--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading a book, for me at least, is like…" description: "\"Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else's world. If it's a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jonathan-carroll-4590_anxious_reading-a-book-for-me-at-least-is-like-t_2961573.png" --- # Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in… ![“Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else's world. If it's a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what's going to happen to you there, what'll be around the next corner. But if it's a lousy book, then it's like going through Secaucus, New Jersey…” quote by Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jonathan-carroll-4590_anxious_reading-a-book-for-me-at-least-is-like-t_2961573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jonathan-carroll-4590_anxious_reading-a-book-for-me-at-least-is-like-t_2961573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/jonathan-carroll-4590_anxious_reading-a-book-for-me-at-least-is-like-t_2961573.png) > “Reading a book, for me at least, is like traveling in someone else's world. If it's a good book, then you feel comfortable and yet anxious to see what's going to happen to you there, what'll be around the next corner. But if it's a lousy book, then it's like going through Secaucus, New Jersey -- it smells and you wish you weren't there, but since you've started the trip, you roll up the windows and breathe through your mouth until you're done.” [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading transports you into another's world, offering comfort and tension; a bad book feels like an unpleasant journey you endure. **In simple terms:** Reading is a journey into another's world, good or bad. Key Takeaway Choose books that enrich, avoid those that drain. Themes imagination travel comfort anxiety choice Mood curious reflective critical Type literary personal metaphorical When to use this quote - reading for pleasure - selecting books - escaping routine - enduring bad experiences Key Concepts literary immersion emotional response environmental metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What makes a book feel like a good journey? - How do you handle reading something you dislike? A Different Perspective Even a bad book can teach perseverance, but it may also waste time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anxious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anxious/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-feel/) [Book Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-like/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Good book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-book/) [Jersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jersey/) [Like Traveling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-traveling-253110/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading A Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-a-book/) [Reading Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-book/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) [Window](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/window/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Reading a book is like having the ability to dip a straw into the author’s soul and sip and slurp without lowering the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/reading-a-book-is-like-having-the-ability-to-dip-a-straw-into-the-2/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Reading a book is like having the ability to dip a straw into the authors soul and sip and slurp without lowering the water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ash-sweeney/reading-a-book-is-like-having-the-ability-to-dip-a-straw-into-the/) [Ash Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ash-sweeney/) > [“Reading a book is like life: you live it one page at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-e-yates/reading-a-book-is-like-life-you-live-it-one-page-at-a-time/) [Ronald E. Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-e-yates/) > [“~Reading a book is like looking through a window!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zetta-hupf/reading-a-book-is-like-looking-through-a-window/) [Zetta Hupf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zetta-hupf/) > [“reading a book is like being a new person”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-irwin/reading-a-book-is-like-being-a-new-person/) [Jasmine Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-irwin/) > [“To me; reading a book is like watching a movie. Once I start, I can't stop until it's over.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-me-reading-a-book-is-like-watching-a-movie-once-i-start-i-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Reading a book is like living many lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabiso-monkoe/reading-a-book-is-like-living-many-lives/) [Thabiso Monkoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabiso-monkoe/) > [When I read a good book, it's like traveling the world without ever leaving my chair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/when-i-read-a-good-book-it-s-like-traveling-the-world-without-ever/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [“I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-try-to-write-the-books-i-would-love-to-come-upon-that-are-honest-2/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“Reading a book is like living a deep and fulfilling life. Watching a movie is like being a paralyzed person: watching others live their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/reading-a-book-is-like-living-a-deep-and-fulfilling-life-watching-a/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) > [“Hope knew that her thinking regarding books went contrary to the general sentiment of the people of Eden. Books were seen as a waste…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bergen/hope-knew-that-her-thinking-regarding-books-went-contrary-to-the/) [David Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bergen/) > [Reading a book you are not enjoying is a torture not to be undertaken without a reward. I leave plays at the interval, too!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/reading-a-book-you-are-not-enjoying-is-a-torture-not-to-be-undertaken/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [I can feel infinitely alive curled up on the sofa reading a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/i-can-feel-infinitely-alive-curled-up-on-the-sofa-reading-a-book/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [“reading a book, or remembering something I heard on the radio last week, or admiring the flowers on the table, I am doing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-durham/reading-a-book-or-remembering-something-i-heard-on-the-radio-last/) [Geoffrey Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-durham/) ## More by Jonathan Carroll > [Eating is sex for old people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/eating-is-sex-for-old-people/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [Ive never seen myself as a fantasy writer-ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/ive-never-seen-myself-as-a-fantasy-writer-ever/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [I have never heard anyone say This is it. 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Everything is either promised, borrowed, longed for or exaggerated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/kids-own-nothing-everything-is-either-promised-borrowed-longed-for-or/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [Real love is always chaotic. You lose control; you lose perspective. You lose the ability to protect yourself. The greater the love, the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/real-love-is-always-chaotic-you-lose-control-you-lose-perspective-you/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [Everyone coming out of a perfume store is smelling the back of their hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/everyone-coming-out-of-a-perfume-store-is-smelling-the-back-of-their/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [Buying a pair of shoes is one of the most optimistic acts I know, next to falling in love. I like nothing better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/buying-a-pair-of-shoes-is-one-of-the-most-optimistic-acts-i-know-next/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [Dogs are here to remind us life really is a simple thing. You eat, sleep, take walks, and pee when you must. That's about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-carroll/dogs-are-here-to-remind-us-life-really-is-a-simple-thing-you-eat/) [Jonathan Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-carroll/) > [“ Cza­sem li­nia męskiego kar­ku może zmienić całe two­je życie. 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Hold fast to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/be-lamps-unto-yourselves-be-refuges-unto-yourselves-take-yourself-no/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [Even speed, when we are anxious, seems like delay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/even-speed-when-we-are-anxious-seems-like-delay/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [I'd like to be able to do complex math in my head. Any kind of adversity and I become very anxious, but if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-woods/i-d-like-to-be-able-to-do-complex-math-in-my-head-any-kind-of/) [Zach Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-woods/) > [There were times when depression, anxiety, whatever, would keep me from writing. 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