--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The art (as opposed to the technology) of…" description: "\"The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires that you develop a beautiful tolerance for incomprehension. The greatest books are the books..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png" --- # The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires… ![“The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires that you develop a beautiful tolerance for incomprehension. The greatest books are the books that you come to understand more deeply with time, with age and with rereading.” quote by Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png) > “The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires that you develop a beautiful tolerance for incomprehension. The greatest books are the books that you come to understand more deeply with time, with age and with rereading.” [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading demands embracing confusion and deepening understanding over time. **In simple terms:** Accept confusion to grasp deeper meaning. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty in reading. Themes literature patience interpretation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - studying classics - re‑reading - academic research Key Concepts cognitive development critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle unreadable passages? - What value does rereading add? A Different Perspective Not all confusion leads to insight; some texts remain opaque. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Greatest book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatest-book/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tolerance/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Many of the greatest books are like a forest. “The best way to get to know them is to wander right into the middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-esolen/many-of-the-greatest-books-are-like-a-forest-the-best-way-to-get-to/) [Anthony Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-esolen/) > [“Sid Hite makes the greatest books”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-hite/sid-hite-makes-the-greatest-books/) Sid Hite > [Life is too short to live with any but the greatest books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/life-is-too-short-to-live-with-any-but-the-greatest-books/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [“For in those days I had no idea that many of the greatest books are like a forest, and that the best way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-esolen/for-in-those-days-i-had-no-idea-that-many-of-the-greatest-books-are/) [Anthony Esolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-esolen/) > [“The Bible is the greatest of all books; to study it is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-bible-is-the-greatest-of-all-books-to-study-it-is-the-noblest-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Gertrude Stein, when asked why she wrote, replied "For praise." Lorca said he wrote to be loved. Faulkner said a writer wrote for glory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/gertrude-stein-when-asked-why-she-wrote-replied-for-praise-lorca-said/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [George Orwell's '1984' frequently tops surveys of our greatest books: it's not a celebration of poetic language. It's decidedly anti-literary, a masterpiece of personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-joyce/george-orwell-s-1984-frequently-tops-surveys-of-our-greatest-books-it/) [Graham Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-joyce/) > [“One thing she did not know was the greatest book on human psychology is the Bible. If you were lazy and did not wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buchi-emecheta/one-thing-she-did-not-know-was-the-greatest-book-on-human-psychology/) [Buchi Emecheta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buchi-emecheta/) > [“Read a book, words by words, to find a story within and be amazed. Your heart will make that poor written book into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-aksara/read-a-book-words-by-words-to-find-a-story-within-and-be-amazed-your/) [Adam Aksara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-aksara/) > [You cannot be afraid, Read the book. Smile at it. It's a great book-the greatest book you've ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/you-cannot-be-afraid-read-the-book-smile-at-it-it-s-a-great-book-the/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“I have often noticed that we are inclined to endow our friends with the stability of type that literary characters acquire in the reader's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-have-often-noticed-that-we-are-inclined-to-endow-our-friends-with/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“The greatest book is one written by your pen, but not exactly from your mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-greatest-book-is-one-written-by-your-pen-but-not-exactly-from/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“Whatever evolution this or that popular character has gone through between the book covers, his fate is fixed in our minds, and, similarly, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/whatever-evolution-this-or-that-popular-character-has-gone-through/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [The greatest book is not the one whose message engraves itself on the brain, as a telegraphic message engraves itself on the ticker-tape, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-rolland/the-greatest-book-is-not-the-one-whose-message-engraves-itself-on-the/) [Romain Rolland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-rolland/) > [What's given, in fact, always depends on the person or thing it's given to. A minor incident in the street brings the cook to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/what-s-given-in-fact-always-depends-on-the-person-or-thing-it-s-given/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) ## More by Michael Silverblatt > [A beautiful word in the middle of a sentence can sometimes reduce me to tears in an interview, and when I'm reading, too. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/a-beautiful-word-in-the-middle-of-a-sentence-can-sometimes-reduce-me/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [If I want to have a conversation, I can't have a list of questions, because the second question on the list is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/if-i-want-to-have-a-conversation-i-can-t-have-a-list-of-questions/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [I'm very against interviewers who do not have time to read the work, who accept jobs knowing that they don't have time to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/i-m-very-against-interviewers-who-do-not-have-time-to-read-the-work/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [I'm often a crier and many things make me cry. I come from a crying family - my mother cries, my grandma used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/i-m-often-a-crier-and-many-things-make-me-cry-i-come-from-a-crying/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [I like to think that at best the interview becomes something like the unaccountable experience of talking to oneself in a mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/i-like-to-think-that-at-best-the-interview-becomes-something-like-the/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [I thought I was going to be a math major. My parents were both accountants and wanted me to major in business. Math was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/i-thought-i-was-going-to-be-a-math-major-my-parents-were-both/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [The book is an experience that allows you to witness your feelings without having to surrender to them, to succumb to them, or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/the-book-is-an-experience-that-allows-you-to-witness-your-feelings/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [In the course of interviewing, I've discovered that if you don't give your guest something to react to, they don't react. They simply say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/in-the-course-of-interviewing-i-ve-discovered-that-if-you-don-t-give/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [She taught you how to be a person who refuses anything but the meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/she-taught-you-how-to-be-a-person-who-refuses-anything-but-the/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [People tell me I have the best job in the world, which is true, but I also work with some of the best people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/people-tell-me-i-have-the-best-job-in-the-world-which-is-true-but-i/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) > [A bleak, black book, it engenders awe and despair. I have read it in its entirety 4 1/2 times, each time finding its resonance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/a-bleak-black-book-it-engenders-awe-and-despair-i-have-read-it-in-its/) [Michael Silverblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) [Explore all 12 Michael Silverblatt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires that you develop a beautiful tolerance for incomprehension. The greatest books are the books that you come to understand more deeply with time, with age and with rereading.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Silverblatt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of-reading-requires-that-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of-reading-requires-that-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/490/michael-silverblatt-37569_age_the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of_2242429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The art (as opposed to the technology) of reading requires that you develop a beautiful tolerance for…” — Michael Silverblatt", "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 Silverblatt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-silverblatt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The art (as opposed to the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of-reading-requires-that-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-silverblatt/the-art-as-opposed-to-the-technology-of-reading-requires-that-you/#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 } } ] } ```