--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You quickly find, when you are a…" description: "\"You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves.\" — Margaret Atwood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg" --- # You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that… ![“You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg) > “You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People are most drawn to topics that reflect their own experiences and self‑interest. **In simple terms:** People care about themselves most. Key Takeaway Connect ideas to personal relevance. Themes self‑interest psychology communication Mood reflective analytical Type observational motivational When to use this quote - marketing - education - personal coaching Key Concepts ego identity attention Questions to Reflect On - How can you make a topic resonate beyond personal relevance? - What are the risks of focusing only on self‑interest? A Different Perspective May overlook broader perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [When I was about 25, I went to a hand reader, this Indian guy in a funky neighborhood. He said: The height of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/when-i-was-about-25-i-went-to-a-hand-reader-this-indian-guy-in-a/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [I love the other side of life, I like to do what interests me. People talk about bucket lists - I hate that. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/i-love-the-other-side-of-life-i-like-to-do-what-interests-me-people/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Don't always talk about your life, where you live, interests - people learn from your vibratory form and can get inside you. Plus those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/don-t-always-talk-about-your-life-where-you-live-interests-people/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [No, I never thought about my image. It interests me that there are people who do, that they seem to be methodical about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/no-i-never-thought-about-my-image-it-interests-me-that-there-are/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [What interests me, ... is why people are so repelled when, after all, everyone started life attached. In a sense, the twins have never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-perelman-rossner/what-interests-me-is-why-people-are-so-repelled-when-after-all/) [Judith Perelman Rossner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-perelman-rossner/) > [It's the sort of subject that always interests me: jealousy and the language of suspicion and guilt. I think it interests people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-lyne/it-s-the-sort-of-subject-that-always-interests-me-jealousy-and-the/) [Adrian Lyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-lyne/) > [When occasions present themselves, in which the interests of the people are at variance with their inclinations, it is the duty of the persons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/when-occasions-present-themselves-in-which-the-interests-of-the/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [I know that you need to be entertaining at the beginning to get people interested, and what interests people is knockouts and excitement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-yarde/i-know-that-you-need-to-be-entertaining-at-the-beginning-to-get/) [Anthony Yarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-yarde/) > [Self-knowledge leads to wonder, and wonder to curiosity and investigation, so that nothing interests people more than people, even if only one's own person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/self-knowledge-leads-to-wonder-and-wonder-to-curiosity-and/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“If you are once sure what you do want, you find that everything else goes down before it like grass under a roller—(all other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-alexander/if-you-are-once-sure-what-you-do-want-you-find-that-everything-else/) [Tasha Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tasha-alexander/) > [I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-didn-t-expect-to-love-being-online-as-much-as-i-do-i-ve-met-some/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Politicians are a set of men who have interests aside from the interests of the people and who, to say the most of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/politicians-are-a-set-of-men-who-have-interests-aside-from-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [The fact of the matter is, people care about their own human interests: the people they love, their families, and their communities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-steyer/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-people-care-about-their-own-human-interests/) [Tom Steyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-steyer/) > [The state itself becomes more and more identified with the interests of those who run things than with the interests of the people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-state-itself-becomes-more-and-more-identified-with-the-interests/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Leaders, whatever the size of their organizations, are those willing to put the interests of other people before their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/leaders-whatever-the-size-of-their-organizations-are-those-willing-to/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## 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": "You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Atwood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-reader-as-i-am-that-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-reader-as-i-am-that-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af1/margaret-atwood-40_books_you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-rea_185777.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You quickly find, when you are a hand-reader as I am, that nothing interests people so much as themselves.” — Margaret Atwood", "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": "Margaret Atwood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You quickly find, when you are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-reader-as-i-am-that-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/you-quickly-find-when-you-are-a-hand-reader-as-i-am-that-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```