--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And all I did was read, and when I was…" description: "\"“And all I did was read, and when I was too high to read I stared out the windows.”\" — Junot Díaz" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/junot-diaz-531_heartbreak_and-all-i-did-was-read-and-when-i-was-to_2749316.jpg" --- # And all I did was read, and when I was too high to read I… ![“And all I did was read, and when I was too high to read I stared out the windows.” quote by Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/junot-diaz-531_heartbreak_and-all-i-did-was-read-and-when-i-was-to_2749316.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/junot-diaz-531_heartbreak_and-all-i-did-was-read-and-when-i-was-to_2749316.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d37/junot-diaz-531_heartbreak_and-all-i-did-was-read-and-when-i-was-to_2749316.jpg) > ““And all I did was read, and when I was too high to read I stared out the windows.”” [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading can be an escape, but when overwhelmed, observation becomes a passive coping mechanism. **In simple terms:** Reading escapes; observation replaces reading when overwhelmed. Key Takeaway Balance reading with mindful observation. Themes escape overwhelm observation coping Mood introspective calm Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - stressful work - travel - therapy sessions - quiet evenings Key Concepts literature mindfulness psychology Questions to Reflect On - When do you choose to read versus observe? - How does observation help you process overwhelm? A Different Perspective Passive observation may lead to disengagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Did Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-read-836667/) [Heartbreak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heartbreak/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [High Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-read-3087845/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Read High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-high-1321826/) [Read Stared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-stared-3087846/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Stared Windows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stared-windows-3087844/) ## Related quotes > [“Will stared out the windows like a dog denied a walk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/will-stared-out-the-windows-like-a-dog-denied-a-walk/) [JoJo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [I read 'The High Frontier' in high school. I read it multiple times, and I was already primed. As soon as I read it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/i-read-the-high-frontier-in-high-school-i-read-it-multiple-times-and/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [I didn't read much in high school, maybe because I didn't go to high school. Instead, I worked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-didn-t-read-much-in-high-school-maybe-because-i-didn-t-go-to-high/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [We're writing a book together. She just finished one. Did you read it? Among the Porcupines?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/we-re-writing-a-book-together-she-just-finished-one-did-you-read-it/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [I do read a lot, and I think in recent years the ratio between the amount of non-fiction and fiction has tipped quite considerably.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tammet/i-do-read-a-lot-and-i-think-in-recent-years-the-ratio-between-the/) [Daniel Tammet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tammet/) > [Did you ever read a love-letter that wasn't an evidence of idiocy - except your own?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/did-you-ever-read-a-love-letter-that-wasn-t-an-evidence-of-idiocy/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [“If you did not read the book, you don't know the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niedria-dionne-kenny/if-you-did-not-read-the-book-you-don-t-know-the-story/) [Niedria Dionne Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niedria-dionne-kenny/) > [“Finished all work for my MTS. 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And she would spend 30 minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/now-my-mom-did-not-read-well-and-she-read-true-romance-magazines-but/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [I hadn't originally intended to do any reading, what if I did read one book more or one book less, whether I read or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gao-xingjian/i-hadn-t-originally-intended-to-do-any-reading-what-if-i-did-read-one/) [Gao Xingjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gao-xingjian/) > [There was no answer, no solution, no sop, no deliverance. What, then, did I do? I read faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-rosten/there-was-no-answer-no-solution-no-sop-no-deliverance-what-then-did-i/) [Leo Rosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-rosten/) ## More by Junot Díaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? 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The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Díaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Heartbreak quotes > [It hurts wanting the best for someone you love, even if they feel the best isn't you. 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She buried her head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-standiford/if-you-d-only-let-me-come-by-myself-none-of-this-would-have-happened/) [Natalie Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-standiford/) > [If you leave someone for another person, don't be surprised if that person leaves you for someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-leave-someone-for-another-person-don-t-be-surprised-if-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...what happens when you return and find nothing but a hollowed shell, shingles and floor, walls and echoes and the light that lead you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellie-elmore/what-happens-when-you-return-and-find-nothing-but-a-hollowed-shell/) [Kellie Elmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellie-elmore/) > [“Sometimes family breakups are catastrophic, they can lead to decades of ill-feeling within the family unit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-ellis/sometimes-family-breakups-are-catastrophic-they-can-lead-to-decades/) [Joy Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-ellis/) > [It's fucking terrifying that no matter how many promises they made, no matter how long you've been together, someone can get up & walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larissa-derrah/it-s-fucking-terrifying-that-no-matter-how-many-promises-they-made-no/) [Larissa Derrah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larissa-derrah/) > [“3:29:50 pm what is it that you love about him is it the way he lets you down incapable of lifting you up is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-h-sin/3-29-50-pm-what-is-it-that-you-love-about-him-is-it-the-way-he-lets/) [R.H. 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