---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No book, however good, can survive a…"
description: "\"No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.\" — Orson Scott Card"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png"
---

#  No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.

![“No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png)

> “No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.”

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A good book can be ruined by a hostile audience, as hostile reading distorts its value.

**In simple terms:** Bad readers can ruin good books.

Key Takeaway

Guard your work against hostile criticism.

Themes

literature criticism interpretation

Mood

defensive reflective

Type

analytical cautionary

When to use this quote

- publishing
- teaching
- book clubs
- literary criticism

Key Concepts

reader bias textual integrity

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you respond to hostile feedback?
- Can you separate critique from hostility?

A Different Perspective

Even hostile readers can offer useful feedback if approached constructively.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-good/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile/) [Hostile Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hostile-reading-2836821/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive/) [Survive Hostile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survive-hostile-2836822/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [We must at all costs avoid saying no because people prefer those who say yes, and this allows us to survive in hostile territory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/we-must-at-all-costs-avoid-saying-no-because-people-prefer-those-who/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

> [“In America, film is the highest form of art that the public aspires to. People will come to me and say ‘Oh, your book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-america-film-is-the-highest-form-of-art-that-the-public-aspires-to/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Most of what makes a book 'good' is that we are reading it at the right moment for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/most-of-what-makes-a-book-good-is-that-we-are-reading-it-at-the-right/)

[Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/)

> [It is with a good book as it is with good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-is-with-a-good-book-as-it-is-with-good-company/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [I like westerns, fantasy, sci-fi, graphic novels, thrillers, and I try to avoid the word 'genre' altogether. A good book is a good book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-like-westerns-fantasy-sci-fi-graphic-novels-thrillers-and-i-try-to/)

[Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/)

> [A good book is a good book, and there are a lot of different ways to approach writing or reading one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-barton/a-good-book-is-a-good-book-and-there-are-a-lot-of-different-ways-to/)

[Emily Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-barton/)

> [Bed is a good friend; book is a good friend; night is a good friend. Try to bring them all together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/bed-is-a-good-friend-book-is-a-good-friend-night-is-a-good-friend-try/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [It's a completely powerful and serious book, as good as anything in prose or poetry written by a 'beat' writer, and one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lowell/it-s-a-completely-powerful-and-serious-book-as-good-as-anything-in/)

[Robert Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lowell/)

> [“Well, you mind you manners and don't raise your voice. You know what your mamma used to say. Any book is a Good Book,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/well-you-mind-you-manners-and-don-t-raise-your-voice-you-know-what/)

[Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/)

> [if a book is not good enough for a grownup, it is not good enough for a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/if-a-book-is-not-good-enough-for-a-grownup-it-is-not-good-enough-for/)

[Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/)

> [I can speak of my own criterion for judging whether or not a book is good or bad. I ask of it a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-clark-powell/i-can-speak-of-my-own-criterion-for-judging-whether-or-not-a-book-is/)

[Lawrence Clark Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-clark-powell/)

> [“Well, I’m warning you. I could be a bad book with a good jacket.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/well-i-m-warning-you-i-could-be-a-bad-book-with-a-good-jacket/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Between ourselves, there is no such thing, abstractly, as a 'good' book. A book is 'good' only when it meets some human hunger or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-morley/between-ourselves-there-is-no-such-thing-abstractly-as-a-good-book-a/)

[Christopher Morley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-morley/)

> [If you wrote a page a day, at the end of the year you would have a book. Whether it's any good or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/if-you-wrote-a-page-a-day-at-the-end-of-the-year-you-would-have-a/)

[Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/)

> [O, there is lovely to feel a book, a good book, firm in the hand, for its fatness holds rich promise, and you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-llewellyn/o-there-is-lovely-to-feel-a-book-a-good-book-firm-in-the-hand-for-its/)

[Richard Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-llewellyn/)

## More by Orson Scott Card

> [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

[Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

## More Book 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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [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/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Orson Scott Card"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hostile-reading/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hostile-reading/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50b/orson-scott-card-134_book_no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hosti_1093121.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.” — Orson Scott Card",
                "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": "Orson Scott Card",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "No book, however good, can survive...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hostile-reading/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/no-book-however-good-can-survive-a-hostile-reading/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
