---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Choosing not to read is like closing an…"
description: "\"Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to paradise\" — Mark Twain"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png"
---

#  Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to…

![“Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to paradise” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png)

> “Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to paradise”

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Choosing not to read is likened to closing a door to paradise, emphasizing loss of opportunity.

**In simple terms:** Not reading is like shutting a door to heaven.

Key Takeaway

Embrace reading to keep opportunities open.

Themes

literature choice opportunity

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

motivational philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal development
- education
- library visits

Key Concepts

knowledge growth paradise

Questions to Reflect On

- What doors could reading open for you?
- How does avoiding reading limit growth?

A Different Perspective

Reading alone may not guarantee success.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Open Door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-door/) [Paradise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradise/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [I was depressed, but that was a side issue. This was more like closing up shop, or, say, having a big garage sale, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/i-was-depressed-but-that-was-a-side-issue-this-was-more-like-closing/)

[Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/)

> [Night had come on like the closing of a great but gentle eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/night-had-come-on-like-the-closing-of-a-great-but-gentle-eye/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [I just don't like closing doors. I can't do it psychologically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asher-keddie/i-just-don-t-like-closing-doors-i-can-t-do-it-psychologically/)

[Asher Keddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asher-keddie/)

> [Reading is a pleasure, yes, but not without effort: choosing to read novels purely because they mirror your own experience is stultifying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-foster/reading-is-a-pleasure-yes-but-not-without-effort-choosing-to-read/)

[Dawn Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-foster/)

> [The punctuation of anniversaries is terrible, like the closing of doors, one after another between you and what you want to hold on to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/the-punctuation-of-anniversaries-is-terrible-like-the-closing-of/)

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/)

> [“But when you're sad and the walls feel like they're closing in, I want you to remember that the only way to get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joelle-charbonneau/but-when-you-re-sad-and-the-walls-feel-like-they-re-closing-in-i-want/)

[Joelle Charbonneau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joelle-charbonneau/)

> [“Everybody has noticed the way cats stop and loiter in a half-open door. Hasn't everyone said to a cat: "For heaven's sake, why don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/everybody-has-noticed-the-way-cats-stop-and-loiter-in-a-half-open/)

[Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/)

> [“…out here in the real world, my man, you would be amazed how seldom murder has to break into people’s lives. Ninety-nine times out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/out-here-in-the-real-world-my-man-you-would-be-amazed-how-seldom/)

[Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/)

> [“BE Lost On a painted sky Where the clouds are hung For the poet's eye You may find him If you may find him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/be-lost-on-a-painted-sky-where-the-clouds-are-hung-for-the-poet-s-eye/)

[Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/)

> [If you believe in chakras - head and heart - I think singing opens them up, like a wide open door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-erivo/if-you-believe-in-chakras-head-and-heart-i-think-singing-opens-them/)

[Cynthia Erivo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-erivo/)

> [I was once asked what I thought was the most disquieting thing you could see on the screen and I said, 'an open door.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/i-was-once-asked-what-i-thought-was-the-most-disquieting-thing-you/)

[Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/)

> [If you have a hit, the best thing that can happen to you is having a bigger hit open next door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-otway/if-you-have-a-hit-the-best-thing-that-can-happen-to-you-is-having-a/)

Howard Otway

> [“Next time," I said wryly, swinging open the door, "just give me a knife and ask for a vein.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-pettersson/next-time-i-said-wryly-swinging-open-the-door-just-give-me-a-knife/)

[Vicki Pettersson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-pettersson/)

> [Dear parents,knocking while open the door to my bedroom kind of defeats the purpose of knocking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-parents-knocking-while-open-the-door-to-my-bedroom-kind-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When one door closes another doesn't just open, you can either open the same door or open a different one...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-one-door-closes-another-doesn-t-just-open-you-can-either-open/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Mark Twain

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

[Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

## 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": "Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to paradise",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mark Twain"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an-open-door-to-paradise/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an-open-door-to-paradise/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df0/mark-twain-22_books_choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an_2333227.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Choosing not to read is like closing an open door to paradise” — Mark Twain",
                "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 Twain",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Choosing not to read is like...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an-open-door-to-paradise/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/choosing-not-to-read-is-like-closing-an-open-door-to-paradise/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
