--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read with a kind of curious terror…" description: "\"“I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence on the ethereal, make the unimaginable tru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg" --- # I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words… ![“I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence on the ethereal, make the unimaginable true.” quote by Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg) > ““I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence on the ethereal, make the unimaginable true.”” [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading can bind readers to ideas, making fleeting thoughts permanent and turning the intangible into reality. **In simple terms:** Reading makes ideas lasting and real. Key Takeaway Read actively to make concepts tangible. Themes literature power of language imagination Mood thoughtful inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - education - creative writing - public speaking Key Concepts cognitive linguistics philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How does reading shape your worldview? - What makes a story unforgettable? A Different Perspective Words can be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Curious Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curious-terror-5965907/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Permanence Ethereal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permanence-ethereal-5965909/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Terror Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror-learning-5965908/) [Unimaginable True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unimaginable-true-5965910/) ## Related quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [It's official: cyber terror is the new yellowcake uranium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-poulsen/it-s-official-cyber-terror-is-the-new-yellowcake-uranium/) [Kevin Poulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-poulsen/) > [America today is a confused society, caught up in a terror war, a culture war, and a media war, where honesty and professional standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/america-today-is-a-confused-society-caught-up-in-a-terror-war-a/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The idea of a bowed and terrified liberal minority during McCarthy's 'reign of terror' is poppycock. Then as now, all elite opinion was against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/the-idea-of-a-bowed-and-terrified-liberal-minority-during-mccarthy-s/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Dominion is a spy novel, a love story, and also I hope gives some sense of the difficulties faced by dissidents under any totalitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-sansom/dominion-is-a-spy-novel-a-love-story-and-also-i-hope-gives-some-sense/) [C.J. Sansom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-sansom/) > [Life is a continuous learning process where mistakes are the terror teathers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-continuous-learning-process-where-mistakes-are-the-terror/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Faced with armed men and women and stuck in theater seats while things exploded right outside, the audience tended more toward terror than analysis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-kay/faced-with-armed-men-and-women-and-stuck-in-theater-seats-while/) [Elliott Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-kay/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [The one means that wins the easiest victory over reason is terror and force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-one-means-that-wins-the-easiest-victory-over-reason-is-terror-and/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Well, you know, they use those words so that they can scare people "terror" and "cell."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosie-o-donnell/well-you-know-they-use-those-words-so-that-they-can-scare-people/) [Rosie O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosie-o-donnell/) ## More by Monica Wood > [“Convince is for thought; persuade is for action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/convince-is-for-thought-persuade-is-for-action/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“I have always loved books for their reassuring heft, for their promise of new words, for their air of mystery, for their characters who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/i-have-always-loved-books-for-their-reassuring-heft-for-their-promise/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“The packet of fading photos gives it away if you know how to look: always a rundown porch landing and stair rails behind, always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/the-packet-of-fading-photos-gives-it-away-if-you-know-how-to-look/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“Maybe he, like Mum, believed God had delivered three extra children, one-two-three, as a sign of His plan for this couple's long, long friendship.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/maybe-he-like-mum-believed-god-had-delivered-three-extra-children-one/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“But even talented people, sooner or later, cracked their heads against their own personal ceilings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/but-even-talented-people-sooner-or-later-cracked-their-heads-against/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [Every good story needs a complication. We learn this fiction-writing fundamental in courses and workshops, by reading a lot or, most painfully, through our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/every-good-story-needs-a-complication-we-learn-this-fiction-writing/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“A single task won't crush your spirit. Give yourself a break”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/a-single-task-won-t-crush-your-spirit-give-yourself-a-break/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“There is no such thing as wasted writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/there-is-no-such-thing-as-wasted-writing/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“In they went, over the footbridges to mills flourishing on Chisholm land. “To the Rumford Falls Paper Company, which made—?” “Newsprint!” “And the Rumford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/in-they-went-over-the-footbridges-to-mills-flourishing-on-chisholm/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [A well-chosen complication should give you choices. Juggling choices for your characters is what makes writing fun, after all. If you discover that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/a-well-chosen-complication-should-give-you-choices-juggling-choices/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [It's often hard to determine, especially in early drafts, whether or not a story has a bona fide complication. Remember this: A complication must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/it-s-often-hard-to-determine-especially-in-early-drafts-whether-or/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“The shape of our family has been upended and rearranged, its roof flattened, its gateposts ripped from the earth by God's own brutal hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/the-shape-of-our-family-has-been-upended-and-rearranged-its-roof/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) > [“A busload of pilgrims today on journeys they never chose, having once believed themselves born for more than this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/a-busload-of-pilgrims-today-on-journeys-they-never-chose-having-once/) [Monica Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) [Explore all 14 Monica Wood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](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": "“I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence on the ethereal, make the unimaginable true.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Monica Wood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-learning-that-words-can-pin/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-learning-that-words-can-pin/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/998/monica-wood-34298_books_i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-lea_1579738.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I read with a kind of curious terror, learning that words can pin their readers to place, confer permanence…” — Monica Wood", "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": "Monica Wood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-wood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I read with a kind of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-learning-that-words-can-pin/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-wood/i-read-with-a-kind-of-curious-terror-learning-that-words-can-pin/#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 } } ] } ```