--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was young, I kept trying to read…" description: "\"When I was young, I kept trying to read 'Moby-Dick', and I couldn't get that far into it. And I kept thinking, 'Well, man, if I can't read the great Am..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/nick-tosches-17928_american_when-i-was-young-i-kept-trying-to-read-m_2561147.jpg" --- # When I was young, I kept trying to read 'Moby-Dick', and I… ![“When I was young, I kept trying to read 'Moby-Dick', and I couldn't get that far into it. And I kept thinking, 'Well, man, if I can't read the great American novel, I could never be a writer.' And this bothered me a great deal.” quote by Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/nick-tosches-17928_american_when-i-was-young-i-kept-trying-to-read-m_2561147.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/nick-tosches-17928_american_when-i-was-young-i-kept-trying-to-read-m_2561147.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cf/nick-tosches-17928_american_when-i-was-young-i-kept-trying-to-read-m_2561147.jpg) > “When I was young, I kept trying to read 'Moby-Dick', and I couldn't get that far into it. And I kept thinking, 'Well, man, if I can't read the great American novel, I could never be a writer.' And this bothered me a great deal.” [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑doubt about reading classics can hinder creative confidence, yet perseverance leads to growth. **In simple terms:** Struggling with classics hurts confidence. Key Takeaway Keep reading and writing despite doubts. Themes self‑doubt literature creativity Mood thoughtful encouraging Type personal reflection motivational When to use this quote - writing practice - reading classic novels - creative workshops Key Concepts growth mindset perseverance Questions to Reflect On - What can you do when a book feels overwhelming? - How can you build confidence as a writer? A Different Perspective Not everyone can finish long books quickly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) [American Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-novel/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bothered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bothered/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deal/) [Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-american/) [Great deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-deal/) [Kept](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept/) [Kept Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-trying-1063841/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Moby Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moby-dick/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Read Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-moby-721133/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-read-1275493/) [Well](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/well/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [“It's a tiny bestseller, but, officially yes. But, hey, most people haven't read Moby-Dick, so why the hell should they read my book?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-linklater/it-s-a-tiny-bestseller-but-officially-yes-but-hey-most-people-haven-t/) [Richard Linklater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-linklater/) > [“My favorite book is God-Shaped Hole. It’s not a classic. It’s better than a classic. It’s a modern-day tragedy. I’ve never read Moby-Dick but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/my-favorite-book-is-god-shaped-hole-it-s-not-a-classic-it-s-better/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [For me, 'Moby-Dick' is more than the greatest American novel ever written; it is a metaphysical survival manual - the best guidebook there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/for-me-moby-dick-is-more-than-the-greatest-american-novel-ever/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [Race is the true protagonist of the American novel. Our most popular classic fictions have known this, from 'Moby Dick' to 'Beloved;' all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/race-is-the-true-protagonist-of-the-american-novel-our-most-popular/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [I don't think everyone wants to create the great American novel, but we all have a dream of telling our stories-of realizing what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-don-t-think-everyone-wants-to-create-the-great-american-novel-but/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [It’s Fitzgerald’s thin-but-durable urge to affirm that finally makes Gatsby worthy of being our Great American Novel. Its soaring conclusion tells us that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-corrigan/it-s-fitzgerald-s-thin-but-durable-urge-to-affirm-that-finally-makes/) [Maureen Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-corrigan/) > [“I have often been mildly amused when I think that the great American novel was not written about New England or Chicago. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/i-have-often-been-mildly-amused-when-i-think-that-the-great-american/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [In the great city of San Francisco, where I used to live, at 2 in the morning every other Victorian house has somebody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/in-the-great-city-of-san-francisco-where-i-used-to-live-at-2-in-the/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [You don't sit up in a cave and write the Great American Novel and know it is utterly superb, and then throw it page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/you-don-t-sit-up-in-a-cave-and-write-the-great-american-novel-and/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [ Dreiser wanted to write the next great American novel, and his desperation pervades \[ Sister Carrie \] like an unsavory pit stain. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/dreiser-wanted-to-write-the-next-great-american-novel-and-his/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-who-would-much-rather-be-writing-the-great/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [I was saving the name of 'Geisel' for the Great American Novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/i-was-saving-the-name-of-geisel-for-the-great-american-novel/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [“Great American Novel” = ”doorstop of a book, usually pretentious, written by a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/great-american-novel-doorstop-of-a-book-usually-pretentious-written/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My father was a frustrated writer. I think he wanted to write the great American novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-father-was-a-frustrated-writer-i-think-he-wanted-to-write-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More by Nick Tosches > [Mortality applies to every aspect of life. The fear of death is the driving fear of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/mortality-applies-to-every-aspect-of-life-the-fear-of-death-is-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [They say nobody has the attention span to read great books early in life. If I start to read something good, I'll look and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/they-say-nobody-has-the-attention-span-to-read-great-books-early-in/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [Steiner has here transformed the vaporous conceptions of his life, the vapors of what never was and never will be, from their aeriform state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/steiner-has-here-transformed-the-vaporous-conceptions-of-his-life-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [The older you get, the more you live with ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-older-you-get-the-more-you-live-with-ghosts/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [You're never gonna outwrite the movement of the white clouds and the blue sky. You're never going to. There are times when I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/you-re-never-gonna-outwrite-the-movement-of-the-white-clouds-and-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [Johnny Depp is, to me, a rare kindred spirit with like sensibilities, who has escaped the beast. He's probably one of the few people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/johnny-depp-is-to-me-a-rare-kindred-spirit-with-like-sensibilities/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [“I believe in the power of origins, a belief that, as Ecclesiastes put it, 'that wich is done is that wich shall be done:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/i-believe-in-the-power-of-origins-a-belief-that-as-ecclesiastes-put/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [The appeal for drugs has dwindled. Except for actual opium. If I could get real opium, I'd stir it in my hot coffee every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-appeal-for-drugs-has-dwindled-except-for-actual-opium-if-i-could/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [My father, God bless him, thought it was such an impossible desire to be able to make a living the way I do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/my-father-god-bless-him-thought-it-was-such-an-impossible-desire-to/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [The things I wanted to be when I was a kid were an archeologist, because of dinosaur bones; a garbage man, because they got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-things-i-wanted-to-be-when-i-was-a-kid-were-an-archeologist/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [As a young man, I felt a need to communicate with somebody or something, but it seemed in my own particular environment that that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/as-a-young-man-i-felt-a-need-to-communicate-with-somebody-or/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [I wanted to just get a job so I could have enough money for my own apartment and be able to get drunk. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/i-wanted-to-just-get-a-job-so-i-could-have-enough-money-for-my-own/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [“And, of course, that is what all of this is - all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/and-of-course-that-is-what-all-of-this-is-all-of-this-the-one-song/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [You got guys that are so old, you see them eating lunch, the drool's just coming from their mouth, and they're sending around memos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/you-got-guys-that-are-so-old-you-see-them-eating-lunch-the-drool-s/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [I don't have a college degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/i-don-t-have-a-college-degree/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) [Explore all 36 Nick Tosches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. 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But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) [Browse all 7,717 American quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was young, I kept trying to read 'Moby-Dick', and I couldn't get that far into it. And I kept thinking, 'Well, man, if I can't read the great American novel, I could never be a writer.' 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