--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I recently discovered that a friend who…" description: "\"“I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading Bleak House had done no other Dickens apart from Barnaby Ridge. That's just weird. I shamed and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg" --- # I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading… ![“I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading Bleak House had done no other Dickens apart from Barnaby Ridge. That's just weird. I shamed and nagged him into picking up Great Expectations instead. But when I tried to recall anything about it other than its excellence, I failed. Maybe…” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg) > ““I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading Bleak House had done no other Dickens apart from Barnaby Ridge. That's just weird. I shamed and nagged him into picking up Great Expectations instead. But when I tried to recall anything about it other than its excellence, I failed. Maybe there was something about a peculiar stepfather? Or was that This Boy's Life? And I realized that, as this is true of just about every book I consumed between the ages of, say fifteen to forty, I havent even read the books I think I've read. I can't tell you how depressing this is. What's the fucking point?”” [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator realizes they have never truly read many books they thought they had, exposing how memory and identity can be constructed on false premises. **In simple terms:** Memory can be deceptive. Key Takeaway Verify what you claim to know. Themes identity memory literature Mood introspective critical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - academic study - personal reflection - book clubs Key Concepts cognitive bias self‑deception Questions to Reflect On - What books truly shaped you? - How do you confirm your memories? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge requires effort, not assumption. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bleak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleak/) [Bleak house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleak-house/) [Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens/) [Dickens Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dickens-apart-3240166/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Great expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-expectations/) [Reading Bleak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-bleak-3240165/) ## Related quotes > [I was brought up on Dickens. I remember reading 'Bleak House' but, coming back to it, I didn't remember much about it apart from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burn-gorman/i-was-brought-up-on-dickens-i-remember-reading-bleak-house-but-coming/) [Burn Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burn-gorman/) > [“All we have to do when reading Bleak House is to relax and let our spines take over. Although we read with our minds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/all-we-have-to-do-when-reading-bleak-house-is-to-relax-and-let-our/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [With its vastly complicated plot and its immense cast of characters swirling around the case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce that has been grinding away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/with-its-vastly-complicated-plot-and-its-immense-cast-of-characters/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) > [Bleak House by Charles Dickens is my favourite book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-phillips/bleak-house-by-charles-dickens-is-my-favourite-book/) [Trevor Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-phillips/) > [Born Losers is a beautiful piece of writing. Scott Sandage is history's Dickens; his bleak house, the late nineteenth century world of almost anonymous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-mcfeely/born-losers-is-a-beautiful-piece-of-writing-scott-sandage-is-history/) [William S. McFeely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-mcfeely/) > [A while ago, I did a television adaptation of 'Bleak House,' and the character I played, as far as I was concerned, had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dance/a-while-ago-i-did-a-television-adaptation-of-bleak-house-and-the/) [Charles Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dance/) > [Every story has already been told. Once you've read Anna Karenina, Bleak House, The Sound and the Fury, To Kill a Mockingbird and A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/every-story-has-already-been-told-once-you-ve-read-anna-karenina/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [The universe, he observed, makes rather an indifferent parent, I am afraid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-universe-he-observed-makes-rather-an-indifferent-parent-i-am/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I hadn't read Dickens for a while and doing 'Bleak House' was great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/i-hadn-t-read-dickens-for-a-while-and-doing-bleak-house-was-great/) [Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/) > [I was shocked by the reaction I got for Bleak House. It was very intensive but one of the best jobs of my life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxwell-martin/i-was-shocked-by-the-reaction-i-got-for-bleak-house-it-was-very/) [Anna Maxwell Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxwell-martin/) > [“We are now ready to tackle Dickens. We are now ready to embrace Dickens. We are now ready to bask in Dickens. In our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/we-are-now-ready-to-tackle-dickens-we-are-now-ready-to-embrace-2/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Although we might think of Holmes as the Ur-sleuth, the seminal inspiration for many writers comes not from the chronicles of Baker Street but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/although-we-might-think-of-holmes-as-the-ur-sleuth-the-seminal/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [“LONDON. Michaelmas Term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln’s Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/london-michaelmas-term-lately-over-and-the-lord-chancellor-sitting-in/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Bleak House is just the most astounding piece of work. There's huge, visionary poetry in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-callow/bleak-house-is-just-the-most-astounding-piece-of-work-there-s-huge/) [Simon Callow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-callow/) > [So many things were testing his faith. There was the Bible, of course, but the Bible was a book, and so were Bleak House,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/so-many-things-were-testing-his-faith-there-was-the-bible-of-course/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) ## More by Nick Hornby > [You can wait forever for the muse to sit on your shoulder, but most of the time you know what has to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/you-can-wait-forever-for-the-muse-to-sit-on-your-shoulder-but-most-of/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > […I've had a bad week." What's happened?" Nothing's happened. I've had a bad week in my head, is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-ve-had-a-bad-week-what-s-happened-nothing-s-happened-i-ve-had-a-bad/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“When they – I cannot bring myself to use the first-person plural in this instance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/when-they-i-cannot-bring-myself-to-use-the-first-person-plural-in/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“What you don't ever catch a glimpse of on your wedding day - because how could you? - is that some days you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/what-you-don-t-ever-catch-a-glimpse-of-on-your-wedding-day-because/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You've got to kick off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/a-good-compilation-tape-like-breaking-up-is-hard-to-do-and-takes-ages/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I'm still not a very good white wine, but I'm drinkable - you could put me in a