--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: -why had she found the story so…" description: "\"“-why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it was quite possible she hadn't. Maybe she merely preferred a novel--any novel--to reading a new..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/james-hilton-8522_books_why-had-she-found-the-story-so-absorbing_2063714.jpg" --- # -why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it… ![“-why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it was quite possible she hadn't. Maybe she merely preferred a novel--any novel--to reading a newspaper or chatting with the girls she worked with all day. And maybe she always read like that--with an air of having surrendered totally to a spell.” quote by James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/james-hilton-8522_books_why-had-she-found-the-story-so-absorbing_2063714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/james-hilton-8522_books_why-had-she-found-the-story-so-absorbing_2063714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef2/james-hilton-8522_books_why-had-she-found-the-story-so-absorbing_2063714.jpg) > ““-why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it was quite possible she hadn't. Maybe she merely preferred a novel--any novel--to reading a newspaper or chatting with the girls she worked with all day. And maybe she always read like that--with an air of having surrendered totally to a spell.”” [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She immerses herself in stories, preferring novels over daily chatter, surrendering to their spell. **In simple terms:** She prefers novels, losing herself in them. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to be fully absorbed by a good story. Themes imagination escape reading Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary contemplative When to use this quote - commuting - breaks - lonely evenings - stress relief Key Concepts Narrative immersion psychological surrender Questions to Reflect On - Do you use stories to escape reality? - How does surrendering to a narrative affect your mood? A Different Perspective Novels may isolate you from real interactions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absorbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorbing/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Maybe Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maybe-read-2520023/) [Novel Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-reading/) [Preferred Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preferred-novel-3949978/) [Story Absorbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-absorbing-3949979/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/maybe-this-is-why-we-read-and-why-in-moments-of-darkness-we-return-to/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > ['Maybe you should read the instructions...' NO! I GOT THIS!!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-you-should-read-the-instructions-no-i-got-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe you should read the instuc-.. NAAHHH I GOT THISSS!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/maybe-you-should-read-the-instuc-naahhh-i-got-thisss/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I hope that readers will tear through my books because they can't stop themselves - and then, maybe, read them again and find new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/i-hope-that-readers-will-tear-through-my-books-because-they-can-t/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“Maybe because he can read the pain of others... that he values saving them more than his own life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/maybe-because-he-can-read-the-pain-of-others-that-he-values-saving/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [I'll think about something else. I'll just sit quietly. If I could sit still. If I could sit still, maybe I could read. 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What I ask of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/if-i-m-reading-something-i-happen-to-know-and-gets-it-wrong-i-just/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The dull people decided years and years ago, as everyone knows, that novel-writing was the lowest species of literary exertion, and that novel reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-dull-people-decided-years-and-years-ago-as-everyone-knows-that/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“Peri disliked these dinner parties, which went on late into the night and often left her with a migraine the next day. She would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/peri-disliked-these-dinner-parties-which-went-on-late-into-the-night/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of reading. Take somebody like Carl Jung, the psychiatrist - now there's somebody worth getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/there-s-novel-reading-and-then-there-s-the-other-kind-of-reading-take/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [“Readers will be swept up by the drama and fast pace of this powerful debut novel.” Reading Today Online, International Reading Association”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/readers-will-be-swept-up-by-the-drama-and-fast-pace-of-this-powerful/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) ## More by James Hilton > [“It seemed to him that the little Manchu had never looked so radiant. She gave him a most charming smile, but her eyes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/it-seemed-to-him-that-the-little-manchu-had-never-looked-so-radiant/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [if we have not found the heaven within,we have not found the heaven without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/if-we-have-not-found-the-heaven-within-we-have-not-found-the-heaven/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [There's only one thing more important... and that is, after you've done what you set out to do, to feel that it's been worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/there-s-only-one-thing-more-important-and-that-is-after-you-ve-done/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [The first quarter-century of your life was doubtless lived under the cloud of being too young for things, while the last quarter-century would normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/the-first-quarter-century-of-your-life-was-doubtless-lived-under-the/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [When you are getting on in years (but not ill, of course), you get very sleepy at times, and the hours seem to pass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/when-you-are-getting-on-in-years-but-not-ill-of-course-you-get-very/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Perhaps the exhaustion of the passions is the beginning of wisdom, if you care to alter the proverb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/perhaps-the-exhaustion-of-the-passions-is-the-beginning-of-wisdom-if/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“On the night before the wedding, when Chips left the house to return to his hotel, she said, with mock