--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Today we read books 'extensively,' often…" description: "\"Today we read books 'extensively,' often without sustained focus, and with rare exceptions we read each book only once. We value quantity of reading ov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/joshua-foer-4147_book_today-we-read-books-extensively-often-wi_1407722.jpg" --- # Today we read books 'extensively,' often without sustained… ![“Today we read books 'extensively,' often without sustained focus, and with rare exceptions we read each book only once. We value quantity of reading over quality of reading. We have no choice, if we want to keep up with the broader culture.” quote by Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/joshua-foer-4147_book_today-we-read-books-extensively-often-wi_1407722.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/joshua-foer-4147_book_today-we-read-books-extensively-often-wi_1407722.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82c/joshua-foer-4147_book_today-we-read-books-extensively-often-wi_1407722.jpg) > “Today we read books 'extensively,' often without sustained focus, and with rare exceptions we read each book only once. We value quantity of reading over quality of reading. We have no choice, if we want to keep up with the broader culture.” [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People prioritize reading many books quickly over deep, focused engagement, feeling pressured to stay culturally relevant. **In simple terms:** Quantity beats quality in reading habits. Key Takeaway Prioritize deep reading over volume. Themes reading habits culture focus quantity quality Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type advice observational When to use this quote - academic study - personal development - professional growth Key Concepts cognitive overload shallow learning cultural pressure Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance staying informed with deep comprehension? - What strategies improve sustained focus while reading? A Different Perspective Reading many books superficially limits true understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choice/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Focus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focus/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [My best teachers, the teachers who had the deepest effect on my reading, combined the two. They would mix required reading with reading where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/my-best-teachers-the-teachers-who-had-the-deepest-effect-on-my/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I believe in the democratization of the arts. What do I mean by that? I think museums, with some exceptions, have a responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/i-believe-in-the-democratization-of-the-arts-what-do-i-mean-by-that-i/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [The thing with newspapers is that they are a filter. We're relying on the editors of that paper to be a filter and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-macdonald/the-thing-with-newspapers-is-that-they-are-a-filter-we-re-relying-on/) [Kevin Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-macdonald/) > [“Teachers assign it, and parents are happy because their kids are reading something of 'quality.' But it's forcing kids to read books like that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/teachers-assign-it-and-parents-are-happy-because-their-kids-are/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [“Do you like Moby Dick ?" he asks. "I hate it," she says. "And I don't say that about many things. Teachers assign it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/do-you-like-moby-dick-he-asks-i-hate-it-she-says-and-i-don-t-say-that/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/no-problem-can-withstand-the-assault-of-sustained-thinking/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [We have to make a sustained effort, again and again, to cultivate the positive aspects within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-have-to-make-a-sustained-effort-again-and-again-to-cultivate-the/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [The Obama administration's large and sustained increases in debt raise the specter of another financial crisis and large future tax increases, further chilling business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-hubbard/the-obama-administration-s-large-and-sustained-increases-in-debt/) [Glenn Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-hubbard/) > [It's the sustained ability to change that really counts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/it-s-the-sustained-ability-to-change-that-really-counts/) [Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/) > [The interval allowed was only five minutes, at the end of which I resumed the lecture; but so refreshing was the effects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-combe/the-interval-allowed-was-only-five-minutes-at-the-end-of-which-i/) [George Combe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-combe/) > [The decision to begin a new day should be out of constant self reflection and be sustained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/awukuvillage-of-hope/the-decision-to-begin-a-new-day-should-be-out-of-constant-self/) AwukuVillage Of Hope > [With infinite wisdom and care your life is constantly sustained because Nature flows through you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-cohen/with-infinite-wisdom-and-care-your-life-is-constantly-sustained/) [Michael J Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-cohen/) > [My Christian faith has sustained me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-thomas/my-christian-faith-has-sustained-me/) [B. J. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-thomas/) > [By persistent and sustained practice, anyone and everyone can make the yoga journey and reach the goal of illumination and freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/by-persistent-and-sustained-practice-anyone-and-everyone-can-make-the/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [What can be sustained and repeated without emptying out?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-peacock/what-can-be-sustained-and-repeated-without-emptying-out/) [Jan Peacock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-peacock/) ## More by Joshua Foer > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“I don’t think I’m an exceptionally bad reader. I suspect that many people, maybe even most, are like me. We read and read and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/i-don-t-think-i-m-an-exceptionally-bad-reader-i-suspect-that-many/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Life seems to speed up as we get older because life gets less memorable as we get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/life-seems-to-speed-up-as-we-get-older-because-life-gets-less/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“We can only think about roughly seven things at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/we-can-only-think-about-roughly-seven-things-at-a-time/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [With our blogs and tweets, digital cameras, and unlimited-gigabyte e-mail archives, participation in the online culture now means creating a trail of always present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/with-our-blogs-and-tweets-digital-cameras-and-unlimited-gigabyte-e/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [How much are we willing to lose from our already short lives by losing ourselves in our Blackberries, our iPhones, by not paying attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/how-much-are-we-willing-to-lose-from-our-already-short-lives-by/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“I Came away from the U.S. Memory Championship eager to find out how Ed and Lukas did it. 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They evolve over centuries through an unplanned, democratic process that leaves them teeming with irregularities, quirks, and words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/languages-are-something-of-a-mess-they-evolve-over-centuries-through/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Invented languages have often been created in tandem with entire invented universes, and most conlangers come to their craft by way of fantasy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/invented-languages-have-often-been-created-in-tandem-with-entire/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“Perhaps, as Borges concludes in his story, it is forgetting, not remembering, that is the essence of what makes us human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/perhaps-as-borges-concludes-in-his-story-it-is-forgetting-not/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Someday in the distant cyborg future, when our internal and external memories fully merge, we may come to possess infinite knowledge. 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