--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At some point in reading, we realize we…" description: "\"“At some point in reading, we realize we have to read not just the books that we'd enjoy, but the books that move us, touch us, those that break us and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/nema-al-araby-23155_books_at-some-point-in-reading-we-realize-we-h_2080711.jpg" --- # At some point in reading, we realize we have to read not… ![“At some point in reading, we realize we have to read not just the books that we'd enjoy, but the books that move us, touch us, those that break us and hurt us, those which remind us that we will always be the ignorant of this life. We have to read the books that make us so little, make us a speck…” quote by Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/nema-al-araby-23155_books_at-some-point-in-reading-we-realize-we-h_2080711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/nema-al-araby-23155_books_at-some-point-in-reading-we-realize-we-h_2080711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/222/nema-al-araby-23155_books_at-some-point-in-reading-we-realize-we-h_2080711.jpg) > ““At some point in reading, we realize we have to read not just the books that we'd enjoy, but the books that move us, touch us, those that break us and hurt us, those which remind us that we will always be the ignorant of this life. We have to read the books that make us so little, make us a speck of dust or a grain of sand in a galaxy, until we feed our minds with all the knowledge we need, which is infinite in itself.”” [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should include works that challenge, discomfort, and expand our understanding, not just enjoyable ones. **In simple terms:** Read challenging books to grow. Key Takeaway Embrace literature that pushes you. Themes reading growth humility knowledge Mood thoughtful inspirational philosophical Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - personal development - academic study - book clubs - creative writing Key Concepts self‑reflection intellectual humility existential awareness Questions to Reflect On - What books have changed your perspective? - How do you balance comfort and challenge in reading? A Different Perspective Some may avoid discomfort, missing deeper insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Some books you read. Some books you enjoy. But some books just swallow you up, heart and soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/some-books-you-read-some-books-you-enjoy-but-some-books-just-swallow/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [I don't read books. I like to read newspapers and magazines, but I've never learnt to enjoy books or novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-don-t-read-books-i-like-to-read-newspapers-and-magazines-but-i-ve/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [The deep-read is when you get gut-hooked and dragged overboard down and down through the maze of print and find, to your amazement, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wynne-jones/the-deep-read-is-when-you-get-gut-hooked-and-dragged-overboard-down/) [Tim Wynne-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wynne-jones/) > [I want to make it so that so many things happen... that you didn't expect would happen in this series, that you realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-j-anderson/i-want-to-make-it-so-that-so-many-things-happen-that-you-didn-t/) [Kevin J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-j-anderson/) > [“Many of our students suffer under the illusion that as English teachers we know all there is to know about everything we read as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-d-urbanski/many-of-our-students-suffer-under-the-illusion-that-as-english/) Cynthia D. Urbanski > [“I enjoy books. No room is fit for occupation without a lining of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-booth/i-enjoy-books-no-room-is-fit-for-occupation-without-a-lining-of-books/) Martin Booth > [But it doesn't stop at school. We can all enjoy books throughout our lives - as I certainly continue to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-clarke/but-it-doesn-t-stop-at-school-we-can-all-enjoy-books-throughout-our/) [Charles Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-clarke/) > [There are people out there who would enjoy my books but wouldn't pick them up because they think it's not going to be for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/there-are-people-out-there-who-would-enjoy-my-books-but-wouldn-t-pick/) [Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/) > [If you enjoy books with happy endings than you are better off reading some other book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-enjoy-books-with-happy-endings-than-you-are-better-off-reading/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I enjoy books as misers enjoy treasures, because I know I can enjoy them whenever I please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-enjoy-books-as-misers-enjoy-treasures-because-i-know-i-can-enjoy/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“There are adventures of the spirit and one can travel in books and interest oneself in people and affairs. One need never be dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-adventures-of-the-spirit-and-one-can-travel-in-books-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [...some people might think our lives dull and uneventful, but it does not seem so to us. ...it is not travel and adventure that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-might-think-our-lives-dull-and-uneventful-but-it-does-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One need never be dull as long as one has friends to help, gardens to enjoy and books in the long winter evenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-e-stevenson/one-need-never-be-dull-as-long-as-one-has-friends-to-help-gardens-to/) [D.E. Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-e-stevenson/) > [I have a very low tolerance for boredom and often think I would have missed out on books entirely if Id grown up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-have-a-very-low-tolerance-for-boredom-and-often-think-i-would-have/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Nema Al-Araby > [“Don't let yourself be amazed by the imagination of a writer and his words, writers are almost all the time in a love-hate relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/don-t-let-yourself-be-amazed-by-the-imagination-of-a-writer-and-his/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Please don't question the insane glares Just give me today, And tomorrow, Tomorrow we will matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/please-don-t-question-the-insane-glares-just-give-me-today-and/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Is it crazy to say that I sometimes don't understand what I write but I write it anyway, because maybe someone, somewhere, somehow, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/is-it-crazy-to-say-that-i-sometimes-don-t-understand-what-i-write-but/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Make sure you don't carry the burden of the whole world on your shoulders, just in case someone needed them to cry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/make-sure-you-don-t-carry-the-burden-of-the-whole-world-on-your/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“If you observe the pace of my breaths, you won't need to listen to my words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/if-you-observe-the-pace-of-my-breaths-you-won-t-need-to-listen-to-my/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“It's ridiculous to think that taking out words will heal hearts, because a palm-sized box is just not enough for the anger of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/it-s-ridiculous-to-think-that-taking-out-words-will-heal-hearts/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Ever, could I or could I not count the shadows of our being?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/ever-could-i-or-could-i-not-count-the-shadows-of-our-being/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Ever, could I or could I not count the shadows of your being?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/ever-could-i-or-could-i-not-count-the-shadows-of-your-being/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Silence is a great companion when words are devoid of meanings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/silence-is-a-great-companion-when-words-are-devoid-of-meanings/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“And the cobwebs of time would surrender, dormant, so that the rainbows of new eras can emerge Despite the hollowness of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/and-the-cobwebs-of-time-would-surrender-dormant-so-that-the-rainbows/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“The possibility of truth has become a delusion to those who made their own disguise the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/the-possibility-of-truth-has-become-a-delusion-to-those-who-made/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Let's talk about nothing. Look me in the eyes. I'll swim into yours. And we'll just smile. Enough for the whole world to crash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/let-s-talk-about-nothing-look-me-in-the-eyes-i-ll-swim-into-yours-and/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“Silence always used to guide A truth that could never be denied”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/silence-always-used-to-guide-a-truth-that-could-never-be-denied/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“I'm an alien in my own world, a writer without words, a musician without a piano, a magician without a wand. I am fooled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/i-m-an-alien-in-my-own-world-a-writer-without-words-a-musician/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) > [“I'd rather be poor to my bones than be rich with your money, that is like a trigger, ready to be pulled in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nema-al-araby/i-d-rather-be-poor-to-my-bones-than-be-rich-with-your-money-that-is/) [Nema Al-Araby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) [Explore all 26 Nema Al-Araby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nema-al-araby/) ## 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": "“At some point in reading, we realize we have to read not just the books that we'd enjoy, but the books that move us, touch us, those that break us and hurt us, those which remind us that we will always be the ignorant of this life. 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