punch, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-still-not-a-very-good-white-wine-but-i-m-drinkable-you-could-put/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I wasted the 1980s. I wasted every minute at Cambridge talking to people who knew more about music than I did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-wasted-the-1980s-i-wasted-every-minute-at-cambridge-talking-to/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I took her outside on to a little roof terrace that looked like it never got the sun at nay time of the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-took-her-outside-on-to-a-little-roof-terrace-that-looked-like-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I feel as though I have been having conversations like this all my life. None of us is young anymore, but what has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-feel-as-though-i-have-been-having-conversations-like-this-all-my/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“I'm OK. Really. I can find people. I'll be all right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-m-ok-really-i-can-find-people-i-ll-be-all-right/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Read any women's magazine and you'll see the same complaint over and over again: men - those little boys ten or twenty or thirty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/read-any-women-s-magazine-and-you-ll-see-the-same-complaint-over-and/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“Defansçılar her zaman forvetçilerden daha iyi analizcilerdir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/defans-lar-her-zaman-forvet-ilerden-daha-iyi-analizcilerdir/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [On New Year's Eve he ould make a resolution to recover some his previous scepticism, but until then he would do as the Romans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/on-new-year-s-eve-he-ould-make-a-resolution-to-recover-some-his/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [It's no good looking to writers for definitions of what constitutes proper writing, because you will drive yourself crazy, and you won't find anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-s-no-good-looking-to-writers-for-definitions-of-what-constitutes/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) [Explore all 645 Nick Hornby quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) ## More Bleak quotes > [Single-sex private schools, especially in the middle of nowhere on a bleak hill in County Durham - I don't think they make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-deacon/single-sex-private-schools-especially-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-on-a/) [Giles Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-deacon/) > [I wonder whether my bleak-o-meter is set differently from other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-arnold/i-wonder-whether-my-bleak-o-meter-is-set-differently-from-other/) [Andrea Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-arnold/) > [I felt cheated by the way grown-ups told me that the future of the world was bleak when I became a teenager in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/i-felt-cheated-by-the-way-grown-ups-told-me-that-the-future-of-the/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) > [No wonder of it: sheer plod makes plough down sillion Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear, Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-manley-hopkins/no-wonder-of-it-sheer-plod-makes-plough-down-sillion-shine-and-blue/) [Gerard Manley Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-manley-hopkins/) > [“During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/during-the-whole-of-a-dull-dark-and-soundless-day-in-the-autumn-of/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [T is liberty crowns Britannia's Isle, And makes her barren rocks and her bleak mountains smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/t-is-liberty-crowns-britannia-s-isle-and-makes-her-barren-rocks-and/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [The future looks a bit bleak to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/the-future-looks-a-bit-bleak-to-me/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Nothing that's ever happened has taken away the optimist in me. It's always, "Whatever-let's go to Disneyland." Yes, I have my bleak, tortured-artist moments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/nothing-that-s-ever-happened-has-taken-away-the-optimist-in-me-it-s/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [ I think because the show \["Grant MacLaren"\] is essentially a hopeful show. The show says that as bleak as the future is, the one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-mccormack/i-think-because-the-show-grant-maclaren-is-essentially-a-hopeful-show/) [Eric McCormack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-mccormack/) > [In his bleak mercy, Death forever strips The soul of light and memory, rendering blind Our vision, lest surmounted deeps appal, As when on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-ashton-smith/in-his-bleak-mercy-death-forever-strips-the-soul-of-light-and-memory/) [Clark Ashton Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-ashton-smith/) > [Gay life in 1970 was very bleak, compartmentalized. You didn't take it to work. You had to really lead a double life. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-kramer/gay-life-in-1970-was-very-bleak-compartmentalized-you-didn-t-take-it/) [Larry Kramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-kramer/) > [“Life, on Hardcore mode, she thought with a twinge of bleak humor. No do-overs. No save files. Harper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-bellet/life-on-hardcore-mode-she-thought-with-a-twinge-of-bleak-humor-no-do/) [Annie Bellet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-bellet/) > [A cold and searching wind drives away all contagion, and nothing can withstand it but what has a virtue in it, and accordingly, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-cold-and-searching-wind-drives-away-all-contagion-and-nothing-can/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Killing the poorest third is good genetics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/killing-the-poorest-third-is-good-genetics/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Wyoming, to Annie, was represented by a blank, bleak space in her imagination. It was a place she could hide. The worst that could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-wilson/wyoming-to-annie-was-represented-by-a-blank-bleak-space-in-her/) [Kevin Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-wilson/) [Browse all 335 Bleak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bleak/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading Bleak House had done no other Dickens apart from Barnaby Ridge. That's just weird. I shamed and nagged him into picking up Great Expectations instead. But when I tried to recall anything about it other than its excellence, I failed. Maybe there was something about a peculiar stepfather? Or was that This Boy's Life? And I realized that, as this is true of just about every book I consumed between the ages of, say fifteen to forty, I havent even read the books I think I've read. I can't tell you how depressing this is. What's the fucking point?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nick Hornby" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who-was-re-reading-bleak-house/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bleak" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who-was-re-reading-bleak-house/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c0c/nick-hornby-325_bleak_i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who_2770716.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I recently discovered that a friend who was re-reading Bleak House had done no other Dickens apart from…” — Nick Hornby", "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": "Nick Hornby", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I recently discovered that a friend...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who-was-re-reading-bleak-house/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-recently-discovered-that-a-friend-who-was-re-reading-bleak-house/#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 } } ] } ```