--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I try to read as a reader and also read…" description: "\"I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. I mean, they're not so different.\" — Kevin Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/kevin-young-8117_books_i-try-to-read-as-a-reader-and-also-read_2665918.jpg" --- # I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. I… ![“I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. I mean, they're not so different.” quote by Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/kevin-young-8117_books_i-try-to-read-as-a-reader-and-also-read_2665918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/kevin-young-8117_books_i-try-to-read-as-a-reader-and-also-read_2665918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5a/kevin-young-8117_books_i-try-to-read-as-a-reader-and-also-read_2665918.jpg) > “I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. I mean, they're not so different.” [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) ## 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 blurs the line between reading and writing, emphasizing that both activities share similar processes of interpretation and creation. **In simple terms:** Reading and writing are closely linked. Key Takeaway Approach both with curiosity and creativity. Themes creativity literature learning Mood inspirational reflective Type educational literary When to use this quote - education - writing workshops - book clubs Key Concepts interpretation authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - How does reading influence your writing style? - Can you write as you read? A Different Perspective One may lack the skill to write despite reading extensively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If you would be a reader, read; if a writer, write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/if-you-would-be-a-reader-read-if-a-writer-write/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [I am a serious reader, and I read slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-b-yehoshua/i-am-a-serious-reader-and-i-read-slowly/) [A. B. Yehoshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-b-yehoshua/) > [As a reader, I read quite widely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-ware/as-a-reader-i-read-quite-widely/) [Ruth Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-ware/) > [Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/naturally-since-i-myself-am-a-writer-i-do-not-wish-the-ordinary/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think it takes about a million words to make a writer. I mean that you're going to throw away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pournelle/i-think-it-takes-about-a-million-words-to-make-a-writer-i-mean-that/) [Jerry Pournelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pournelle/) > [As a writer, you have to be mean and vicious. Use the pen as your gun. Sometimes the people you write about get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hallgr-mur-helgason/as-a-writer-you-have-to-be-mean-and-vicious-use-the-pen-as-your-gun/) [Hallgrimur Helgason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hallgr-mur-helgason/) > [“All I knew was what I wasn’t, and it took me some years to discover what I was. Which was a writer. By which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/all-i-knew-was-what-i-wasn-t-and-it-took-me-some-years-to-discover/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Certainly, I know what it's like to be obsessed. I haven't always been there for my children. They could reach me, but I wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henning-mankell/certainly-i-know-what-it-s-like-to-be-obsessed-i-haven-t-always-been/) [Henning Mankell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henning-mankell/) > [We've clearly entered a period in which the analog of text is no longer important or relevant. All text will be electronic. I accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/we-ve-clearly-entered-a-period-in-which-the-analog-of-text-is-no/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-suppose-she-chose-me-because-she-knew-my-name-as-i-read-the/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [O Day of days when we can read! The reader and the book, either without the other is naught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-day-of-days-when-we-can-read-the-reader-and-the-book-either-without/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I would not want to forget the first time I read The Lord of the Rings. I would never want to forget that! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/i-would-not-want-to-forget-the-first-time-i-read-the-lord-of-the/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [There were people who read and there were the others. Whether you were the a reader or a non-reader was soon apparent. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/there-were-people-who-read-and-there-were-the-others-whether-you-were/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Good books last longer than blog posts, which fade into cyberspace, hoping that a Google search will bring them to light again one day.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-byrd/good-books-last-longer-than-blog-posts-which-fade-into-cyberspace/) [Aimee Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-byrd/) > [“I’d always been a reader and I read a lot, usually sticking to books with some sort of romantic theme and a classic happily-ever-after.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/i-d-always-been-a-reader-and-i-read-a-lot-usually-sticking-to-books/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) ## More by Kevin Young > [There's always been really interesting, diverse black voices talking and arguing and counterpointing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/there-s-always-been-really-interesting-diverse-black-voices-talking/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [“At night I count not the stars but the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/at-night-i-count-not-the-stars-but-the-dark/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I think Barnum is at the center of American culture. He's helping to invent what we now think of as pop culture. He invented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-think-barnum-is-at-the-center-of-american-culture-he-s-helping-to/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I do think there's a certain savviness to be able to recognize the way people want a good story, and I think that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-do-think-there-s-a-certain-savviness-to-be-able-to-recognize-the/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [Here are the facts: my folks grew up so poor that, in the words of Redd Foxx, there were twenty o's between the p…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/here-are-the-facts-my-folks-grew-up-so-poor-that-in-the-words-of-redd/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [Even Toni Morrison claiming Bill Clinton as 'black' could not prepare us for the election of America's first undeniably black president, Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/even-toni-morrison-claiming-bill-clinton-as-black-could-not-prepare/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [A DJ draws a connection between two seemingly disparate things and says, 'Look, they are alike. You can dance to them.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/a-dj-draws-a-connection-between-two-seemingly-disparate-things-and/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [Forget reparations - we need to rescue aspects of black culture abandoned even by black folks, whether it is the blues or home cookin'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/forget-reparations-we-need-to-rescue-aspects-of-black-culture/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I remember in the '80s, people would literally have arguments over the best guitarist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-remember-in-the-80s-people-would-literally-have-arguments-over-the/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [In African-American culture, there's often a family historian, someone who does the genealogy or keeps the family Bible. I became aware that might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/in-african-american-culture-there-s-often-a-family-historian-someone/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [“Deep Song Belief is what buries us—that & the belief in belief— No longer do I trust liltlessness —leeward is the world's way—Go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/deep-song-belief-is-what-buries-us-that-the-belief-in-belief-no/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [Is there a bad song on 'Sign O' The Times?' There isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/is-there-a-bad-song-on-sign-o-the-times-there-isn-t/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [That sense of mystery, but also of revelation, is what I turn to poems for. They're able to embody experience. We need more and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/that-sense-of-mystery-but-also-of-revelation-is-what-i-turn-to-poems/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [In a long poem or a sequence of poems, you're trying to formalize your obsessions and give them a shape and a name. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/in-a-long-poem-or-a-sequence-of-poems-you-re-trying-to-formalize-your/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [We quickly erase hoaxes once exposed, excising the monstrous palimpsest, because as with any witch hunt or obvious fake, afterward we can't quite explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/we-quickly-erase-hoaxes-once-exposed-excising-the-monstrous/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) [Explore all 84 Kevin Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. 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