--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I know for certain is that reading is…" description: "\"All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/penelope-lively-3959_able_all-i-know-for-certain-is-that-reading-i_2576742.jpg" --- # All I know for certain is that reading is of the most… ![“All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably too starved to go on writing myself.” quote by Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/penelope-lively-3959_able_all-i-know-for-certain-is-that-reading-i_2576742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/penelope-lively-3959_able_all-i-know-for-certain-is-that-reading-i_2576742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2c/penelope-lively-3959_able_all-i-know-for-certain-is-that-reading-i_2576742.jpg) > “All I know for certain is that reading is of the most intense importance to me; if I were not able to read, to revisit old favorites and experiment with names new to me, I would be starved - probably too starved to go on writing myself.” [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading fuels creative survival; without it, the writer would starve. **In simple terms:** Reading sustains a writer’s life. Key Takeaway Cultivate reading habits. Themes creativity literature survival Mood introspective motivational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writer’s block - education - personal growth Key Concepts inspiration knowledge acquisition Questions to Reflect On - What books inspire your writing? - How does reading shape your voice? A Different Perspective L may not replace all creative sources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Certain Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-reading-1741953/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Goes on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goes-on/) [Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/importance/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Importance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-importance-1741951/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-intense-1707509/) [Starved Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starved-writing-1741952/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My personal view is that reading has to be balanced. 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Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) ## More by Penelope Lively > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“The question is, shall it or shall it not be linear history. I've always thought a kaleidoscopic view might be an interesting heresey. Shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-question-is-shall-it-or-shall-it-not-be-linear-history-i-ve/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [There's a preoccupation with memory and the operation of memory and a rather rapacious interest in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/there-s-a-preoccupation-with-memory-and-the-operation-of-memory-and-a/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“He felt marvellously conscious of the moment, of here and now, of this day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/he-felt-marvellously-conscious-of-the-moment-of-here-and-now-of-this/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [People die, but money never does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/people-die-but-money-never-does/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [“But her thoughts are often of the past. 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Preserving the ephemeral; giving form to dreams, permanence to sparks of sunlight.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/the-power-of-language-preserving-the-ephemeral-giving-form-to-dreams/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We all need a past - that's where our sense of identity comes from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/we-all-need-a-past-that-s-where-our-sense-of-identity-comes-from/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [Conventional forms of narrative allow for different points of view, but for this book I wanted a structure whereby each of the main characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/conventional-forms-of-narrative-allow-for-different-points-of-view/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) [Explore all 118 Penelope Lively quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. 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