--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't know where people got the idea…" description: "\"I don't know where people got the idea that characters in books a supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable cha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/john-green-12_book_i-don-t-know-where-people-got-the-idea-t_1347246.jpg" --- # I don't know where people got the idea that characters in… ![“I don't know where people got the idea that characters in books a supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable characters with whom you can have some simple identification with. Books are in the business of crating great stories that make you're brain go…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/john-green-12_book_i-don-t-know-where-people-got-the-idea-t_1347246.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/john-green-12_book_i-don-t-know-where-people-got-the-idea-t_1347246.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1c/john-green-12_book_i-don-t-know-where-people-got-the-idea-t_1347246.jpg) > “I don't know where people got the idea that characters in books a supposed to be likable. Books are not in the business of creating merely likeable characters with whom you can have some simple identification with. Books are in the business of crating great stories that make you're brain go ahhbdgbdmerhbergurhbudgerbudbaaarr.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books aim to craft compelling narratives, not merely likable characters, challenging readers with complex ideas and emotions. **In simple terms:** Stories prioritize depth over simple likability. Key Takeaway Embrace complex characters. Themes literature storytelling character development Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary critical When to use this quote - reading clubs - creative writing workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts narrative complexity emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to unlikable protagonists? - What value do they add? A Different Perspective Complex characters may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-books-2098932/) [Characters Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-simple-4570164/) [Creating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creating/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Identification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identification/) [Likable Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likable-books-4570163/) [Likeable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likeable/) [Likeable Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/likeable-characters-4570165/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Supposed Likable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supposed-likable-4570166/) ## Related quotes > [People focus on the darker female characters in my books, but for every one of those, I can also show you an equally screwed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/people-focus-on-the-darker-female-characters-in-my-books-but-for-2/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I love thinking of movie stars who could play the characters in the books I write. I think Charlize Theron would make a lovely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/i-love-thinking-of-movie-stars-who-could-play-the-characters-in-the-2/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [There are, of course, fat characters in books out there, some of them quite enduring and famous. But they tend to be creatures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/there-are-of-course-fat-characters-in-books-out-there-some-of-them/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [College applications are such a huge part of senior year, yet often times you never see characters in books actually do work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/college-applications-are-such-a-huge-part-of-senior-year-yet-often/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [People often talk about the characters in books as if they were considering whom to invite to a dinner party. 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Characters in books do not read books. 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That doesn't mean they actually are, but that's how people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/the-individual-attributes-of-warmth-and-competence-are-often/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The easiest way for readers to connect with characters and feel sympathy is to make the character entertaining, sympathetic and likeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/the-easiest-way-for-readers-to-connect-with-characters-and-feel/) [Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## 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! 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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. 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