--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist." description: "\"I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist.\" — Michael Dirda" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png" --- # I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist. ![“I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist.” quote by Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png) > “I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist.” [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A self‑identification as a lover of pleasure in literature, embracing sensual reading experiences. **In simple terms:** Loves literary pleasure. Key Takeaway Seek immersive reading. Themes hedonism literature personal identity Mood joyful reflective Type personal literary When to use this quote - Book clubs - personal reading retreats - creative writing workshops Key Concepts Aesthetic appreciation sensory engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does pleasure influence your choice of books? - Do you balance enjoyment with critique? A Different Perspective May overlook deeper analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonist/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Literary Hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-hedonist-2065740/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) ## Related quotes > [There's traditionally been two different ways of seeing addiction. Either it's a sin and you're a horrible bad person and you are just choosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-szalavitz/there-s-traditionally-been-two-different-ways-of-seeing-addiction/) [Maia Szalavitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-szalavitz/) > [“When enough is not enough, a Hedonist is born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukant-ratnakar/when-enough-is-not-enough-a-hedonist-is-born/) [Sukant Ratnakar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukant-ratnakar/) > [Don't let a grade decide your self-worth. Personally, in my opinion, someone should gauge their self-worth on what they've accomplished that makes them feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/don-t-let-a-grade-decide-your-self-worth-personally-in-my-opinion/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [To the elitist hedonist, life is the avoidance of boredom and routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/to-the-elitist-hedonist-life-is-the-avoidance-of-boredom-and-routine/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/nature-has-placed-mankind-under-the-government-of-two-sovereign-2/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [An artist might be attracted to hedonism, but of course an artist is not a hedonist. He's a worker, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/an-artist-might-be-attracted-to-hedonism-but-of-course-an-artist-is/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Christian hedonists don't discount suffering, they just don't give up until they find the gain in loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/christian-hedonists-don-t-discount-suffering-they-just-don-t-give-up/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“I am not a self-centered hedonist. At the same time, I also believe that happiness is the ultimate purpose of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-am-not-a-self-centered-hedonist-at-the-same-time-i-also-believe/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Being a man of the theater and a hedonist, I find the idea of building coffins very romantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/being-a-man-of-the-theater-and-a-hedonist-i-find-the-idea-of-building/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [Tantra is not for a hedonist at all. It won't work. If you're heavily attracted to sensual experiences, tantra will definitely not be of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tantra-is-not-for-a-hedonist-at-all-it-won-t-work-if-you-re-heavily/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Cole Porter had a worldwide reputation as a sophisticate and hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/cole-porter-had-a-worldwide-reputation-as-a-sophisticate-and-hedonist/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular acts was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [I persist in preferring philosophers to rabbis priests imams ayatollahs and mullahs. Rather than trust their theological hocus-pocus I prefer to draw on alternatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-onfray/i-persist-in-preferring-philosophers-to-rabbis-priests-imams/) [Michel Onfray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-onfray/) > [She smiled at him, though her hazel-green eyes were wary beneath the brim of a sodden hat. Right at that moment, staring at her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/she-smiled-at-him-though-her-hazel-green-eyes-were-wary-beneath-the/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) ## More by Michael Dirda > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I sometimes lie awake at night and try to imagine what would be the best period in history to spend one's seventy-odd years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-sometimes-lie-awake-at-night-and-try-to-imagine-what-would-be-the/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [To my mind, 'Dear Brutus' stands halfway between Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's 'Into the Woods'. Like them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/to-my-mind-dear-brutus-stands-halfway-between-shakespeare-s-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [The goal of a just society should be to provide satisfying work with a living wage to all its citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/the-goal-of-a-just-society-should-be-to-provide-satisfying-work-with/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Most lyric poetry is about love, whether yearned after, fulfilled, or wistfully regretted; what isn't tends to consist of laments and cris du coeur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/most-lyric-poetry-is-about-love-whether-yearned-after-fulfilled-or/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [“Books, by their very nature and variety, help us grow in empathy for others, in tolerance and awareness. But they should increase our skepticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/books-by-their-very-nature-and-variety-help-us-grow-in-empathy-for/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My gift, if that's not too grandiose a term, is one for describing novels, biographies, and works of history in such a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-gift-if-that-s-not-too-grandiose-a-term-is-one-for-describing/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Once we know the plot and its surprises, we can appreciate a book's artistry without the usual confusion and sap flow of emotion, content…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/once-we-know-the-plot-and-its-surprises-we-can-appreciate-a-book-s/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [My