn't seem to be nearly as highly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/there-s-a-conventional-wisdom-that-says-that-strategic-thinking-is/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Critical thinking is the most important factor with chess. As it is in life, you need to think before you make decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hikaru-nakamura/critical-thinking-is-the-most-important-factor-with-chess-as-it-is-in/) [Hikaru Nakamura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hikaru-nakamura/) > [We are all product of our thinking, which is why it's so important to be aware of our thoughts, and to guard them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kc-mathobela/we-are-all-product-of-our-thinking-which-is-why-it-s-so-important-to/) [KC Mathobela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kc-mathobela/) > [I had fooled myself into thinking that I was something important to the rest of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/i-had-fooled-myself-into-thinking-that-i-was-something-important-to/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [Now, I'm thinking about more important things: my family, kids, my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aroldis-chapman/now-i-m-thinking-about-more-important-things-my-family-kids-my-career/) [Aroldis Chapman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aroldis-chapman/) > [I think we get a little carried away with ourselves with sports thinking we're more important than everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-van-gundy/i-think-we-get-a-little-carried-away-with-ourselves-with-sports/) [Stan Van Gundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-van-gundy/) > [I am thinking about something much more important than bombs. I am thinking about computers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-von-neumann/i-am-thinking-about-something-much-more-important-than-bombs-i-am/) [John von Neumann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-von-neumann/) > [Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head. ~Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/beauty-isn-t-worth-thinking-about-what-s-important-is-your-mind-you/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [We are the product of our thinking, so it is important that we choose carefully where to focus our mental energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stanley/we-are-the-product-of-our-thinking-so-it-is-important-that-we-choose/) [Charles Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stanley/) > [“And what makes humans so sure that thinking is the most important activity in the universe?...I on the contrary have never forgotten that first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabina-berman/and-what-makes-humans-so-sure-that-thinking-is-the-most-important/) [Sabina Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabina-berman/) > [Play, Incorporating Animistic and Magical Thinking Is Important Because It: Fosters the healthy, creative and emotional growth of a child; Forms the best foundation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/play-incorporating-animistic-and-magical-thinking-is-important/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [Beauty isn't worth thinking about; what's important is your mind. You don't want a fifty-dollar haircut on a fifty-cent head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/beauty-isn-t-worth-thinking-about-what-s-important-is-your-mind-you-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Food quotes > [On Sundays, that's my pig out day and I do the pizza and the beer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-silvstedt/on-sundays-that-s-my-pig-out-day-and-i-do-the-pizza-and-the-beer/) [Victoria Silvstedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-silvstedt/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/by-eating-many-fruits-and-vegetables-in-place-of-fast-food-and-junk/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [“My God, Joseph, your toasted sandwiches are the fucking shit. You do know that right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ashworth/my-god-joseph-your-toasted-sandwiches-are-the-fucking-shit-you-do/) [Beth Ashworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-ashworth/) > [I feel like I could eat the world raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/i-feel-like-i-could-eat-the-world-raw/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [To me, Caribbean food is about fresh, seasonal produce - using what's in season to create vibrant and great tasting food. The spicing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ainsley-harriott/to-me-caribbean-food-is-about-fresh-seasonal-produce-using-what-s-in/) [Ainsley Harriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ainsley-harriott/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [“if you cannot control your hunger and appetite, good luck managing your blood chemistry, metabolism, waistline, and, in the bigger picture, the prospect of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/if-you-cannot-control-your-hunger-and-appetite-good-luck-managing/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [“Hungarian Proverb: A dish of cabbages can be heated when it grows cold, but it will never taste the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mourid-barghouti/hungarian-proverb-a-dish-of-cabbages-can-be-heated-when-it-grows-cold/) [Mourid Barghouti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mourid-barghouti/) > [“The phrase “low and slow” was coined to describe the relatively low temperatures used for smoking and the lengthy amount of time it takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-reader/the-phrase-low-and-slow-was-coined-to-describe-the-relatively-low/) [Ted Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-reader/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [“Live is like a box of chocolates, we are all just waiting for a hungry hand to come down and grab us and eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/live-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates-we-are-all-just-waiting-for-a-hungry/) [sunshine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [“Pumpkin Flavor Latte Scrub   Ingredients 1 ½ cups of brown sugar 2 tablespoons of ground coffee 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin spice ¾ -1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-hilton/pumpkin-flavor-latte-scrub-ingredients-1-cups-of-brown-sugar-2/) [Kate Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-hilton/) [Browse all 34,183 Food quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-important-but-my-god-food-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Food" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-important-but-my-god-food-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/iris-murdoch-993_food_of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-impor_1850564.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of course reading and thinking are important but, my God, food is important too.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Of course reading and thinking are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-important-but-my-god-food-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/of-course-reading-and-thinking-are-important-but-my-god-food-is/#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 } } ] } ```