--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't read reviews because by then it's…" description: "\"I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.\" — Jeanette Winterson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png" --- # I don't read reviews because by then it's too late… ![“I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png) > “I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading reviews after finishing a book is pointless; the text itself determines its value. **In simple terms:** Reviews are useless after reading. Key Takeaway Trust your own judgment. Themes literature independence critical thinking Mood reflective independent Type analytical personal When to use this quote - book clubs - personal reading - literary criticism - online reviews Key Concepts subjectivity authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How does reliance on reviews affect your reading experience? - Can you ever be fully unbiased? A Different Perspective Reviews may offer useful context before reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“You cannot change what's written in the stars. Liar! Later, much later, I would come to this realisation: nothing is written. If it were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/you-cannot-change-what-s-written-in-the-stars-liar-later-much-later-i/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [You can't change what was written for you years before you were born. You can't change the past or control the future. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-change-what-was-written-for-you-years-before-you-were-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [George Bush says, 'Gore's book needs a lot of explaining.' Of course, Bush says that about every book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/george-bush-says-gore-s-book-needs-a-lot-of-explaining-of-course-bush/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When I get an email from someone who says, 'Your book was the first book I ever read,' or, 'Your book is what made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/when-i-get-an-email-from-someone-who-says-your-book-was-the-first/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [The people who says, the book is better than the movie, are fucking assholes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/the-people-who-says-the-book-is-better-than-the-movie-are-fucking/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [“There comes a time, Younger," he says, "when the book must be put aside, and the pedal put to the metal. And that time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-mcghee/there-comes-a-time-younger-he-says-when-the-book-must-be-put-aside/) [Alison McGhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-mcghee/) > [Since I got a really bad review when I was, like, 28 in 'The New York Times,' I don't read reviews anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/since-i-got-a-really-bad-review-when-i-was-like-28-in-the-new-york/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [I generally don't read articles about myself/'Chappelle's Show,' nor do I read reviews. It's basically playing Russian Roulette. They're not all gonna be positive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-brennan/i-generally-don-t-read-articles-about-myself-chappelle-s-show-nor-do/) [Neal Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-brennan/) > [I have always read all my reviews, the bad along with the good (although you remember the bad much more than the good!). I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-spotnitz/i-have-always-read-all-my-reviews-the-bad-along-with-the-good/) [Frank Spotnitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-spotnitz/) > [You just can't tell or calibrate motive or intelligence or sense. So I don't read anything unless someone tells me that it's really smart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/you-just-can-t-tell-or-calibrate-motive-or-intelligence-or-sense-so-i/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [To my undying shame, I do read reviews. I don't read them all, but I like to get some kind of idea how things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/to-my-undying-shame-i-do-read-reviews-i-don-t-read-them-all-but-i/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I never read reviews - I never have. I've never read message boards, either. I'm just not interested in it in any way -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-levering/i-never-read-reviews-i-never-have-i-ve-never-read-message-boards/) [Kate Levering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-levering/) > [I didn't read reviews earlier in my career, but I read them now as I'm older. I read them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-didn-t-read-reviews-earlier-in-my-career-but-i-read-them-now-as-i-m/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [People always say that you shouldn't read reviews at all, or if you do then believe both the good and the bad ones. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-millican/people-always-say-that-you-shouldn-t-read-reviews-at-all-or-if-you-do/) [Sarah Millican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-millican/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) [Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## 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": "I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is written.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeanette Winterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it-s-too-late-whatever-anyone/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it-s-too-late-whatever-anyone/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/jeanette-winterson-166_book_i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it_2039487.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't read reviews because by then it's too late - whatever anyone says, the book won't change. It is…” — Jeanette Winterson", "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": "Jeanette Winterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't read reviews because by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it-s-too-late-whatever-anyone/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-don-t-read-reviews-because-by-then-it-s-too-late-whatever-anyone/#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 } } ] } ```