wife tells me I should check out 'Downton Abbey', but I gather that series might be almost too intense for my temperate nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/my-wife-tells-me-i-should-check-out-downton-abbey-but-i-gather-that/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [A reviewer's lot is not always an easy one. I can remember flogging myself to finish Harold Brodkey's 'The Runaway Soul' despite the novel's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/a-reviewer-s-lot-is-not-always-an-easy-one-i-can-remember-flogging/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I once read that in vaudeville, it was often the straight guy who got paid more than the comic because that's the tougher job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-once-read-that-in-vaudeville-it-was-often-the-straight-guy-who-got/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [From the late 19th to the early 20th century, the December issue of almost any general-interest magazine regularly featured a holiday horror or two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/from-the-late-19th-to-the-early-20th-century-the-december-issue-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Neither my mom nor my dad ever bought me any comic books. Certainly not for Christmas. I suspect that doing so would have violated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/neither-my-mom-nor-my-dad-ever-bought-me-any-comic-books-certainly/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [For me, the two weeks between Christmas and Twelfth Night have come to be reserved for desultory reading. The pressure of the holiday is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/for-me-the-two-weeks-between-christmas-and-twelfth-night-have-come-to/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I've always liked an easygoing, colloquial style. I like the kind of reviewer who is essentially a fellow reader, an enthusiast, a fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-ve-always-liked-an-easygoing-colloquial-style-i-like-the-kind-of/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) [Explore all 131 Michael Dirda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) ## More Hedonist quotes > [There's traditionally been two different ways of seeing addiction. Either it's a sin and you're a horrible bad person and you are just choosing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maia-szalavitz/there-s-traditionally-been-two-different-ways-of-seeing-addiction/) [Maia Szalavitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maia-szalavitz/) > [I persist in preferring philosophers to rabbis priests imams ayatollahs and mullahs. Rather than trust their theological hocus-pocus I prefer to draw on alternatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-onfray/i-persist-in-preferring-philosophers-to-rabbis-priests-imams/) [Michel Onfray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-onfray/) > [Bentham spent much of his life writing constitutions and proposing legal reform in the light of his utilitarianism. The evaluation of particular acts was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/bentham-spent-much-of-his-life-writing-constitutions-and-proposing/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [Cole Porter had a worldwide reputation as a sophisticate and hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/cole-porter-had-a-worldwide-reputation-as-a-sophisticate-and-hedonist/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [You'll live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/you-ll-live-to-be-a-hundred-if-you-give-up-all-the-things-that-make/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Tantra is not for a hedonist at all. It won't work. If you're heavily attracted to sensual experiences, tantra will definitely not be of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/tantra-is-not-for-a-hedonist-at-all-it-won-t-work-if-you-re-heavily/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Being a man of the theater and a hedonist, I find the idea of building coffins very romantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/being-a-man-of-the-theater-and-a-hedonist-i-find-the-idea-of-building/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [“I am not a self-centered hedonist. At the same time, I also believe that happiness is the ultimate purpose of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-am-not-a-self-centered-hedonist-at-the-same-time-i-also-believe/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [Christian hedonists don't discount suffering, they just don't give up until they find the gain in loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/christian-hedonists-don-t-discount-suffering-they-just-don-t-give-up/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [An artist might be attracted to hedonism, but of course an artist is not a hedonist. He's a worker, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/an-artist-might-be-attracted-to-hedonism-but-of-course-an-artist-is/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/nature-has-placed-mankind-under-the-government-of-two-sovereign-2/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [To the elitist hedonist, life is the avoidance of boredom and routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-leary/to-the-elitist-hedonist-life-is-the-avoidance-of-boredom-and-routine/) [Timothy Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-leary/) > [Don't let a grade decide your self-worth. Personally, in my opinion, someone should gauge their self-worth on what they've accomplished that makes them feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/don-t-let-a-grade-decide-your-self-worth-personally-in-my-opinion/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [“When enough is not enough, a Hedonist is born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sukant-ratnakar/when-enough-is-not-enough-a-hedonist-is-born/) [Sukant Ratnakar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sukant-ratnakar/) > [She smiled at him, though her hazel-green eyes were wary beneath the brim of a sodden hat. Right at that moment, staring at her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/she-smiled-at-him-though-her-hazel-green-eyes-were-wary-beneath-the/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) [Browse all 30 Hedonist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hedonist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Dirda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hedonist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/806/michael-dirda-3414_hedonist_i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist-9_995446.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm nothing if not a literary hedonist.” — Michael Dirda", "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": "Michael Dirda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm nothing if not a literary...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/i-m-nothing-if-not-a-literary-hedonist/#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 } } ] } ```