--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reading is first and foremost…" description: "\"“Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act of picking up and opening a book masks th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg" --- # Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the… ![“Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act of picking up and opening a book masks the countergesture that occurs at the same time: the involuntary act of *not* picking up and *not* opening all the other books in the universe.” quote by Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg) > ““Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act of picking up and opening a book masks the countergesture that occurs at the same time: the involuntary act of \*not\* picking up and \*not\* opening all the other books in the universe.”” [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading often highlights the books we ignore, revealing that attention to one book means neglecting countless others. **In simple terms:** Reading shows what we miss. Key Takeaway Recognize selective focus. Themes attention choice literature Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - library browsing - research - personal reading habits - academic study Key Concepts existentialism cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - How does selective reading shape your worldview? - What books might you be overlooking? A Different Perspective It can overemphasize scarcity, ignoring the value of deep focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [My mistake was in ever opening the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-mistake-was-in-ever-opening-the-books/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [The reading or non-reading a book will never keep down a single petticoat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/the-reading-or-non-reading-a-book-will-never-keep-down-a-single/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [As you consider whether to move a child into formal academic training, remember that we want our children to do more than just learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilian-katz/as-you-consider-whether-to-move-a-child-into-formal-academic-training/) [Lilian Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilian-katz/) > [“Lifelong readers continue to read, finding in books the means to enjoy life or endure it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lifelong-readers-continue-to-read-finding-in-books-the-means-to-enjoy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I believe we should spend less time worrying about the quantity of books children read and more time introducing them to quality books that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-believe-we-should-spend-less-time-worrying-about-the-quantity-of/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [I can't promise that every child with learning differences will become a novelist, but I do think all children can become lifelong readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-can-t-promise-that-every-child-with-learning-differences-will/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [As we go through this transition where a lot more people will be reading on devices, nobody is paying enough attention to make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/as-we-go-through-this-transition-where-a-lot-more-people-will-be/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-shaffer/reading-good-books-ruins-you-for-enjoying-bad-books/) [Mary Ann Shaffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-shaffer/) > [There's a richness that reading gives you, an opportunity to probe more than any other medium I know of. Reading is about not being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/there-s-a-richness-that-reading-gives-you-an-opportunity-to-probe/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [Reading counts as partying, even if you're not enjoying it! Even if someone's forcing you to read, you can find a way to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/reading-counts-as-partying-even-if-you-re-not-enjoying-it-even-if/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [“What you’re holding in your hands is a BookShots Flames story. It’s part of a revolution in reading. Hand-picked by James Patterson, BookShots Flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-ciotta/what-you-re-holding-in-your-hands-is-a-bookshots-flames-story-it-s/) Beth Ciotta > [“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/) > [“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/) ## More by Pierre Bayard > [ “\[…\] there exists around the written world opened by the work a multitude of other possible worlds, which we can complete by means of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/there-exists-around-the-written-world-opened-by-the-work-a-multitude/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“The paradox of reading is that the path toward ourselves passes through books, but that this must remain a passage. It is a traversal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/the-paradox-of-reading-is-that-the-path-toward-ourselves-passes/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [ “\[…\] a given text may seem fictional or actual depending on the context in which we encounter it. The same is true for oral… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/a-given-text-may-seem-fictional-or-actual-depending-on-the-context-in/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“As may be seen, there is only one sensible piece of advice to give to those who find themselves having to talk to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/as-may-be-seen-there-is-only-one-sensible-piece-of-advice-to-give-to/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [ “A great number of elements in the characters’ lives, both psychic and factual, are not communicated to us. \[…\] These characters, I believe, enjoy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/a-great-number-of-elements-in-the-characters-lives-both-psychic-and/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“(in which, along with Montaigne, we raise the question of whether a book you have read and completely forgotten, and which you have even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/in-which-along-with-montaigne-we-raise-the-question-of-whether-a-book/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“Criticism demands infinitely more culture than artistic creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/criticism-demands-infinitely-more-culture-than-artistic-creation/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“Our relation to books is a shadowy space haunted by the ghosts of memory, and the real value of books lies in their ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/our-relation-to-books-is-a-shadowy-space-haunted-by-the-ghosts-of/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“Fictional characters exert a great deal of influence over our choices in love by representing inaccessible ideals to which we try to make others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/fictional-characters-exert-a-great-deal-of-influence-over-our-choices/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“To speak without shame about books we haven’t read, we would thus do well to free ourselves of the oppressive image of cultural literacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/to-speak-without-shame-about-books-we-haven-t-read-we-would-thus-do/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“The title of the work, its place in the collective library, the nature of the person who tells us about it, the atmosphere established…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/the-title-of-the-work-its-place-in-the-collective-library-the-nature/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“Our relationship with literary characters, at least to those that exercise a certain attraction over us, rests in fact on a denial. We know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/our-relationship-with-literary-characters-at-least-to-those-that/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“It is the reader who comes to complete the work and to close, albeit temporarily, the world that it opens, and the reader does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/it-is-the-reader-who-comes-to-complete-the-work-and-to-close-albeit/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“if you want to be able to talk about a place, the best thing to do is stay at home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/if-you-want-to-be-able-to-talk-about-a-place-the-best-thing-to-do-is/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) > [“When we talk about books…we are talking about our approximate recollections of books… What we preserve of the books we read—whether we take notes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/when-we-talk-about-books-we-are-talking-about-our-approximate/) [Pierre Bayard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) [Explore all 17 Pierre Bayard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/) ## 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": "“Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act of picking up and opening a book masks the countergesture that occurs at the same time: the involuntary act of *not* picking up and *not* opening all the other books in the universe.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pierre Bayard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-reading-even-in-the-case-of-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-reading-even-in-the-case-of-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d41/pierre-bayard-29513_books_reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-readin_1281414.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reading is first and foremost non-reading. Even in the case of the most passionate lifelong readers, the act…” — Pierre Bayard", "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": "Pierre Bayard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bayard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Reading is first and foremost non-reading....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-reading-even-in-the-case-of-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bayard/reading-is-first-and-foremost-non-reading-even-in-the-case-of-the/#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 } } ] } ```