--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you would know what nobody knows, read…" description: "\"If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody reads, just one year afterwards.\" — Ralph Waldo Emerson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png" --- # If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody… ![“If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody reads, just one year afterwards.” quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png) > “If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody reads, just one year afterwards.” [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding common knowledge can reveal hidden insights; by following popular trends briefly, you can later see what they missed. **In simple terms:** Read widely, then think later. Key Takeaway Question mainstream ideas after a short period. Themes critical thinking knowledge curiosity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - academic research - media consumption - trend analysis - personal development Key Concepts self‑reliance information theory Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions do you accept without questioning? - How does delayed reflection change your perspective? A Different Perspective Popular sources may be biased or incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) ## Related quotes > [You can not be in top five in Olympic after just one year's preparation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandeep-singh/you-can-not-be-in-top-five-in-olympic-after-just-one-year-s/) [Sandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandeep-singh/) > [You can read everybody. It's not even interesting to tell the truth because to some extent it's false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-olson/you-can-read-everybody-it-s-not-even-interesting-to-tell-the-truth/) [Charles Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-olson/) > [“Reading is like running: like it or not we all have to do it. Everybody on this planet needs to be able to read.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-black/reading-is-like-running-like-it-or-not-we-all-have-to-do-it-everybody/) Nicholas Black > [Everybody knows how to read but not everybody knows how to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everybody-knows-how-to-read-but-not-everybody-knows-how-to-understand/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It was unimaginable what happens to you when you get known for a book that everybody reads, or that everybody has heard of. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-was-unimaginable-what-happens-to-you-when-you-get-known-for-a-book/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [The leakage of information means you're going to be able to read everybody's e-mail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-ibrahim/the-leakage-of-information-means-you-re-going-to-be-able-to-read/) [Mo Ibrahim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-ibrahim/) > [I'm sure most parents read to their children to explain what certain things mean. So books are a good way to convey a message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/i-m-sure-most-parents-read-to-their-children-to-explain-what-certain/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Everybody reads for me. I was never weird about that. I never minded coming in and reading. They should know if I'm the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/everybody-reads-for-me-i-was-never-weird-about-that-i-never-minded/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [I really like putting the kids to bed. Everyone is cozy and snuggly. Nobody is giving anyone a hard time, and everybody reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-bowen/i-really-like-putting-the-kids-to-bed-everyone-is-cozy-and-snuggly/) [Julie Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-bowen/) > [No one reads anything. They just look at images.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-anderson/no-one-reads-anything-they-just-look-at-images/) [Jonathan Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-anderson/) > [There is a big difference between he who reads just because he knows how to read and he who does understand what he reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-t-matioli/there-is-a-big-difference-between-he-who-reads-just-because-he-knows/) Wagner T Matioli > [“any one who's worth anything reads just what he likes, as the mood takes him, with extravagant enthusiasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/any-one-who-s-worth-anything-reads-just-what-he-likes-as-the-mood/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [But then anyone who's worth anything reads just what he likes, as the mood takes him, and with extravagant enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/but-then-anyone-who-s-worth-anything-reads-just-what-he-likes-as-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“A man who reads at all, reads just as he eats, sleeps, and takes exercise, because he likes it; and that is probably the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-christopher-benson/a-man-who-reads-at-all-reads-just-as-he-eats-sleeps-and-takes/) Arthur Christopher Benson > [“anyone who’s worth anything reads just what he likes, as the mood takes him, and with extravagant enthusiasm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/anyone-who-s-worth-anything-reads-just-what-he-likes-as-the-mood/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More by Ralph Waldo Emerson > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-then-creative-reading-as-well-as-creative-writing-when-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The order of things consents to virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-order-of-things-consents-to-virtue/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Life only avails, not the having lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/life-only-avails-not-the-having-lived/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part of our daily routine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-child-reminds-us-that-playtime-is-an-essential-part-of-our-daily/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [No man can be criticised but by a greater than he. Do not, then, read the reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/no-man-can-be-criticised-but-by-a-greater-than-he-do-not-then-read/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am; therefore, I had nothing better to do than to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/i-am-therefore-i-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-to-think/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In a library we are surrounded by many hundreds of dear friends, but they are imprisoned by an enchanter in these paper and leathern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-a-library-we-are-surrounded-by-many-hundreds-of-dear-friends-but/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The compensations of calamity are made apparent to the understanding also, after long intervals of time. A fever, a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-compensations-of-calamity-are-made-apparent-to-the-understanding/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Explore all 4,802 Ralph Waldo Emerson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## 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": "If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody reads, just one year afterwards.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ralph Waldo Emerson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read-what-everybody-reads-just/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read-what-everybody-reads-just/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0bc/ralph-waldo-emerson-6_books_if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read_534169.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you would know what nobody knows, read what everybody reads, just one year afterwards.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson", "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": "Ralph Waldo Emerson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you would know what nobody...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read-what-everybody-reads-just/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-you-would-know-what-nobody-knows-read-what-everybody-reads-just/#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 } } ] } ```