gravity: "This is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/on-the-night-before-the-wedding-when-chips-left-the-house-to-return/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Now let me begin by sketching for you a very agreeable picture. You are still, I should say, a youngish man by the world’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/now-let-me-begin-by-sketching-for-you-a-very-agreeable-picture-you/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Then, my son, when the strong have devoured each other, the Christian ethic may at last be fulfilled, and the meek shall inherit the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/then-my-son-when-the-strong-have-devoured-each-other-the-christian/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [What a host of little incidents, all deep-buried in the past -- problems that had once been urgent, arguments that had once been keen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/what-a-host-of-little-incidents-all-deep-buried-in-the-past-problems/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Conway felt again, as he gazed up at the stupendous mountain wall, that there was a superb and exquisite peril in the scene; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/conway-felt-again-as-he-gazed-up-at-the-stupendous-mountain-wall-that/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Cigars had burned low, and we were beginning to sample the disillusionment that usually afflicts old school friends who have met again as men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/cigars-had-burned-low-and-we-were-beginning-to-sample-the/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“They were all, too, except himself, affected by the altitude. Even Barnard had sunk into melancholy under the strain. Mallinson was muttering to himself;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/they-were-all-too-except-himself-affected-by-the-altitude-even/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Laziness in doing stupid things can be a great virtue Chang - Lost Horizon (1933) ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/laziness-in-doing-stupid-things-can-be-a-great-virtue-chang-lost/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“And so it stood, a warm and vivid patch in his life, casting a radiance that glowed in a thousand recollections.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/and-so-it-stood-a-warm-and-vivid-patch-in-his-life-casting-a-radiance/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) [Explore all 80 James Hilton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) ## More Absorbing quotes > [The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open, absorbing everything until he has what he really needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romare-bearden/the-artist-has-to-be-something-like-a-whale-swimming-with-his-mouth/) [Romare Bearden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romare-bearden/) > [I probably need another couple of years of absorbing that and really looking at it to be able to do it because you actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-hanks/i-probably-need-another-couple-of-years-of-absorbing-that-and-really/) [Colin Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-hanks/) > [I bless the gods for not letting my education in rhetoric, poetry, and other literary studies come easily to me, and thereby sparing me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/i-bless-the-gods-for-not-letting-my-education-in-rhetoric-poetry-and/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [Edge also implies what Ben Graham…called a margin of safety. You have a margin of safety when you buy an asset at a price…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mauboussin/edge-also-implies-what-ben-graham-called-a-margin-of-safety-you-have/) [Michael Mauboussin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mauboussin/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) > [The nut of this tree is hung high aloft, wrapped in a silk wrapper, which is enclosed in a case of sole leather, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-de-camoes/the-nut-of-this-tree-is-hung-high-aloft-wrapped-in-a-silk-wrapper/) [Luis de Camoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-de-camoes/) > [The habit of quietly absorbing the shocks will be quite a great help to stabilize pure awareness. The technique is: Just feel not disturbed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/the-habit-of-quietly-absorbing-the-shocks-will-be-quite-a-great-help/) [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maharishi-mahesh-yogi/) > [It's hard to pick. I mean, I think the one that is most emblematic of the collaboration that occurred is "We Know The Way."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/it-s-hard-to-pick-i-mean-i-think-the-one-that-is-most-emblematic-of/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [Babies breathe a lot more rapidly than adults do, and what's more, they're also growing quickly and so they're absorbing lots more into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-thompson/babies-breathe-a-lot-more-rapidly-than-adults-do-and-what-s-more-they/) [Francis Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-thompson/) > [Where does the ego get its energy? 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But I think that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-powell/i-know-accessibility-is-a-term-that-s-kind-of-thrown-around-wantonly/) [Nate Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-powell/) > [I've always looked at directing as the next step for me in my creative career, and after spending the better part of the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anthony-dale/i-ve-always-looked-at-directing-as-the-next-step-for-me-in-my/) [Ian Anthony Dale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anthony-dale/) > [In anything fit to be called by the name of reading, the process itself should be absorbing and voluptuous; we should gloat over a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/in-anything-fit-to-be-called-by-the-name-of-reading-the-process/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Inside you're like some kind of mirror, reflecting everything without absorbing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-j-deikman/inside-you-re-like-some-kind-of-mirror-reflecting-everything-without/) [Arthur J. Deikman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-j-deikman/) > [There are two kinds of actors -- one sits in a dressing room waiting for his call and the other gets out into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/there-are-two-kinds-of-actors-one-sits-in-a-dressing-room-waiting-for/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) [Browse all 189 Absorbing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absorbing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“-why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it was quite possible she hadn't. Maybe she merely preferred a novel--any novel--to reading a newspaper or chatting with the girls she worked with all day. 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