--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The worst part of it has been, I think…" description: "\"“The worst part of it has been, I think, the adverse effect on family life. It kills off family conversation. And it’s harder to get your children to r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/john-wayne-2572_books_the-worst-part-of-it-has-been-i-think-th_54510.jpg" --- # The worst part of it has been, I think, the adverse effect… ![“The worst part of it has been, I think, the adverse effect on family life. It kills off family conversation. And it’s harder to get your children to read books. I became a confirmed reader when I was growing up in Glendale. I’ve loved reading all my life. Now I’ve got this daughter, Aissa, a very…” quote by John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/john-wayne-2572_books_the-worst-part-of-it-has-been-i-think-th_54510.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/john-wayne-2572_books_the-worst-part-of-it-has-been-i-think-th_54510.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0be/john-wayne-2572_books_the-worst-part-of-it-has-been-i-think-th_54510.jpg) > ““The worst part of it has been, I think, the adverse effect on family life. It kills off family conversation. And it’s harder to get your children to read books. I became a confirmed reader when I was growing up in Glendale. I’ve loved reading all my life. Now I’ve got this daughter, Aissa, a very bright young lady -- but it is a hard job to get her to read. Television’s just too easy.”” [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments how television erodes family dialogue and discourages children from reading, making literacy harder to foster at home. **In simple terms:** TV reduces family talk and reading habits. Key Takeaway Media can undermine literacy. Themes family dynamics media influence literacy decline parental challenges cultural shift Mood concerned reflective Type personal anecdote social commentary When to use this quote - parent-child bedtime routines - family dinner conversations - school reading assignments - media consumption habits Key Concepts communication reading technology education Practical Applications - Promote family reading nights - Integrate books with digital media Questions to Reflect On - How can families balance screen time with reading? - What alternatives to TV can engage children? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-life/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Young lady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-lady/) ## Related quotes > [“There is no doubt that the family conversation is the tool that is able to make a psychological and emotional communication between family members.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/there-is-no-doubt-that-the-family-conversation-is-the-tool-that-is/) [Maryam Abdullah Alnaymi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryam-abdullah-alnaymi/) > [As actors, it is our responsibility to read the newspapers, and then say what we read on television like it's our own opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janeane-garofalo/as-actors-it-is-our-responsibility-to-read-the-newspapers-and-then/) [Janeane Garofalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janeane-garofalo/) > [The financial people, who lead such dreary lives, believe what they read and see on television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/the-financial-people-who-lead-such-dreary-lives-believe-what-they/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [It's a mistake to read. Television is the only way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/it-s-a-mistake-to-read-television-is-the-only-way/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I've loved reading all my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-ve-loved-reading-all-my-life/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [“Little did she know that this was going to be not just any book, but the book that changed her life. 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Since her discovery of the book hoard downstairs from her job, she’d been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erdrich/she-had-always-been-a-reader-but-now-she-was-obsessed-since-her/) [Louise Erdrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erdrich/) > [“Reading is not life. Reading is creating life in your head. And that can only help you so much in a storm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/reading-is-not-life-reading-is-creating-life-in-your-head-and-that/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) ## More by John Wayne > [When I was a sophomore at USC, I was a socialist, pretty much to the left. But not when I left the university. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-i-was-a-sophomore-at-usc-i-was-a-socialist-pretty-much-to-the/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Don't ever for a minute make the mistake of looking down your nose at westerns. They're art - the good ones, I mean. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/don-t-ever-for-a-minute-make-the-mistake-of-looking-down-your-nose-at/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I'd read up on the history of our country and I'd become fascinated with the story of the Alamo. To me it represented the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-d-read-up-on-the-history-of-our-country-and-i-d-become-fascinated/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [This kind of war, you've gotta believe in what you're fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/this-kind-of-war-you-ve-gotta-believe-in-what-you-re-fighting-for/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I was ashamed to admit I was hipped to the idea of acting. 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But I do take pride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-don-t-have-to-assert-my-virility-i-think-my-career-has-shown-that-i/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Government has no wealth, and when a politician promises to give you something for nothing, he must first confiscate that wealth from you --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/government-has-no-wealth-and-when-a-politician-promises-to-give-you/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [True grit is making a decision and standing by it, doing what must be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/true-grit-is-making-a-decision-and-standing-by-it-doing-what-must-be/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/when-you-come-slam-bang-up-against-trouble-it-never-looks-half-as-bad/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Life is hard, but it's even harder when you're stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/life-is-hard-but-it-s-even-harder-when-you-re-stupid/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I never killed a man I didn't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-never-killed-a-man-i-didn-t-have-to/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I eat as much as I ever did, I drink more than I should, and my sex life is none of your goddamned business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-eat-as-much-as-i-ever-did-i-drink-more-than-i-should-and-my-sex/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [Republic . . . it means people can live free, talk free, go or come, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, however they choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/republic-it-means-people-can-live-free-talk-free-go-or-come-buy-or/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) [Explore all 160 John Wayne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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