--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's…" description: "\"“I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people only have time to read thirty pages...apparently!...maximum!...that's all the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg" --- # I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest… ![“I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people only have time to read thirty pages...apparently!...maximum!...that's all they have time for! they horse around for sixteen hours out of twenty-four, they sleep, they copulate the rest, where would they find the time to read…” quote by Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg) > ““I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people only have time to read thirty pages...apparently!...maximum!...that's all they have time for! they horse around for sixteen hours out of twenty-four, they sleep, they copulate the rest, where would they find the time to read a hundred pages? oh, do caca, I forgot! as well!”” [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He mocks the modern reader's limited attention, advocating ultra‑condensed content to fit busy lives. **In simple terms:** People have little time, so content must be brief. Key Takeaway Condense ideas for busy audiences. Themes attention brevity media culture Mood ironic critical humorous Type satirical observational When to use this quote - advertising - education - news media - social media - publishing Key Concepts modernism information overload satire Questions to Reflect On - How does brevity affect understanding? - When is condensation harmful? A Different Perspective Briefness can sacrifice depth and nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/readers/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“As the Readers’s Digest once said: ‘Many persons call a doctor when all they want is an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/as-the-readers-s-digest-once-said-many-persons-call-a-doctor-when-all/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“The last thing Farinoush did on several nights just before she went to bed was to rummage through her cardboard box of old things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/the-last-thing-farinoush-did-on-several-nights-just-before-she-went/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [I think that's all you can hope for as an actor when you read a script; that after the first thirty pages it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-elwes/i-think-that-s-all-you-can-hope-for-as-an-actor-when-you-read-a/) [Cary Elwes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-elwes/) > [I liked to think I had written 'scripts' when I was in high school, but looking back at them, they were about thirty pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorene-scafaria/i-liked-to-think-i-had-written-scripts-when-i-was-in-high-school-but/) [Lorene Scafaria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorene-scafaria/) > [I think you will agree that I am alive in every part of this book; turn back twenty, thirty, one hundred pages - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-patchen/i-think-you-will-agree-that-i-am-alive-in-every-part-of-this-book/) [Kenneth Patchen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-patchen/) > [When I read biographies, I skip the first thirty pages about the childhood because it doesn't seem interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/when-i-read-biographies-i-skip-the-first-thirty-pages-about-the/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [Short stories have no net. The writer cannot take a leisurely sixty pages to get things moving, or make a side trip onto a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/short-stories-have-no-net-the-writer-cannot-take-a-leisurely-sixty/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but eventually you will read against the clock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/you-can-read-merely-to-pass-the-time-or-you-can-read-with-an-overt/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [“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/) > [Readers enjoy talking about books almost as much as they like reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/readers-enjoy-talking-about-books-almost-as-much-as-they-like-reading/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [“No time to think ! time is to read”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keyword/no-time-to-think-time-is-to-read/) Keyword > [There are more books in the world than hours in which to read them. We are thus deeply influenced by books we haven't read,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-are-more-books-in-the-world-than-hours-in-which-to-read-them-we/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [To encounter a fine book and have time to read it is a wonderful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/to-encounter-a-fine-book-and-have-time-to-read-it-is-a-wonderful-thing/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I read all the time... I read a lot of history books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-spillane/i-read-all-the-time-i-read-a-lot-of-history-books/) [Mickey Spillane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-spillane/) > [I don't have time to read much. I'm trying to read 'The Brothers Karamazov' again, for a year now - I keep getting halfway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/i-don-t-have-time-to-read-much-i-m-trying-to-read-the-brothers/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) ## More by Louis-Ferdinand Céline > [The beginning of genius is being scared shitless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-beginning-of-genius-is-being-scared-shitless/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Now I know... we have at least two friends!... Cillie von Leiden and the hunchback... not bad in our situation... or, come right down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/now-i-know-we-have-at-least-two-friends-cillie-von-leiden-and-the/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [I hadn't found out yet that mankind consists of two very different races, the rich and the poor. It took me ... and plenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-hadn-t-found-out-yet-that-mankind-consists-of-two-very-different/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Lie, copulate, and die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/lie-copulate-and-die/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Since life consists of madness spiked with lies, the farther you are from each other the more lies you can put into it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/since-life-consists-of-madness-spiked-with-lies-the-farther-you-are/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [In my room I'd barely closed my eyes when the blonde from the movie house came along and sang her whole song of sorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/in-my-room-i-d-barely-closed-my-eyes-when-the-blonde-from-the-movie/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [There's a point of poverty at which the spirit isn't with the body all the time. It finds the body really too unbearable. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/there-s-a-point-of-poverty-at-which-the-spirit-isn-t-with-the-body/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“You can be a virgin in horror the same as in sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/you-can-be-a-virgin-in-horror-the-same-as-in-sex/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [You can lose your way groping among the shadows of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/you-can-lose-your-way-groping-among-the-shadows-of-the-past/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“People cling to their rotten memories, to all their misfortunes, and you can't pry them loose. These things keep them busy. They avenge themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/people-cling-to-their-rotten-memories-to-all-their-misfortunes-and/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“He couldn't have explained this misery of his, it exceeded his education.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/he-couldn-t-have-explained-this-misery-of-his-it-exceeded-his/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“Hurry hurry, cram yourself full of dreams to carry you through the life that's waiting for you outside, when you leave here, to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/hurry-hurry-cram-yourself-full-of-dreams-to-carry-you-through-the/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don't go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/the-poetry-of-heroism-appeals-irresistibly-to-those-who-don-t-go-to-a/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [“While he was cautiously preambling, I tried to form a picture of all he did each day to earn his calories, all his grimaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/while-he-was-cautiously-preambling-i-tried-to-form-a-picture-of-all/) [Louis-Ferdinand Céline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) [Explore all 212 Louis-Ferdinand Céline quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people only have time to read thirty pages...apparently!...maximum!...that's all they have time for! they horse around for sixteen hours out of twenty-four, they sleep, they copulate the rest, where would they find the time to read a hundred pages? oh, do caca, I forgot! as well!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louis-Ferdinand Céline" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-readers-digest-style-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-readers-digest-style-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/45f/louis-ferdinand-celine-1139_life_i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-r_1960919.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people only have time to read thirty…” — Louis-Ferdinand Céline", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Louis-Ferdinand Céline", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I'm recapitulating...condensing...it's the Readers Digest style...people...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-readers-digest-style-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/i-m-recapitulating-condensing-it-s-the-readers-digest-style-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```