--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Percy and Books Percy does not like it…" description: "\"“Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book. He puts his face over the top of it, and moans. He rolls his eyes, sometimes he sneezes. Th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mary-oliver-570_books_percy-and-books-percy-does-not-like-it-w_1475765.jpg" --- # Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book… ![“Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book. He puts his face over the top of it, and moans. He rolls his eyes, sometimes he sneezes. The sun is up, he says, and the wind is down. The tide is out, and the neighbor's dogs are playing. But Percy, I say, Ideas! The elegance of language!…” quote by Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mary-oliver-570_books_percy-and-books-percy-does-not-like-it-w_1475765.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mary-oliver-570_books_percy-and-books-percy-does-not-like-it-w_1475765.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/005/mary-oliver-570_books_percy-and-books-percy-does-not-like-it-w_1475765.jpg) > ““Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book. He puts his face over the top of it, and moans. He rolls his eyes, sometimes he sneezes. The sun is up, he says, and the wind is down. The tide is out, and the neighbor's dogs are playing. But Percy, I say, Ideas! The elegance of language! The insights, the funniness, the beautiful stories that rise and fall and turn into strength, or courage. Books? says Percy. I ate one once, and it was enough. Let's go.”” [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A speaker laments a pet’s disdain for reading, contrasting it with the transformative power of literature and imagination **In simple terms:** Books inspire imagination and personal growth Key Takeaway Value reading for its ability to shape character Themes literature imagination growth Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - reading to - teaching children - discussing books with friends - using literature for emotional resilience Key Concepts transformative power personal development humor Questions to Reflect On - How can we make reading appealing to reluctant audiences? - What personal strengths have you gained from books? A Different Perspective Percy’s indifference may reflect broader societal undervaluing of reading ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-percy-5366960/) [Books Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-says-4058135/) [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Percy Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percy-books-5366961/) [Percy Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percy-does-5366962/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Read A Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-a-book/) [Rise and fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-and-fall/) [Says Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-percy-2563519/) ## Related quotes > [Love, love, love, says Percy. And hurry as fast as you can along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust. 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I've seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/you-don-t-know-me-from-the-wind-you-never-will-you-never-did-i-m-the/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Trafton, by the way, has taken a lesson from Lewis and written a delightful children’s tale, The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic (see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer-2/trafton-by-the-way-has-taken-a-lesson-from-lewis-and-written-a/) [J.I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer-2/) > [ There's a fantastic, thousand-page book by David Thomson about \[David O. Selznick\]. Again, it's not the best argument or the best advertisement for his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-longworth/there-s-a-fantastic-thousand-page-book-by-david-thomson-about-david-o/) [Karina Longworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-longworth/) > [“With peaks of joy and valleys of heartache, life is a roller coaster ride, the rise and fall of which defines our journey. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-cole/with-peaks-of-joy-and-valleys-of-heartache-life-is-a-roller-coaster/) [Sebastian Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-cole/) > [To hurry through the rise and fall of a fine, full sentence is like defying the role of time in human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/to-hurry-through-the-rise-and-fall-of-a-fine-full-sentence-is-like/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) ## More by Mary Oliver > [Belief isn't always easy. But this much I have learned--- if not enough else--- to live with my eyes open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/belief-isn-t-always-easy-but-this-much-i-have-learned-if-not-enough/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [In this universe we are given two gifts: the ability to love and the ability to question. 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So I’ll say it again. The leaf has a song in it. Stone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-can-i-say-that-i-have-not-said-before-so-i-ll-say-it-again-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The sea is the most beautiful face in our universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/the-sea-is-the-most-beautiful-face-in-our-universe/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [There is nothing better than work. Work is also play; children know that. Children play earnestly as if it were work. But people grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/there-is-nothing-better-than-work-work-is-also-play-children-know/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“What will you do with your one precious, wild life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/what-will-you-do-with-your-one-precious-wild-life/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. 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So as much as I possibly could, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/we-all-have-a-hungry-heart-and-one-of-the-things-we-hunger-for-is/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) [Explore all 470 Mary Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) ## 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! 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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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book. He puts his face over the top of it, and moans. He rolls his eyes, sometimes he sneezes. The sun is up, he says, and the wind is down. The tide is out, and the neighbor's dogs are playing. But Percy, I say, Ideas! The elegance of language! The insights, the funniness, the beautiful stories that rise and fall and turn into strength, or courage. Books? says Percy. I ate one once, and it was enough. 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