--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, before I learned how to read I…" description: "\"For me, before I learned how to read I was really interested in story and in landscape and nature. I decided to become a writer almost as soon as I lea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/rebecca-solnit-569_books_for-me-before-i-learned-how-to-read-i-wa_806303.jpg" --- # For me, before I learned how to read I was really… ![“For me, before I learned how to read I was really interested in story and in landscape and nature. I decided to become a writer almost as soon as I learned to read.” quote by Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/rebecca-solnit-569_books_for-me-before-i-learned-how-to-read-i-wa_806303.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/rebecca-solnit-569_books_for-me-before-i-learned-how-to-read-i-wa_806303.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b8/rebecca-solnit-569_books_for-me-before-i-learned-how-to-read-i-wa_806303.jpg) > “For me, before I learned how to read I was really interested in story and in landscape and nature. I decided to become a writer almost as soon as I learned to read.” [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She was drawn to stories and nature before learning to read, prompting an early desire to become a writer. **In simple terms:** Early love of stories and nature led to writing ambition. Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity early. Themes creativity nature storytelling Mood reflective inspired Type personal literary When to use this quote - Childhood reading - career choice - creative writing workshops Key Concepts Literary inspiration environmental awareness Questions to Reflect On - How did early interests shape your career? - What role does nature play in your writing? A Different Perspective May overlook formal training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Decided](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decided/) [Interested Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-story-886292/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Learned Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-read/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Really Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-interested/) [Soon Learned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soon-learned-1560431/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-landscape-6158539/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [That which is evil is soon learned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/that-which-is-evil-is-soon-learned/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [“Katie soon learned there was a problem with hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/katie-soon-learned-there-was-a-problem-with-hope/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) > [“We soon learned that failure was only the operating cost of success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-canessa/we-soon-learned-that-failure-was-only-the-operating-cost-of-success/) [Roberto Canessa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-canessa/) > [And, of course, people are interested only in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-of-course-people-are-interested-only-in-themselves-if-a-story-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I'm a worst-case scenario person. I'm only interested in a story because I kind of go, like a magnet, to the worst thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-m-a-worst-case-scenario-person-i-m-only-interested-in-a-story/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“...of course, people are interested only in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And I here make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/of-course-people-are-interested-only-in-themselves-if-a-story-is-not/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I was always more interested in story songs, things with a point of view... and things that informed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nanci-griffith/i-was-always-more-interested-in-story-songs-things-with-a-point-of/) [Nanci Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nanci-griffith/) > [“And, of course, people are only interested in themselves. If a story is not about the hearer he will not listen. And I here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-of-course-people-are-only-interested-in-themselves-if-a-story-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [I'm not first and foremost interested in story and the what-happens, but I'm interested in who's telling it and how they're telling it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-hempel/i-m-not-first-and-foremost-interested-in-story-and-the-what-happens/) [Amy Hempel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-hempel/) > [I'm first and foremost interested in the story, the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lean/i-m-first-and-foremost-interested-in-the-story-the-characters/) [David Lean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lean/) > [“I think fiction lends itself to messiness rather than the ideal, and plays well with the ironies surrounding what happens versus what should happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-think-fiction-lends-itself-to-messiness-rather-than-the-ideal-and/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [I've just always been very interested in story above all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-gunn/i-ve-just-always-been-very-interested-in-story-above-all/) [Anna Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-gunn/) > [Maybe today I would call Fred Leuchter and there would be two or three other documentary filmmakers interested in his story simply because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/maybe-today-i-would-call-fred-leuchter-and-there-would-be-two-or/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [And it's interesting, but I'm always interested in the story behind the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maximilian-schell/and-it-s-interesting-but-i-m-always-interested-in-the-story-behind/) [Maximilian Schell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maximilian-schell/) > [I'm not interested in story lines or trash-talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-manuwa/i-m-not-interested-in-story-lines-or-trash-talk/) [Jimi Manuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-manuwa/) ## More by Rebecca Solnit > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Joy doesn't betray but sustains activism. And when you face a politics that aspires to make you fearful, alienated and isolated, joy is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/joy-doesn-t-betray-but-sustains-activism-and-when-you-face-a-politics/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“To love someone is to put yourself in their place, we say, which is to put ourself in their story, or figure out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/to-love-someone-is-to-put-yourself-in-their-place-we-say-which-is-to/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/people-have-always-been-good-at-imagining-the-end-of-the-world-which/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Whose maps are we trying to read? And what are we trying to draw? It's so common to live in a place without truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/whose-maps-are-we-trying-to-read-and-what-are-we-trying-to-draw-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I was being cured of soldiering on endlessly: my job was now to be still, which had become almost easy at last.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-was-being-cured-of-soldiering-on-endlessly-my-job-was-now-to-be/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“I wonder now about Demeter and Persephone. Maybe Persephone was glad to run off with the king of death to his underground realm, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/i-wonder-now-about-demeter-and-persephone-maybe-persephone-was-glad/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [ \[In mountaineering, if\] we look for private experience rather than public history, even getting to the top becomes an optional narrative rather than the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-mountaineering-if-we-look-for-private-experience-rather-than/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [For me, being in a car or on an airplane is like being in limbo. It's this dead zone between two places. But to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/for-me-being-in-a-car-or-on-an-airplane-is-like-being-in-limbo-it-s/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/how-do-you-calculate-upon-the-unforeseen-it-seems-to-be-an-art-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [Walking shares with making and working that crucial element of engagement of the body and the mind with the world, of knowing the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/walking-shares-with-making-and-working-that-crucial-element-of/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Marriage equality is a threat: to inequality. It’s a boon to everyone who values and benefits from equality. It’s for all of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/marriage-equality-is-a-threat-to-inequality-it-s-a-boon-to-everyone/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“Mountaineering is always spoken of as though summiting is conquest, but as you get higher, the world gets bigger, and you feel smaller in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/mountaineering-is-always-spoken-of-as-though-summiting-is-conquest/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [“A procession is a participants' journey, while a parade is a performance with an audience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/a-procession-is-a-participants-journey-while-a-parade-is-a/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Explore all 469 Rebecca Solnit quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "For me, before I learned how to read I was really interested in story and in landscape and nature. 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