--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When a reader finishes a wonderful story…" description: "\"When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it aside, he should have to pause for a minute and collect himself.\" — Raymond Carver" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png" --- # When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it… ![“When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it aside, he should have to pause for a minute and collect himself.” quote by Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png) > “When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it aside, he should have to pause for a minute and collect himself.” [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After finishing a compelling narrative, readers need a moment to process emotions before moving on. **In simple terms:** Pause to absorb a story’s impact. Key Takeaway Allow time for reflection after reading. Themes reading reflection emotional processing Mood contemplative calm Type literary personal When to use this quote - book clubs - personal reading - educational settings Key Concepts narrative closure mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What emotions linger after a good book? - How can you create space for literary reflection? A Different Perspective Some may rush past insights without reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Pauses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pauses/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-is-my-feeling-that-a-story-is-not-finished-until-it-is-read-and-2/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [A writer only begins a book. A reader finishes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-writer-only-begins-a-book-a-reader-finishes-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is my feeling that a story is not finished until it is read, and that the reader finishes it through his or her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/it-is-my-feeling-that-a-story-is-not-finished-until-it-is-read-and/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [Pause and remember - You will have a lot more time and energy to spend on yourself when you stop worrying and wasting time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-young/pause-and-remember-you-will-have-a-lot-more-time-and-energy-to-spend/) [Jennifer Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-young/) > [Whenever you remove any fence, always pause long enough to ask why it was put there in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/whenever-you-remove-any-fence-always-pause-long-enough-to-ask-why-it/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [My father's body lies in a stone tomb high on a hill. People walk by, pause, think their own thoughts about him and move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-davis/my-father-s-body-lies-in-a-stone-tomb-high-on-a-hill-people-walk-by/) [Patti Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-davis/) > [Learning to pause is the first step in the practice of Radical Acceptance. A pause is a suspension of activity, a time of temporary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/learning-to-pause-is-the-first-step-in-the-practice-of-radical/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Politicians are addicted to spending and revenue extraction. As with an addict, there's little pause for moral or legal contemplation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-malpass/politicians-are-addicted-to-spending-and-revenue-extraction-as-with/) [David Malpass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-malpass/) > [At a great pennyworth pause a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/at-a-great-pennyworth-pause-a-while/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I am annoyed by individuals who are embarrassed by pauses in a conversation. To me, every conversational pause refreshes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sanders/i-am-annoyed-by-individuals-who-are-embarrassed-by-pauses-in-a/) [George Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sanders/) > [Pause and remember - Slow and steady will get you where you want to go. If you put too much pressure on yourself for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-young/pause-and-remember-slow-and-steady-will-get-you-where-you-want-to-go/) [Jennifer Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-young/) > [In the middle of it all, pause and look around you. Appreciate what’s beautiful. Take in the love. Nod to what’s good and true.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-freston/in-the-middle-of-it-all-pause-and-look-around-you-appreciate-what-s/) [Kathy Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-freston/) > [If we cannot come together to pause, to respect our dead and the heroic lives of meaning they led, then ours is truly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/if-we-cannot-come-together-to-pause-to-respect-our-dead-and-the/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [I'm a super spiritual person, so every now and then I'll say, "Everyone, get out of my room because I need 15 minutes by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilly-singh/i-m-a-super-spiritual-person-so-every-now-and-then-i-ll-say-everyone/) [Lilly Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilly-singh/) > [With all the decision making in my life, I often have to pause, look up and remember God is the One working behind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-p-yohannan/with-all-the-decision-making-in-my-life-i-often-have-to-pause-look-up/) [K.P. Yohannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-p-yohannan/) ## More by Raymond Carver > [“Fear of seeing a police car pull into the drive. Fear of falling asleep at night. Fear of not falling asleep. Fear of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/fear-of-seeing-a-police-car-pull-into-the-drive-fear-of-falling/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [My heart is broken,” she goes. “It’s turned to a piece of stone. I’m no good. That’s what’s as bad as anything, that I’m…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/my-heart-is-broken-she-goes-it-s-turned-to-a-piece-of-stone-i-m-no/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“You sound like a nice man,” the woman said. “Do I? Well, that’s nice of you to say.” He knew he should hang up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/you-sound-like-a-nice-man-the-woman-said-do-i-well-that-s-nice-of-you/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Life and death matters, yes. And the question of how to behave in this world, how to go in the face of everything. Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/life-and-death-matters-yes-and-the-question-of-how-to-behave-in-this/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [The places where water comes together with other water. Those places stand out in my mind like holy places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/the-places-where-water-comes-together-with-other-water-those-places/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [A man can go along obeying all the rules and then it don't matter a damn anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/a-man-can-go-along-obeying-all-the-rules-and-then-it-don-t-matter-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“You see, this happened a few months ago, but it's still going on right now, and it ought to make us feel ashamed when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/you-see-this-happened-a-few-months-ago-but-it-s-still-going-on-right/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Art doesn't have to do anything. It just has to be there for the fierce pleasure we take in doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/art-doesn-t-have-to-do-anything-it-just-has-to-be-there-for-the/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [“But here is the thing. When he gets on me, I suddenly feel I am fat. I feel am terrifically fat, so fat that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/but-here-is-the-thing-when-he-gets-on-me-i-suddenly-feel-i-am-fat-i/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [There are significant moments in everyone's day that can make literature. That's what you ought to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/there-are-significant-moments-in-everyone-s-day-that-can-make/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [The fiction Im most interested in has lines of reference to the real world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/the-fiction-im-most-interested-in-has-lines-of-reference-to-the-real/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [Don’t complain, don’t explain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/don-t-complain-don-t-explain/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [It's strange. You never start out life with the intention of becoming a bankrupt or an alcoholic or a cheat and a thief. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/it-s-strange-you-never-start-out-life-with-the-intention-of-becoming/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I am a cigarette with a body attached to it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-am-a-cigarette-with-a-body-attached-to-it/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) [Explore all 134 Raymond Carver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) ## 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": "When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it aside, he should have to pause for a minute and collect himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Raymond Carver" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story-and-lays-it-aside-he-should/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story-and-lays-it-aside-he-should/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/raymond-carver-2821_books_when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story_2016883.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When a reader finishes a wonderful story and lays it aside, he should have to pause for a minute and collect…” — Raymond Carver", "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": "Raymond Carver", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When a reader finishes a wonderful...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story-and-lays-it-aside-he-should/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/when-a-reader-finishes-a-wonderful-story-and-lays-it-aside-he-should/#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 } } ] } ```