--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I read very widely, both non-fiction and…" description: "\"I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me.\" — Peter Benchley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/peter-benchley-10002_books_i-read-very-widely-both-non-fiction-and_2317103.jpg" --- # I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I… ![“I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me.” quote by Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/peter-benchley-10002_books_i-read-very-widely-both-non-fiction-and_2317103.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/peter-benchley-10002_books_i-read-very-widely-both-non-fiction-and_2317103.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/548/peter-benchley-10002_books_i-read-very-widely-both-non-fiction-and_2317103.jpg) > “I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me.” [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Broad reading across genres prevents reliance on a single influence, fostering a diverse voice. **In simple terms:** Read widely to avoid single influence. Key Takeaway Diversify your reading. Themes reading habits literary influence diversity Mood thoughtful curious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Writing novels - research - teaching literature Key Concepts Intertextuality creative independence Questions to Reflect On - Which genres most shape your voice? - How do you integrate varied influences? A Different Perspective Too much variety may dilute personal style. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Non fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-fiction/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If a single writer in a country is in chains, then there are some links of that chain that binds us all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-a-single-writer-in-a-country-is-in-chains-then-there-are-some/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [I thought I was going to be a horror story writer. My influences were horror writers, like Rich Matheson, Ray Bradbury and Bram Stoker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-moore/i-thought-i-was-going-to-be-a-horror-story-writer-my-influences-were/) [Christopher Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-moore/) > [I've grown up on American songwriters my whole life - listening to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan and people like John Prine - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-grown-up-on-american-songwriters-my-whole-life-listening-to-paul/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [“You read widely to be shaped, not so that you might be prepared to regurgitate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilson/you-read-widely-to-be-shaped-not-so-that-you-might-be-prepared-to/) [Douglas Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilson/) > [“Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious." \[ Ten rules for writing fiction , The Guardian, 20 February 2010 (with Diana Athill,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/read-widely-and-with-discrimination-bad-writing-is-contagious-ten/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [... to write well it is entirely necessary to read widely and deeply. Good poems are the best teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/to-write-well-it-is-entirely-necessary-to-read-widely-and-deeply-good/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned. A widely- read man never quotes accurately, for the rather obvious reason that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/misquotation-is-in-fact-the-pride-and-privilege-of-the-learned-a/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) > [I think that's not a question that one can answer accurately. 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I'm no longer concerned about what happens in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/what-works-for-me-is-that-i-read-widely-and-stay-focused-on-my/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [Read widely of others' experiences, even if it'd be more comfortable to snuggle back in the comforting cotton-wool of blissful ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/read-widely-of-others-experiences-even-if-it-d-be-more-comfortable-to/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [read widely, not in order to copy someone else's style, but to learn to appreciate and recognize good writing and to see how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/read-widely-not-in-order-to-copy-someone-else-s-style-but-to-learn-to/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [There are people out there who genuinely love literature, who genuinely love to read and read widely, who will never like, or even necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/there-are-people-out-there-who-genuinely-love-literature-who/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) ## More by Peter Benchley > [If you take away the predators in the prairies and the national parks, you suddenly have an explosion of elk, and then you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/if-you-take-away-the-predators-in-the-prairies-and-the-national-parks/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Without sharks, you take away the apex predator of the ocean, and you destroy the entire food chain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/without-sharks-you-take-away-the-apex-predator-of-the-ocean-and-you/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Since writing JAWS, I've been lucky enough to do close to forty television shows about wildlife in the oceans, and yes, I have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/since-writing-jaws-i-ve-been-lucky-enough-to-do-close-to-forty/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“Intellectually, they knew a great deal. Practically, they chose to know almost nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/intellectually-they-knew-a-great-deal-practically-they-chose-to-know/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“Come up fish. Come to Quint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/come-up-fish-come-to-quint/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [Oceanography is a terrific career because gradually we seem to be coming around to realize that we had better become as acquainted with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/oceanography-is-a-terrific-career-because-gradually-we-seem-to-be/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“He felt at once betrayed and betrayer, deceived and deceiver. 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It is monsters; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/in-a-deeply-tribal-sense-we-love-our-monsters-and-i-think-that-is-the/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [There was a minor burst of macho nuttiness after 'Jaws' came out, in which people would go off in shark tournaments and come back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/there-was-a-minor-burst-of-macho-nuttiness-after-jaws-came-out-in/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [The fish was an enemy. It had come upon the community and killed two men, a woman, and a child. The people of Amity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-fish-was-an-enemy-it-had-come-upon-the-community-and-killed-two/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) > [“A man dies, girl, he isn't any more, least not down here. 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And the present never looks as good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-benchley/the-past-always-seems-better-when-you-look-back-on-it-than-it-did-at-2/) [Peter Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) [Explore all 64 Peter Benchley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-benchley/) ## 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. 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