--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never been a fast reader. I'm…" description: "\"I've never been a fast reader. I'm fickle; I don't finish books I start; I put a book aside for five, ten years and then take it up again.\" — Nicholson..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/nicholson-baker-3405_book_i-ve-never-been-a-fast-reader-i-m-fickle_2707987.png" --- # I've never been a fast reader. I'm fickle; I don't finish… ![“I've never been a fast reader. I'm fickle; I don't finish books I start; I put a book aside for five, ten years and then take it up again.” quote by Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/nicholson-baker-3405_book_i-ve-never-been-a-fast-reader-i-m-fickle_2707987.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/nicholson-baker-3405_book_i-ve-never-been-a-fast-reader-i-m-fickle_2707987.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f41/nicholson-baker-3405_book_i-ve-never-been-a-fast-reader-i-m-fickle_2707987.png) > “I've never been a fast reader. I'm fickle; I don't finish books I start; I put a book aside for five, ten years and then take it up again.” [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits being a slow, fickle reader who revisits books after long gaps. **In simple terms:** He reads slowly, often returns to books years later. Key Takeaway Accept your reading rhythm. Themes patience literature habit Mood reflective patient Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - personal study - creative writing Key Concepts reading psychology long‑term engagement Questions to Reflect On - What draws you back to a book? - How does time change perception? A Different Perspective May miss timely insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fickle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fickle/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't read many comics as a kid - I've always been a really fast reader, and I would fly through a comic book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-wiedlin/i-didn-t-read-many-comics-as-a-kid-i-ve-always-been-a-really-fast/) [Jane Wiedlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-wiedlin/) > [I am a stupendously fast reader and always have been. I can read in at least three languages fluently and two languages with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-korda/i-am-a-stupendously-fast-reader-and-always-have-been-i-can-read-in-at/) [Michael Korda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-korda/) > [I don't think of myself as a fast reader. I just read a lot. 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The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) ## More by Nicholson Baker > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [Just as the people who lived through the Second World War thought different things on different days, I think everybody who goes through that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/just-as-the-people-who-lived-through-the-second-world-war-thought/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [I’ve always thought of myself as shy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-ve-always-thought-of-myself-as-shy/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [There's something paralyzing about being a writer that you have to escape. 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White's essays are the best things I've read about Maine - especially the one in which he's not sure if he can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/e-b-white-s-essays-are-the-best-things-i-ve-read-about-maine/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“The fact that we had independently decided to sweep our apartments on that Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend together, I took as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-fact-that-we-had-independently-decided-to-sweep-our-apartments-on/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Explore all 131 Nicholson Baker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) ## More Book 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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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