--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's not reading and whatever that makes…" description: "\"“It's not reading and whatever that makes you good or bad. It's whether you rape people, or get addicted to crack and go out mugging.”\" — Nick Hornby" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/nick-hornby-325_crack_it-s-not-reading-and-whatever-that-makes_2395052.png" --- # It's not reading and whatever that makes you good or bad… ![“It's not reading and whatever that makes you good or bad. It's whether you rape people, or get addicted to crack and go out mugging.” quote by Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/nick-hornby-325_crack_it-s-not-reading-and-whatever-that-makes_2395052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/nick-hornby-325_crack_it-s-not-reading-and-whatever-that-makes_2395052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/060/nick-hornby-325_crack_it-s-not-reading-and-whatever-that-makes_2395052.png) > ““It's not reading and whatever that makes you good or bad. It's whether you rape people, or get addicted to crack and go out mugging.”” [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 quote contrasts moral judgments about reading with extreme harmful behaviors, highlighting a false equivalence. **In simple terms:** Reading isn’t linked to violent or addictive actions. Key Takeaway Don’t equate harmless habits with serious crimes. Themes morality media influence misconception Mood critical controversial Type cautionary social commentary When to use this quote - education - parenting - media consumption - law enforcement Key Concepts ethical reasoning social judgment Questions to Reflect On - Why do people link trivial habits to severe crimes? - How can we discuss media impact responsibly? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex social issues, ignoring nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Addicted Crack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/addicted-crack-1407876/) [Bad Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-rape-5978666/) [Crack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crack/) [Crack Mugging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crack-mugging-5978665/) [Mugging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mugging/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [And shake your body like a baby born addicted to crack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immortal-technique/and-shake-your-body-like-a-baby-born-addicted-to-crack/) [Immortal Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immortal-technique/) > [I'm addicted to you. You're my crack, and you also happen to be the only dealer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-evans/i-m-addicted-to-you-you-re-my-crack-and-you-also-happen-to-be-the/) [Katy Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-evans/) > [Owning a dog is slightly less expensive than being addicted to crack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-lancaster/owning-a-dog-is-slightly-less-expensive-than-being-addicted-to-crack/) [Jen Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-lancaster/) > [First I took a crap on the hooker's chest, then I told her I'd pay her a thousand dollars to eat it. She was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/first-i-took-a-crap-on-the-hooker-s-chest-then-i-told-her-i-d-pay-her/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“These days, it's better to look poor and be safe, than look rich and be a victim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/these-days-it-s-better-to-look-poor-and-be-safe-than-look-rich-and-be/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“The concept and terminology of "mugging" as opposed to, say, "robbery" was created as part of the panic, even though there was no evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-karakatsanis/the-concept-and-terminology-of-mugging-as-opposed-to-say-robbery-was/) [Alec Karakatsanis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-karakatsanis/) > [I used to burn rubber at every light, mean mugging everything there was, cause that was my attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/i-used-to-burn-rubber-at-every-light-mean-mugging-everything-there/) [E-40](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-40/) > [Government is the agent of those who are too refined to do their own mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-sobran/government-is-the-agent-of-those-who-are-too-refined-to-do-their-own/) [Joseph Sobran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-sobran/) > [You're mugging old ladies every bit as much if you pinch their pension fund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-elton/you-re-mugging-old-ladies-every-bit-as-much-if-you-pinch-their/) [Ben Elton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-elton/) > [There are two things in your life which no one can take from you. One is your education, and the other is your body.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sangram-singh/there-are-two-things-in-your-life-which-no-one-can-take-from-you-one/) [Sangram Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sangram-singh/) > [George Lopez does so much mugging, I'm surprised he's not up on charges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kindler/george-lopez-does-so-much-mugging-i-m-surprised-he-s-not-up-on-charges/) [Andy Kindler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kindler/) > [If I'm afraid of someone on the street, I'll turn to him (it's always a boy) and say, "Excuse me, do you happen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/if-i-m-afraid-of-someone-on-the-street-i-ll-turn-to-him-it-s-always-a/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [A favorite strategy was the paragraph-terminating: Right? Followed immediately by Wrong. This linear invitation to a mugging was considered a strategy of wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/a-favorite-strategy-was-the-paragraph-terminating-right-followed/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [The current tax code is a daily mugging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-current-tax-code-is-a-daily-mugging/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [“Where the hell have you been?” said Meryl, when I caught up with her in the Street of Inns at about three in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/where-the-hell-have-you-been-said-meryl-when-i-caught-up-with-her-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## 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 Crack quotes > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [Trust is like an egg shell, one crack is beyond repair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tshepo-koos-maluleke/trust-is-like-an-egg-shell-one-crack-is-beyond-repair/) [Tshepo Koos Maluleke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tshepo-koos-maluleke/) > [There is some really good crack when I come back here. This is where I learned to swear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/there-is-some-really-good-crack-when-i-come-back-here-this-is-where-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [You only learn if you're given a crack at things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-fearon/you-only-learn-if-you-re-given-a-crack-at-things/) [Ray Fearon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-fearon/) > [“There was never anything wrong with my life. Perhaps that was the problem... The crack in my life was the fact that I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-shusterman/there-was-never-anything-wrong-with-my-life-perhaps-that-was-the/) [Neal Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-shusterman/) > [Yeah, I am fun loving. I do crack jokes at times too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhea-chakraborty/yeah-i-am-fun-loving-i-do-crack-jokes-at-times-too/) [Rhea Chakraborty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhea-chakraborty/) > [A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/a-reputation-once-broken-may-possibly-be-repaired-but-the-world-will/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [“The brief sound is like a color swallowed by a crack. But what color?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-bola-o/the-brief-sound-is-like-a-color-swallowed-by-a-crack-but-what-color/) [Roberto Bolaño](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-bola-o/) > [Leave my door open just a crack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owl-city/leave-my-door-open-just-a-crack/) [Owl City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owl-city/) > [I heard I won 'best butt crack' on television recently. It's true. I did it, you guys. I made it. I wish I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-edelstein/i-heard-i-won-best-butt-crack-on-television-recently-it-s-true-i-did/) [Lisa Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-edelstein/) > [A crack on the head is what you get for not asking, and a crack on the head is what you get for asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-smiths/a-crack-on-the-head-is-what-you-get-for-not-asking-and-a-crack-on-the/) [The Smiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-smiths/) > [“There is no such thing as a social crack user.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-carr/there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-social-crack-user/) [David Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-carr/) > [I'm an artist and an engineer, which is, increasingly, a more common kind of hybrid. But I still fall into this weird crack where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golan-levin/i-m-an-artist-and-an-engineer-which-is-increasingly-a-more-common/) [Golan Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golan-levin/) > [“I read like fiends smoke crack”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-swierczynski/i-read-like-fiends-smoke-crack/) [Duane Swierczynski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-swierczynski/) > [Baboon on your back, but what's sad is that crack, was introduced to hispanic communities and blacks, But then it spread to white and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/outkast/baboon-on-your-back-but-what-s-sad-is-that-crack-was-introduced-to/) [Outkast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/outkast/) [Browse all 308 Crack quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crack/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's not reading and whatever that makes you good or bad. 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