--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most books today seemed to have been…" description: "\"Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.\" — Nicolas Chamfort" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png" --- # Most books today seemed to have been written overnight… ![“Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.” quote by Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png) > “Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.” [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Criticizes modern books as hastily written, lacking depth, and overly derivative of recent reads. **In simple terms:** Books today seem rushed and unoriginal. Key Takeaway Encourage thoughtful, well‑crafted writing. Themes literature authenticity creativity Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical observational When to use this quote - author workshops - reading circles - literary awards - publishing standards Key Concepts critical theory writing craft Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes lasting literature from fleeting trends? - How can readers support quality writing? A Different Perspective Not all contemporary works are shallow; many offer innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-read/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Most books today seem to have been written overnight from books read that day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chamfort/most-books-today-seem-to-have-been-written-overnight-from-books-read/) [Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chamfort/) > [The majority of the books of our time give one the impression of having been manufactured in a day out of books read the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/the-majority-of-the-books-of-our-time-give-one-the-impression-of/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [In the book of life, the page yesterday is over. Future is blank and today is being written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-book-of-life-the-page-yesterday-is-over-future-is-blank-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No CEO examining books today understands what the hell is going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/no-ceo-examining-books-today-understands-what-the-hell-is-going-on/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Through books you can start today where the great thinkers of yesterday left off, because books have immortalized man's knowledge. Thinkers, dead a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilferd-peterson/through-books-you-can-start-today-where-the-great-thinkers-of/) [Wilferd Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilferd-peterson/) > [Few books today are forgivable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/few-books-today-are-forgivable/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [As an object itself, to me, books today are such a rare entity - I want mine to be something where, if left on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-posen/as-an-object-itself-to-me-books-today-are-such-a-rare-entity-i-want/) [Zac Posen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-posen/) > [Few books today are forgivable. Black on canvas, silence on the screen, an empty white sheet of paper are perhaps feasible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-d-laing/few-books-today-are-forgivable-black-on-canvas-silence-on-the-screen/) [R. D. Laing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-d-laing/) > [One day I would have all the books in the world, shelves and shelves of them. I would live my life in a tower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-kelly/one-day-i-would-have-all-the-books-in-the-world-shelves-and-shelves/) [Jacqueline Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-kelly/) > [Often I think the novels I read won't make very good movies - I better not say which I'm looking at for potential films!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/often-i-think-the-novels-i-read-won-t-make-very-good-movies-i-better/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I love the way L A. leaves you alone. I can go home, read all day, and nobody bugs me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-love-the-way-l-a-leaves-you-alone-i-can-go-home-read-all-day-and/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“I know they're not actually talking but the books on my desk seem to whisper "Drop what you're doing! Set aside your poetry! Open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sanders/i-know-they-re-not-actually-talking-but-the-books-on-my-desk-seem-to/) Edward Sanders > [When someone says to me, 'I love your book - I read it in a day,' I want to tell them to go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/when-someone-says-to-me-i-love-your-book-i-read-it-in-a-day-i-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I would read all day if I could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quvenzhane-wallis/i-would-read-all-day-if-i-could/) [Quvenzhane Wallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quvenzhane-wallis/) > [“He'd told her she wouldn't have to do anything but lie on the big down sofa in the front room and read all day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-d-told-her-she-wouldn-t-have-to-do-anything-but-lie-on-the-big/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More by Nicolas Chamfort > [Men of reason have endured;men of passion have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/men-of-reason-have-endured-men-of-passion-have-lived/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Contact with the world either breaks or hardens the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contact-with-the-world-either-breaks-or-hardens-the-heart/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Of all days, the day on which one has not laughed is the one most surely wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/of-all-days-the-day-on-which-one-has-not-laughed-is-the-one-most/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Nature never said to me: Do not be poor; still less did she say: Be rich; her cry to me was always: Be independent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/nature-never-said-to-me-do-not-be-poor-still-less-did-she-say-be-rich/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [It is commonly supposed that the art of pleasing is a wonderful aid in the pursuit of fortune; but the art of being bored…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/it-is-commonly-supposed-that-the-art-of-pleasing-is-a-wonderful-aid/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [How many fools does it take to make up a public?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/how-many-fools-does-it-take-to-make-up-a-public/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [The poor are the blacks of Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/the-poor-are-the-blacks-of-europe/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [It is with happiness as with watches: the less complicated, the less easily deranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/it-is-with-happiness-as-with-watches-the-less-complicated-the-less/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [A modicum of discord is the very spice of courtship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/a-modicum-of-discord-is-the-very-spice-of-courtship/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Tragedy has the great moral defect of giving too much importance to life and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/tragedy-has-the-great-moral-defect-of-giving-too-much-importance-to/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Men's hearts and faces are always wide asunder; women's are not only in close connection, but are mirror-like in the instant power of reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/men-s-hearts-and-faces-are-always-wide-asunder-women-s-are-not-only/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [I only study the things I like; I apply my mind only to matters that interest me. They'll be useful-or useless-to me or to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/i-only-study-the-things-i-like-i-apply-my-mind-only-to-matters-that/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Contemptuous people are sure to be contemptible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/contemptuous-people-are-sure-to-be-contemptible/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Do not suppose opportunity will knock twice at your door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/do-not-suppose-opportunity-will-knock-twice-at-your-door/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [Sometimes apparent resemblance of character will bring two men together and for a certain time unite them. But their mistake gradually becomes evident, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/sometimes-apparent-resemblance-of-character-will-bring-two-men/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) [Explore all 169 Nicolas Chamfort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) ## More Books 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/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicolas Chamfort" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-written-overnight-from-books/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-written-overnight-from-books/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c82/nicolas-chamfort-2263_books_most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-wri_1227929.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most books today seemed to have been written overnight from books read the day before.” — Nicolas Chamfort", "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": "Nicolas Chamfort", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most books today seemed to have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-written-overnight-from-books/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/most-books-today-seemed-to-have-been-written-overnight-from-books/#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 } } ] } ```