--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were people who read and there were…" description: "\"There were people who read and there were the others. Whether you were the a reader or a non-reader was soon apparent. There was no greater distinction..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/pascal-mercier-4197_books_there-were-people-who-read-and-there-wer_798230.png" --- # There were people who read and there were the others… ![“There were people who read and there were the others. Whether you were the a reader or a non-reader was soon apparent. There was no greater distinction between people.” quote by Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/pascal-mercier-4197_books_there-were-people-who-read-and-there-wer_798230.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/pascal-mercier-4197_books_there-were-people-who-read-and-there-wer_798230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2b/pascal-mercier-4197_books_there-were-people-who-read-and-there-wer_798230.png) > “There were people who read and there were the others. Whether you were the a reader or a non-reader was soon apparent. There was no greater distinction between people.” [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading distinguishes people, but the gap is superficial; true value lies beyond mere classification of reader versus non‑reader. **In simple terms:** Reading vs. not reading is a thin divide. Key Takeaway Seek depth over labels. Themes literature identity social perception knowledge Mood reflective neutral thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - book clubs - educational programs - personal reflection - community discussions Key Concepts Existentialism social categorization Questions to Reflect On - How does reading shape your identity? - Can non‑readers also be knowledgeable? A Different Perspective Labeling can oversimplify complex personal habits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Distinction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distinction/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I want to make a clear distinction between people who take acting seriously and people who call themselves actors because they've been on reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/i-want-to-make-a-clear-distinction-between-people-who-take-acting/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [I want to make a clear distinction between people who take acting seriously and people who call themselves actors because theyve been on reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-lewis/i-want-to-make-a-clear-distinction-between-people-who-take-acting-2/) [Damian Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-lewis/) > [There are some people who make a big distinction between n - a, which they say is OK, and n - - . Now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-kennedy/there-are-some-people-who-make-a-big-distinction-between-n-a-which/) [Randall Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-kennedy/) > [I try to read as a reader and also read as a writer. I mean, they're not so different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-young/i-try-to-read-as-a-reader-and-also-read-as-a-writer-i-mean-they-re/) [Kevin Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-young/) > [O Day of days when we can read! The reader and the book, either without the other is naught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-day-of-days-when-we-can-read-the-reader-and-the-book-either-without/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-suppose-she-chose-me-because-she-knew-my-name-as-i-read-the/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [We've clearly entered a period in which the analog of text is no longer important or relevant. All text will be electronic. I accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/we-ve-clearly-entered-a-period-in-which-the-analog-of-text-is-no/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [I would not want to forget the first time I read The Lord of the Rings. I would never want to forget that! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/i-would-not-want-to-forget-the-first-time-i-read-the-lord-of-the/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [Because so many people use goodreads, it is an amazingly good—and amazingly underutilized—resource for understanding what people read, why, and how they feel about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/because-so-many-people-use-goodreads-it-is-an-amazingly-good-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think people read the tabloids because they want to see you eating a burger, or out of your makeup or doing something stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-think-people-read-the-tabloids-because-they-want-to-see-you-eating/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [“People read what news they wanted to and each accordingly built his own rathouse of history's rags and straws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/people-read-what-news-they-wanted-to-and-each-accordingly-built-his/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [I am never usually taking myself too seriously and I think that people when they read stuff from me, they have to realise that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/i-am-never-usually-taking-myself-too-seriously-and-i-think-that/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I think people can read authenticity and they know when you're involved and when you're just slapping your name on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/la-la-anthony/i-think-people-can-read-authenticity-and-they-know-when-you-re/) [La La Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/la-la-anthony/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Pascal Mercier > [To live for the moment: it sounds so right and so beautiful. But the more I want to, the less I understand what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/to-live-for-the-moment-it-sounds-so-right-and-so-beautiful-but-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [What did i know of your fantasies? Why do we know so little about the fantasies of our parents? What do we know of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/what-did-i-know-of-your-fantasies-why-do-we-know-so-little-about-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“One who would really like to know himself would have to be a restless, fanatical collector of disappointments, and seeking disappointing experiences must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/one-who-would-really-like-to-know-himself-would-have-to-be-a-restless/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [SOLIDAO, LONELINESS. What is it that we call loneliness. It can't simply be the absence of others, you can be alone and not lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/solidao-loneliness-what-is-it-that-we-call-loneliness-it-can-t-simply/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Then there was a silence he had never before experienced: in it, you could hear the years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/then-there-was-a-silence-he-had-never-before-experienced-in-it-you/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“For that is the meaning of a farewell in the full, important sense of the word: that the two people, because they part, come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/for-that-is-the-meaning-of-a-farewell-in-the-full-important-sense-of/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Gregorius was never to forget this scene. They were his first Portuguese words in the real world and they worked. That words could cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/gregorius-was-never-to-forget-this-scene-they-were-his-first/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“After a while, he understood that he was experiencing a great liberation; the liberation from his self-imposed limitation, from a slowness and heaviness expressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/after-a-while-he-understood-that-he-was-experiencing-a-great/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“We can be sure that we will hold on to the deathbed as part of the last balance sheet – and this part will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/we-can-be-sure-that-we-will-hold-on-to-the-deathbed-as-part-of-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“NOBREZA SILENCIOSA. SILENT NOBILITY. It is a mistake to believe that the crucial moments of a life when its habitual direction changes forever must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/nobreza-silenciosa-silent-nobility-it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“Because the one who wishes it – isn’t the one who, still untouched by the future, stands at the crossroads. Instead, it is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/because-the-one-who-wishes-it-isn-t-the-one-who-still-untouched-by/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [It is not the pain and the wounds that are the worst. The worst is the humiliation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-not-the-pain-and-the-wounds-that-are-the-worst-the-worst-is-the/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Isn't it true that it's not people who meet, but rather the shadows cast by their imaginations?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/isn-t-it-true-that-it-s-not-people-who-meet-but-rather-the-shadows/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [Loyalty... A will, a decision, a resolution of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/loyalty-a-will-a-decision-a-resolution-of-the-soul/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) > [“It is a mistake to believe that the decisive moments of a life when its direction changes for ever must be marked by sentimental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pascal-mercier/it-is-a-mistake-to-believe-that-the-decisive-moments-of-a-life-when/) [Pascal Mercier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) [Explore all 69 Pascal Mercier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pascal-mercier/) ## 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": "There were people who read and there were the others. Whether you were the a reader or a non-reader was soon apparent. 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