--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My reading and drawing drew me away from…" description: "\"My reading and drawing drew me away from the ordinary interests, and I lived a great deal in the world of imagination, feeding upon any book that fell ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/jacob-epstein-30772_any_my-reading-and-drawing-drew-me-away-from_810163.jpg" --- # My reading and drawing drew me away from the ordinary… ![“My reading and drawing drew me away from the ordinary interests, and I lived a great deal in the world of imagination, feeding upon any book that fell into my hands. When I had got hold of a really thick book like Hugo's 'Les Miserables,' I was happy and would go off into a corner to devour it.” quote by Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/jacob-epstein-30772_any_my-reading-and-drawing-drew-me-away-from_810163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/jacob-epstein-30772_any_my-reading-and-drawing-drew-me-away-from_810163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c1/jacob-epstein-30772_any_my-reading-and-drawing-drew-me-away-from_810163.jpg) > “My reading and drawing drew me away from the ordinary interests, and I lived a great deal in the world of imagination, feeding upon any book that fell into my hands. When I had got hold of a really thick book like Hugo's 'Les Miserables,' I was happy and would go off into a corner to devour it.” [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immersion in books and imagination provides an escape from mundane life and fuels creative growth. **In simple terms:** Books and imagination offer an escape and creativity. Key Takeaway Read widely, nurture imagination. Themes creativity escape learning Mood reflective inspired Type personal literary When to use this quote - reading - writing - artistic pursuits - self‑development Key Concepts imagination literature personal growth Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination influence your daily decisions? - What balance do you need between reality and fantasy? A Different Perspective May neglect real‑world responsibilities while day‑dreaming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Any](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/any/) [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Corner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corner/) [Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal/) [Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devour/) [Drawing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drawing/) [Drew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drew/) [Feeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeding/) [Fell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fell/) [Go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/go/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-deal/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold/) [Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hugo/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagination Feeding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination-feeding-246394/) [Interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests/) [Interests Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests-lived-246393/) [Les](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/les/) [Les mis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/les-mis/) [Les Miserables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/les-miserables/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Like Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-hugo-246392/) [Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/off/) [Ordinary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Thick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thick/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-imagination/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) ## Related quotes > [My father was a very warm, gregarious, sociable person who had many interests. 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Without meaning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pedro-almodovar/there-s-something-about-uninterrupted-singing-that-just-doesn-t-work/) [Pedro Almodovar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pedro-almodovar/) > [The last thing the theatre owners wanted was for people who spent $200 to see 'Les Miserables' to come out again and see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/the-last-thing-the-theatre-owners-wanted-was-for-people-who-spent-200/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [I listened to John Denver and Simon & Garfunkel. Edith Piaf was a huge favourite. Then I discovered musicals - I loved 'Les Miserables'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gin-wigmore/i-listened-to-john-denver-and-simon-garfunkel-edith-piaf-was-a-huge/) [Gin Wigmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gin-wigmore/) > ['Bloodless' reminded me a bit of 'Les Miserables' when it first came out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/bloodless-reminded-me-a-bit-of-les-miserables-when-it-first-came-out/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [I can't comprehend that I'm in the film of 'Les Miserables.' It's one of those dreams I thought would be unattainable for someone like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-barks/i-can-t-comprehend-that-i-m-in-the-film-of-les-miserables-it-s-one-of/) [Samantha Barks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-barks/) > [This sounds geeky, but when I run, I like to listen to musicals like 'Les Miserables.' The soundtracks are 75 minutes or longer, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-booth/this-sounds-geeky-but-when-i-run-i-like-to-listen-to-musicals-like/) [Lindy Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-booth/) > [Every year I go to Broadway to see a musical - I like the music. I saw 'Mamma Mia;' I saw 'Les Miserables;' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-nadal/every-year-i-go-to-broadway-to-see-a-musical-i-like-the-music-i-saw/) [Rafael Nadal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-nadal/) > [My first trip abroad was to do a TV version of 'Les Miserables' in France with Anthony Perkins. There I was at 12 acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/my-first-trip-abroad-was-to-do-a-tv-version-of-les-miserables-in/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) ## More by Jacob Epstein > [When I was doing Professor Albert Einstein's bust he had many a jibe at the Nazi professors, one hundred of whom had condemned his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/when-i-was-doing-professor-albert-einstein-s-bust-he-had-many-a-jibe/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [A wife, a lover, can perhaps never see what the artist sees They rarely ever do. Perhaps a really mediocre artist has more chance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/a-wife-a-lover-can-perhaps-never-see-what-the-artist-sees-they-rarely/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [My earliest recollections are of the teeming East Side where I was born. This Hester Street and its surrounding streets were the most densely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/my-earliest-recollections-are-of-the-teeming-east-side-where-i-was/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [Early on I saw the plastic quality in colored people and had friends among them; and later was to work from colored models and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/early-on-i-saw-the-plastic-quality-in-colored-people-and-had-friends/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [Why dont they stick to murder and leave art to us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/why-dont-they-stick-to-murder-and-leave-art-to-us/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [A sculptor is supposed to be a dull dog anyway, so why should he not break out in colour sometimes, and in my case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/a-sculptor-is-supposed-to-be-a-dull-dog-anyway-so-why-should-he-not/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [The artist is the world's scapegoat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/the-artist-is-the-world-s-scapegoat/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [My parents did not discourage me but could not understand how I could make a living by art. Their idea of an artist was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/my-parents-did-not-discourage-me-but-could-not-understand-how-i-could/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [The artist who imagines that he puts his best into a portrait in order to produce something good, which will be a pleasure to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/the-artist-who-imagines-that-he-puts-his-best-into-a-portrait-in/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [To accuse me of making sensations is the easiest way of attacking me, and in reality leaves the question of sculpture untouched.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/to-accuse-me-of-making-sensations-is-the-easiest-way-of-attacking-me/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [There are infinite modes of expression in the world of art, and to insist that only by one road can the artist attain his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/there-are-infinite-modes-of-expression-in-the-world-of-art-and-to/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [To think of abstraction as an end in itself is undoubtedly letting oneself be led into a cul-de-sac and can only lead to exhaustion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/to-think-of-abstraction-as-an-end-in-itself-is-undoubtedly-letting/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [I remember my father, who was 'somebody' in the synagogue, bringing home with him one of the poor men who waited outside to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/i-remember-my-father-who-was-somebody-in-the-synagogue-bringing-home/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [I have never found out that there was in my family an artist or anyone interested in the arts or sciences, and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/i-have-never-found-out-that-there-was-in-my-family-an-artist-or/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) > [I cannot recall a period when I did not draw; and at school, the studies that were distasteful to me, mathematics and grammar, were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-epstein/i-cannot-recall-a-period-when-i-did-not-draw-and-at-school-the/) [Jacob Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) [Explore all 17 Jacob Epstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-epstein/) ## More Any quotes > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [Any incarnation of 'Batman' I am delighted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/any-incarnation-of-batman-i-am-delighted-to-do/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. 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