---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read very, very little fiction as a…"
description: "\"I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.\" — Mark Haddon"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png"
---

#  I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I…

![“I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.” quote by Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png)

> “I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.”

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

## 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 notes a childhood focus on non‑fiction science books, implying a preference for factual over imaginative reading.

**In simple terms:** I mainly read science non‑fiction as a kid.

Key Takeaway

Early reading habits shape knowledge interests.

Themes

reading habits education science literacy

Mood

matter‑of‑fact reflective

Type

personal observation

When to use this quote

- school curricula design
- parental guidance
- library programming

Key Concepts

cognitive development interest formation

Practical Applications

- encouraging diverse genre exposure
- integrating science narratives in early education

Questions to Reflect On

- How does early genre preference influence career paths?
- Can balanced reading broaden both knowledge and creativity?

A Different Perspective

Limited fiction exposure may affect imagination development.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-books/)

## Related quotes

> [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/)

[Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/)

> [I've been writing fiction since I was a kid. From the age of 15 to 25, I probably wrote more than 50 short stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-ve-been-writing-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-from-the-age-of-15-to-25/)

[Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/)

> [As a fan of science fiction and as a kid who loves monsters, science fiction movies and this, that and the other, there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-grevioux/as-a-fan-of-science-fiction-and-as-a-kid-who-loves-monsters-science/)

[Kevin Grevioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-grevioux/)

> [If there is any message in the 'Wimpy Kid' books, it is that reading can be and should be fun. As an adult reader,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/if-there-is-any-message-in-the-wimpy-kid-books-it-is-that-reading-can/)

[Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/)

> [“Books are what I escaped to when I was a kid, and books...unless they're just really piss poor, I get swept up in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-benson/books-are-what-i-escaped-to-when-i-was-a-kid-and-books-unless-they-re/)

[Amber Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-benson/)

> [The minute I sit down and think 'Okay, this must be KID SAFE!' my Muse develops Tourrette's and goes to lunch with Clive Barker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-vernon/the-minute-i-sit-down-and-think-okay-this-must-be-kid-safe-my-muse/)

[Ursula Vernon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-vernon/)

> [I was always into science fiction as a kid. I loved science and tinkering with things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hanson/i-was-always-into-science-fiction-as-a-kid-i-loved-science-and/)

[David Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hanson/)

> [The idea that, you know - when I was growing up - that everybody would carry around a portable communicating device, that was science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-allen/the-idea-that-you-know-when-i-was-growing-up-that-everybody-would/)

[Paul Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-allen/)

> [As a kid books changed how I looked at the world and helped me understand things. Books still deepen me and open my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/as-a-kid-books-changed-how-i-looked-at-the-world-and-helped-me/)

[Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/)

> [I've loved reading since I was a kid. Sometimes I have two or three books going at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-uggams/i-ve-loved-reading-since-i-was-a-kid-sometimes-i-have-two-or-three/)

[Leslie Uggams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-uggams/)

> [Books must follow sciences, and not sciences books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/books-must-follow-sciences-and-not-sciences-books/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [The Bible is not primarily a science book. It is not written to tell us how the heavens go; it is written to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/the-bible-is-not-primarily-a-science-book-it-is-not-written-to-tell/)

[Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/)

> [I read science books, chemistry books, history books. I read that stuff for fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-harrison/i-read-science-books-chemistry-books-history-books-i-read-that-stuff/)

[Rick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-harrison/)

> [If you look through the shelves of science books, you'll find row after row of books written by men. This can be terribly off-putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-randall/if-you-look-through-the-shelves-of-science-books-you-ll-find-row/)

[Lisa Randall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-randall/)

> [When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-tipler/when-i-began-my-career-as-a-cosmologist-some-twenty-years-ago-i-was-a/)

[Frank J. Tipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-tipler/)

## More by Mark Haddon

> [But I said that you could still want something that is very unlikely to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-i-said-that-you-could-still-want-something-that-is-very-unlikely/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“So often these days she seemed to hover between worlds, none of them wholly real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/so-often-these-days-she-seemed-to-hover-between-worlds-none-of-them/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery…and I was brave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-i-know-i-can-do-this-because-i-went-to-london-on-my-own-and/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [And what he meant was that maths wasn't like life because in life there are no straightforward answers in the end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-what-he-meant-was-that-maths-wasn-t-like-life-because-in-life/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [You love someone, you've got to let something go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/you-love-someone-you-ve-got-to-let-something-go/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn’t. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/when-you-describe-something-by-using-a-word-for-something-that-it-isn/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/they-are-very-logical-but-you-could-never-work-out-the-rules-even-if/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“Places remained and time flowed through them like wind through the grass. Right now. This was the future turning into the past. One thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/places-remained-and-time-flowed-through-them-like-wind-through-the/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I suffer depression only in the sense that I am a writer. We don't have proper jobs to go to. We are on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-suffer-depression-only-in-the-sense-that-i-am-a-writer-we-don-t/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I better make the plot good. I wanted to make it grip people on the first page and have a big turning point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-better-make-the-plot-good-i-wanted-to-make-it-grip-people-on-the/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“And it was strange because he was calling, "Christopher. . . ? Christopher. . . ?" and I could see my name written out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/and-it-was-strange-because-he-was-calling-christopher-christopher-and/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [A lot of roles for people with disabilities are quite patronising. It's a real pity when they are just used to give dull PC…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/a-lot-of-roles-for-people-with-disabilities-are-quite-patronising-it/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-do-not-like-strangers-because-i-do-not-like-people-i-have-never-met/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“Lots of people wrote to the magazine to say that Marilyn vos Savant was wrong, even when she explained very carefully why she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/lots-of-people-wrote-to-the-magazine-to-say-that-marilyn-vos-savant/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

> [“But you shoutet and you knocked those mixers off the shelf and there was a big crash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/but-you-shoutet-and-you-knocked-those-mixers-off-the-shelf-and-there/)

[Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

[Explore all 278 Mark Haddon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/)

## More Book 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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Haddon"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/mark-haddon-1056_book_i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid_121637.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I read very, very little fiction as a kid. All the books I can remember are junior science books.” — Mark Haddon",
                "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": "Mark Haddon",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I read very, very little fiction...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/i-read-very-very-little-fiction-as-a-kid-all-the-books-i-can-remember/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
