--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I read a novel I am not here. I am…" description: "\"“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg" --- # When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to… ![“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out in my mind's eye, with my ears engaged, hearing the voices carry from the pen to the present. What a lovely place to be—not here.” quote by Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg) > ““When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out in my mind's eye, with my ears engaged, hearing the voices carry from the pen to the present. What a lovely place to be—not here.”” [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading transports the mind beyond the present, creating vivid mental scenes and emotional immersion. **In simple terms:** Reading takes you to other worlds. Key Takeaway Allow yourself to be fully immersed in stories. Themes imagination escape focus empathy Mood reflective dreamy Type literary psychological When to use this quote - commuting - bedtime - study breaks - travel - therapy Key Concepts narrative transport mindfulness cognitive immersion Questions to Reflect On - Which story has changed your perspective? - How does reading affect your emotions? A Different Perspective May cause disengagement from reality if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Transported](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transported/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-transported-to-far-off-places-2/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [To read a novel is a difficult and complex art. You must be capable not only of great fineness of perception, but of great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-read-a-novel-is-a-difficult-and-complex-art-you-must-be-capable/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“While we read a novel, we are insane - bonkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/while-we-read-a-novel-we-are-insane-bonkers/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“So often, she had found herself transported by music. She would get lost, lose herself to the time and fullness of the tones, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-noble/so-often-she-had-found-herself-transported-by-music-she-would-get/) [Kate Noble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-noble/) > [“His chief form of entertainment was reading. The last moments he was in a cabin were usually spent scanning bookshelves and nightstands. The life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-finkel/his-chief-form-of-entertainment-was-reading-the-last-moments-he-was/) [Michael Finkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-finkel/) > [“My poor clothes are going to wonder where they live. They have been transported back and forth to this place on numerous occasions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-ellen-malpas/my-poor-clothes-are-going-to-wonder-where-they-live-they-have-been/) [Jodi Ellen Malpas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-ellen-malpas/) > [Get transported back to the seventies !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-evans/get-transported-back-to-the-seventies/) [Tom Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-evans/) > [“As you travel north across Ohio,” Ohio State University dean Harlan Hatcher wrote in 1945, “you feel that you have been transported from Virginia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/as-you-travel-north-across-ohio-ohio-state-university-dean-harlan/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [“I have no idea where I am. I only know that I was transported by someone in a white van who drove 6 hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-have-no-idea-where-i-am-i-only-know-that-i-was-transported-by/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [“We could try to go together, "I said. "I think we'd both fit, and that way, if we end up transported to another dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/we-could-try-to-go-together-i-said-i-think-we-d-both-fit-and-that-way/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [The beauty of a movie is that you walk in, you don't know anything about it, you enter a world that's new to you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/the-beauty-of-a-movie-is-that-you-walk-in-you-don-t-know-anything/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [“Use the act of breathing to shape air into sounds that take on the context of language that lifts and transports those who hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagamese/use-the-act-of-breathing-to-shape-air-into-sounds-that-take-on-the/) [Richard Wagamese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagamese/) > [When I was little, I loved books that gave me lots of detail so that I felt like I could be transported to this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brett/when-i-was-little-i-loved-books-that-gave-me-lots-of-detail-so-that-i/) [Jan Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brett/) > [In my junior year, I saw 'Zorba the Greek' with Anthony Quinn, and I was transported by it. I wanted to live, laugh, travel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-banks/in-my-junior-year-i-saw-zorba-the-greek-with-anthony-quinn-and-i-was/) [Jonathan Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-banks/) ## More by Nancy Moser > [“The fate of many men depended on the fate of this one. And this one I could help”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/the-fate-of-many-men-depended-on-the-fate-of-this-one-and-this-one-i/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“Robert walked faster than usual, and I had trouble keeping up with him, but I did not hold him back. I was pleased at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/robert-walked-faster-than-usual-and-i-had-trouble-keeping-up-with-him/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“To own silence . . . How odd that one does not appreciate something, nor even realize its absence, until it is presented as an unexpected gift.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/to-own-silence-how-odd-that-one-does-not-appreciate-something-nor/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“Allowing others to decide for us does not guarantee a better decision but almost always guarantees a fuller regret, and regret is a poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/allowing-others-to-decide-for-us-does-not-guarantee-a-better-decision/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“I imagined an impulsive Robert taking Henrietta's hands and proclaiming, "I love your sister dearly. Madly. We are betrothed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/i-imagined-an-impulsive-robert-taking-henrietta-s-hands-and/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“The prophet Isaiah said the Messiah: 'had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/the-prophet-isaiah-said-the-messiah-had-no-beauty-or-majesty-to/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“Instincts are given to us by God to guide us. It takes a strong woman to listen to those instincts and ignore what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/instincts-are-given-to-us-by-god-to-guide-us-it-takes-a-strong-woman/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“Swoon, Dora. Every young woman deserves to swoon over the love of her life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/swoon-dora-every-young-woman-deserves-to-swoon-over-the-love-of-her/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“My stories wrap around me like a cozy quilt, and sometimes I long to pull that quilt over my head and pin the blanket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/my-stories-wrap-around-me-like-a-cozy-quilt-and-sometimes-i-long-to/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“For who would I be if I tried to be someone besides Jane? The poser of the world try so hard to be what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/for-who-would-i-be-if-i-tried-to-be-someone-besides-jane-the-poser-of/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“What also excites me is that the artist attempts with the visual what I attempt to do with words: stop time, create a moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/what-also-excites-me-is-that-the-artist-attempts-with-the-visual-what/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“God offers grace and forgiveness for a contrite heart. But society offers cruel consequences and never forgives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/god-offers-grace-and-forgiveness-for-a-contrite-heart-but-society/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“not over. Any claim Eliza has on her husband’s estate lies in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/not-over-any-claim-eliza-has-on-her-husband-s-estate-lies-in/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“I can be quite evil, in a loving sort of way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/i-can-be-quite-evil-in-a-loving-sort-of-way/) [Nancy moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) > [“I held out my sisters' letters for him to read. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he kissed the letters and declared, "I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/i-held-out-my-sisters-letters-for-him-to-read-tears-appeared-in-his/) [Nancy Moser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) [Explore all 37 Nancy Moser quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/) ## 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": "“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out in my mind's eye, with my ears engaged, hearing the voices carry from the pen to the present. What a lovely place to be—not here.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nancy Moser" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-transported-to-far-off-places/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-transported-to-far-off-places/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c0/nancy-moser-17458_books_when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-t_962704.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the…” — Nancy Moser", "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": "Nancy Moser", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-moser/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When I read a novel I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-transported-to-far-off-places/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-moser/when-i-read-a-novel-i-am-not-here-i-am-transported-to-far-off-places/#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 } } ] } ```