--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never read a book I must review; it…" description: "\"I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg" --- # I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so. ![“I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg) > “I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading a book before reviewing it biases your judgment. **In simple terms:** Pre‑reading biases opinion. Key Takeaway Read without preconceptions. Themes bias reading critical thinking Mood thoughtful analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - academic research - media analysis Key Concepts literary criticism psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can you mitigate bias when reviewing? - When is prior knowledge helpful? A Different Perspective Some prior knowledge can be beneficial. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Prejudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudice/) [Prejudices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prejudices/) ## Related quotes > [How I envy writers who can work on aeroplanes or in hotel rooms. On the run I can produce an article or a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-banville/how-i-envy-writers-who-can-work-on-aeroplanes-or-in-hotel-rooms-on/) [John Banville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-banville/) > [I thought, well I can do that. I couldn't be bothered writing a book review, because I'd have to read the book, I haven't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-campbell/i-thought-well-i-can-do-that-i-couldn-t-be-bothered-writing-a-book/) [Eddie Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-campbell/) > [The first function of a book review should be, I believe, to give some idea of the contents and character of the book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kaufmann/the-first-function-of-a-book-review-should-be-i-believe-to-give-some/) [Walter Kaufmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kaufmann/) > [A week or so ago I did a two hour book review in Baltimore Maryland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-hill/a-week-or-so-ago-i-did-a-two-hour-book-review-in-baltimore-maryland/) [Betty Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-hill/) > [I rarely read or buy a book because of a review.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-rarely-read-or-buy-a-book-because-of-a-review/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [“I hardly give 5 stars to a book in my review. I do not want the authors to reach a saturation point, where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arti-honrao/i-hardly-give-5-stars-to-a-book-in-my-review-i-do-not-want-the/) [Arti Honrao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arti-honrao/) > [“Of all reviews, the crushing review is the most popular, as being the most readable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/of-all-reviews-the-crushing-review-is-the-most-popular-as-being-the/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Ive never read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-bullard/ive-never-read-a-book/) [Jimmy Bullard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-bullard/) > [When I'm deciding to read a book, I never open to the first chapter, because that's been revised and worked over 88 times. I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/when-i-m-deciding-to-read-a-book-i-never-open-to-the-first-chapter/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [Usually when I'm on a plane, I try to enjoy the fact that I have to be still for eight hours and read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiel-huisman/usually-when-i-m-on-a-plane-i-try-to-enjoy-the-fact-that-i-have-to-be/) [Michiel Huisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiel-huisman/) > [I never read a book before reviewing it - it prejudices a man so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/i-never-read-a-book-before-reviewing-it-it-prejudices-a-man-so/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Free time is a terrible thing to waste. Read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri-2/free-time-is-a-terrible-thing-to-waste-read-a-book/) E. A. Bucchianeri > [“When you read a book, you don't give up on it. You might soon feel like your part of the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/when-you-read-a-book-you-don-t-give-up-on-it-you-might-soon-feel-like/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence, but imagining the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-kodaly/we-should-read-music-in-the-same-way-that-an-educated-adult-will-read/) [Zoltan Kodaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-kodaly/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## 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": "I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-prejudices-you-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-prejudices-you-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/oscar-wilde-16_book_i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-pre_2910637.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never read a book I must review; it prejudices you so.” — Oscar Wilde", "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": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never read a book I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-prejudices-you-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-never-read-a-book-i-must-review-it-prejudices-you-so/#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 } } ] } ```