--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the…" description: "\"It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for a kind of encouragement to live.\" — Norman Rush" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg" --- # It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for… ![“It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for a kind of encouragement to live.” quote by Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg) > “It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for a kind of encouragement to live.” [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Readers seek stories that inspire and validate their desire to live fully. **In simple terms:** Stories give encouragement to live. Key Takeaway Find inspiration in reading. Themes inspiration literature existence Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - seeking purpose - overcoming doubt - finding meaning Key Concepts existentialism humanism Questions to Reflect On - What does literature need to inspire you? - How do you apply literary encouragement in life? A Different Perspective Not all novels provide encouragement; some challenge comfort zones. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Doesn Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doesn-novel-3656387/) [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Looking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-looking-854012/) [Rare Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rare-reader-3656386/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reader Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-doesn-1162933/) ## Related quotes > [Whenever I start a novel, I'm always looking for two things: a bit of science that makes me go 'what if?' and a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-rollins/whenever-i-start-a-novel-i-m-always-looking-for-two-things-a-bit-of/) [James Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-rollins/) > [A reader doesn't really see the characters in a story; he feels them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-reader-doesn-t-really-see-the-characters-in-a-story-he-feels-them/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [If the reader doesn't understand what you're saying, you're talking to yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-hamilton/if-the-reader-doesn-t-understand-what-you-re-saying-you-re-talking-to/) [Nigel Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-hamilton/) > [It doesn't matter whether characters are real people or not; if they're not vivid on the page, then the reader doesn't care about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-doesn-t-matter-whether-characters-are-real-people-or-not-if-they/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I work real hard so the reader doesn't have to. I don't want them to have to look up words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-work-real-hard-so-the-reader-doesn-t-have-to-i-don-t-want-them-to/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [A writer without a reader doesn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/a-writer-without-a-reader-doesn-t-exist/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [It used to be that readers were relegated because they considered themselves far above society, and so the metaphor of the ivory tower developed.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-manguel/it-used-to-be-that-readers-were-relegated-because-they-considered/) [Alberto Manguel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-manguel/) > [The thing is, the reader doesn't want to hear about bad times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/davy-jones/the-thing-is-the-reader-doesn-t-want-to-hear-about-bad-times/) [Davy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/davy-jones/) > [Just because you're an avid reader doesn't mean you're an avid understander.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-sulkin/just-because-you-re-an-avid-reader-doesn-t-mean-you-re-an-avid/) [Alec Sulkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-sulkin/) > [If the reader doesn't care or relate to the characters, all that visual spectacle is pretty but feels empty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-chiang/if-the-reader-doesn-t-care-or-relate-to-the-characters-all-that/) [Cliff Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-chiang/) > [My perfect reader doesn't just read - he or she devours books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/my-perfect-reader-doesn-t-just-read-he-or-she-devours-books/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [Students will read if we give them the books, the time, and the enthusiastic encouragement to do so. If we make them wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donalyn-miller/students-will-read-if-we-give-them-the-books-the-time-and-the/) [Donalyn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donalyn-miller/) > [In my books and in romance as a genre, there is a positive, uplifting feeling that leaves the reader with a sense of encouragement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-macomber/in-my-books-and-in-romance-as-a-genre-there-is-a-positive-uplifting/) [Debbie Macomber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-macomber/) > [“Today if anything is trying to hold you back, give no attention to it. Get your hopes up, get your faith up, look up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/today-if-anything-is-trying-to-hold-you-back-give-no-attention-to-it/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [Change your attitude and gain some altitude. Believe me, you'll love it up here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/change-your-attitude-and-gain-some-altitude-believe-me-you-ll-love-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by Norman Rush > [“Nina said, “Have regular facial expressions.” That was a command from their inventory of facetious devices they used to josh one another out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/nina-said-have-regular-facial-expressions-that-was-a-command-from/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [Literature is humanity talking to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/literature-is-humanity-talking-to-itself/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [I feel like someone after a deluge being asked to describe the way it was before the flood while I'm still plucking seaweed out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/i-feel-like-someone-after-a-deluge-being-asked-to-describe-the-way-it/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“And the question was still there of whether their true interior selves—the subtle bodies inside—were still there and functioning despite what age and accident…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/and-the-question-was-still-there-of-whether-their-true-interior/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/the-main-effort-of-arranging-your-life-should-be-to-progressively/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [...There is a school of thought, a heresy from the madhouse of heresies in the ninth century, that says God is good and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/there-is-a-school-of-thought-a-heresy-from-the-madhouse-of-heresies/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [The characters write the plot. Their natures do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/the-characters-write-the-plot-their-natures-do/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [I must love big novels, because that's what I've written. It takes a while before you begin to breathe the air the characters breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/i-must-love-big-novels-because-that-s-what-i-ve-written-it-takes-a/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“There is no permanent friendship between men, among men. Something goes wrong, somebody marries the wrong person, somebody advances too fast, somebody converts, somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/there-is-no-permanent-friendship-between-men-among-men-something-goes/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“Now everything was going to be impossible, but better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/now-everything-was-going-to-be-impossible-but-better/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“A utopia I would join in a minute is a society which could be communist or capitalist, anything, except that no woman member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/a-utopia-i-would-join-in-a-minute-is-a-society-which-could-be/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [I wanted to incorporate everything, understand everything, because time is cruel and nothing stays the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/i-wanted-to-incorporate-everything-understand-everything-because-time/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [“It takes a while before you begin to breathe the air the characters breathe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-takes-a-while-before-you-begin-to-breathe-the-air-the-characters/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [Small breasts are best for the long haul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/small-breasts-are-best-for-the-long-haul/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) > [It was a standard fantasy when you fell in love to imagine you could go back in time and find your beloved growing up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-was-a-standard-fantasy-when-you-fell-in-love-to-imagine-you-could/) [Norman Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) [Explore all 17 Norman Rush quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for a kind of encouragement to live.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Rush" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the-novel-looking-for-a-kind-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the-novel-looking-for-a-kind-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/norman-rush-30728_books_it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the_2020284.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s a rare reader who doesn’t go to the novel looking for a kind of encouragement to live.” — Norman Rush", "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": "Norman Rush", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-rush/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It’s a rare reader who doesn’t...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the-novel-looking-for-a-kind-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-rush/it-s-a-rare-reader-who-doesn-t-go-to-the-novel-looking-for-a-kind-of/#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 } } ] } ```