--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think I've ever read an old book…" description: "\"I don't think I've ever read an old book through from start to finish. Not after more than six months after writing it, that is.\" — Nicholas Mosley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/nicholas-mosley-31638_book_i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-read-an-old-book_951697.jpg" --- # I don't think I've ever read an old book through from… ![“I don't think I've ever read an old book through from start to finish. Not after more than six months after writing it, that is.” quote by Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/nicholas-mosley-31638_book_i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-read-an-old-book_951697.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/nicholas-mosley-31638_book_i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-read-an-old-book_951697.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb5/nicholas-mosley-31638_book_i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-read-an-old-book_951697.jpg) > “I don't think I've ever read an old book through from start to finish. Not after more than six months after writing it, that is.” [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He rarely reads his own work fully after publication, indicating a detachment from his creations. **In simple terms:** He doesn't finish reading his own books. Key Takeaway Accept that creators may view their work differently. Themes creativity detachment authorial perspective Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing process - personal growth - literary analysis Key Concepts self‑reflection literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - Why might an author avoid rereading their own text? - How does distance affect creative evaluation? A Different Perspective Authors may lose intimacy with their work over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I doubt if I shall ever have time to read the book again -- there are too many new ones coming out all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-doubt-if-i-shall-ever-have-time-to-read-the-book-again-there-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I read some books, and I thought, 'This is better than sliced bread!' and a month later, I couldn't remember thinking about it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-read-some-books-and-i-thought-this-is-better-than-sliced-bread-and/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The first four months of writing the book, my mental image is scratching with my hands through granite. 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I spend about 14 months writing a book, and that's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-hannah/hands-down-the-hardest-part-for-me-is-coming-up-with-an-idea-i-spend/) [Kristin Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-hannah/) > [Right now I feel so inspired, it's hard to believe. I've written about 20 songs in the last two days. I'd gone about four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-bolin/right-now-i-feel-so-inspired-it-s-hard-to-believe-i-ve-written-about/) [Tommy Bolin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-bolin/) > [I am a writer. I could not afford to take 15 months off from my writing career to play detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-am-a-writer-i-could-not-afford-to-take-15-months-off-from-my/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) ## More by Nicholas Mosley > [“It is very difficult to love people who are good to us: it is easier to imagine we are loving people we can condescend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/it-is-very-difficult-to-love-people-who-are-good-to-us-it-is-easier/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“Love is in prospect or retrospect, the present is ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/love-is-in-prospect-or-retrospect-the-present-is-ecstasy/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [There is curiously little art concerning the efficacy of reason - perhaps simply because reason is not noticeably efficacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/there-is-curiously-little-art-concerning-the-efficacy-of-reason/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“The ritual was kissing her at various parts as if I were adorning her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/the-ritual-was-kissing-her-at-various-parts-as-if-i-were-adorning-her/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [Not only the style, but the way in which you don't exactly know what on earth has happened or is happening till about page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/not-only-the-style-but-the-way-in-which-you-don-t-exactly-know-what/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [It connects with the theologians' point that you can say what God is not, but not (easily) what He is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/it-connects-with-the-theologians-point-that-you-can-say-what-god-is/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“The conceit of literary intellectuals is to imagine that other people don't have ideas so that they can assume a superior status by having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/the-conceit-of-literary-intellectuals-is-to-imagine-that-other-people/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“What if the need to have a hard time is built into human nature?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/what-if-the-need-to-have-a-hard-time-is-built-into-human-nature/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [After these three novels I gave up writing novels for a time; I was dissatisfied with romantic doom, yet didn't see much way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/after-these-three-novels-i-gave-up-writing-novels-for-a-time-i-was/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing-them-for-except-that-i-knew-i/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [To say a poem is absolute is saying nothing, because an ink blot can be absolute. 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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