--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Read books when you are free, read minds…" description: "\"“Read books when you are free, read minds when you are'nt…but do read...”\" — Rabindranath Tagore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png" --- # Read books when you are free, read minds when you… ![“Read books when you are free, read minds when you are'nt…but do read...” quote by Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png) > ““Read books when you are free, read minds when you are'nt…but do read...”” [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages reading both external texts and internal thoughts, emphasizing constant learning. **In simple terms:** Read books and minds, always. Key Takeaway Keep learning in all moments. Themes learning self‑reflection curiosity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - free time - solitary work - creative brainstorming - personal growth Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance reading with doing? - What inner insights have you missed? A Different Perspective May neglect practical action if over‑intellectualizing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I mainly buy books in my free time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-snipes/i-mainly-buy-books-in-my-free-time/) [Wesley Snipes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-snipes/) > [I simply believe that a book has a journey to make, and should not be condemned to being stuck on a shelf… Let’s leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-simply-believe-that-a-book-has-a-journey-to-make-and-should-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You don't need a lot of money to live a full life--all you need is a fertile mind, some books and a good attitude.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-carr/you-don-t-need-a-lot-of-money-to-live-a-full-life-all-you-need-is-a/) [Robyn Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robyn-carr/) > [Libraries are a consistent and major source of books for free reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-d-krashen/libraries-are-a-consistent-and-major-source-of-books-for-free-reading/) [Stephen D. Krashen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-d-krashen/) > [I do think that books, good books, free you. They make you feel a citizen of the world and things like class, sex and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-townsend/i-do-think-that-books-good-books-free-you-they-make-you-feel-a/) [Sue Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-townsend/) > [I’d volunteer to go to prison, as long as there are books. Because with books I am free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-hatta/i-d-volunteer-to-go-to-prison-as-long-as-there-are-books-because-with/) [Mohammad Hatta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-hatta/) > [I loved to read books in the free world, and there was a lot of time to sit around and do nothing in prison.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ray-hinton/i-loved-to-read-books-in-the-free-world-and-there-was-a-lot-of-time/) [Anthony Ray Hinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ray-hinton/) > [Read not books alone, but men, and amongst them chiefly thyself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/read-not-books-alone-but-men-and-amongst-them-chiefly-thyself/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [“I love to read books. I love to read anything really, even the back of the cereal box. But there is nothing that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-wojnarowski/i-love-to-read-books-i-love-to-read-anything-really-even-the-back-of/) Rachel Wojnarowski > [Anywhere you go in the world is what you make of it, not what you read in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-lee/anywhere-you-go-in-the-world-is-what-you-make-of-it-not-what-you-read/) [Alvin Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-lee/) > [I don't like to read books. They muss up my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/i-don-t-like-to-read-books-they-muss-up-my-mind/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [I never read books - and still don't read books - to develop them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mcdormand/i-never-read-books-and-still-don-t-read-books-to-develop-them/) [Frances McDormand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mcdormand/) > [Well, I just love to read books. I read a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shriya-saran/well-i-just-love-to-read-books-i-read-a-lot/) [Shriya Saran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shriya-saran/) > [I read books to read myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-birkerts/i-read-books-to-read-myself/) [Sven Birkerts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-birkerts/) > [I read the books, get some, Listen to others, get little but what i get the most is to sit and think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/i-read-the-books-get-some-listen-to-others-get-little-but-what-i-get/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) ## More by Rabindranath Tagore > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [From the grasses in the field to the stars in the sky, each one is doing just that; and there is such profound peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/from-the-grasses-in-the-field-to-the-stars-in-the-sky-each-one-is/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Plant flowers in others' gardens and your life becomes a bouquet! Submitted by Lisa Letto, Coordinator, Nutrition Resource and Volunteer Centre, College of Pharmacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/plant-flowers-in-others-gardens-and-your-life-becomes-a-bouquet/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The meaning of this is, that whomsoever we love, in him we find our own soul in the highest sense. The final truth of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-meaning-of-this-is-that-whomsoever-we-love-in-him-we-find-our-own/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-you-shed-tears-when-you-miss-the-sun-you-also-miss-the-stars/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The best kind of wealth is to give up inordinate desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-best-kind-of-wealth-is-to-give-up-inordinate-desires/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/now-it-is-time-to-sit-quiet-face-to-face-with-thee-and-to-sing/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [If it is necessary to die in order to live like men, what harm in dying?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/if-it-is-necessary-to-die-in-order-to-live-like-men-what-harm-in-dying/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Strong Mercy: My desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/strong-mercy-my-desires-are-many-and-my-cry-is-pitiful-but-ever-didst/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The weak can be terrible because they try furiously to appear strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-weak-can-be-terrible-because-they-try-furiously-to-appear-strong/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [The movement of life has to rest in its own music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/the-movement-of-life-has-to-rest-in-its-own-music/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [It is the docile who achieve the most impossible things in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/it-is-the-docile-who-achieve-the-most-impossible-things-in-this-world/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“There, display and extravagance, in dress, in furniture, in costly entertainments, are startling. They seem to push you back into a corner, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/there-display-and-extravagance-in-dress-in-furniture-in-costly/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) [Explore all 596 Rabindranath Tagore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) ## 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": "“Read books when you are free, read minds when you are'nt…but do read...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rabindranath Tagore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds-when-you-are-nt-but-do-read/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds-when-you-are-nt-but-do-read/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/rabindranath-tagore-383_books_read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds_620966.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Read books when you are free, read minds when you are'nt…but do read...” — Rabindranath Tagore", "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": "Rabindranath Tagore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Read books when you are free,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds-when-you-are-nt-but-do-read/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/read-books-when-you-are-free-read-minds-when-you-are-nt-but-do-read/#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 } } ] } ```