--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mamma was aware that there were many…" description: "\"“Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what she called trashy books, but it was news to her that there were people who read nothing at a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg" --- # Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what… ![“Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what she called trashy books, but it was news to her that there were people who read nothing at all.” quote by Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg) > ““Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what she called trashy books, but it was news to her that there were people who read nothing at all.”” [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who read lowbrow books are common; those who read nothing at all are a surprising minority. **In simple terms:** Reading any book is common; not reading at all is rare. Key Takeaway Encourage reading, even light material, to avoid total disengagement. Themes literature social critique reading habits Mood reflective critical Type social educational When to use this quote - schools - public libraries - family discussions - media literacy programs Key Concepts cultural commentary education media consumption Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to avoid reading entirely? - Can “trash” books still inspire? A Different Perspective Might dismiss valuable ideas in “trash” books. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Called Trashy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-trashy-4466864/) [Mamma Aware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mamma-aware-4466865/) [People Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-read/) [Trashy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trashy/) [Trashy Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trashy-books-4466863/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Easily the hardest 'Jeopardy!' categories to study in the kids' section are the so-called 'trashy' pop culture ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-holzhauer/easily-the-hardest-jeopardy-categories-to-study-in-the-kids-section/) [James Holzhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-holzhauer/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I love trashy reality TV - all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-madekwe/i-love-trashy-reality-tv-all-of-it/) [Ashley Madekwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-madekwe/) > [Keep it classy, never trashy, just a lil bit nasty;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-girl/keep-it-classy-never-trashy-just-a-lil-bit-nasty/) [Michael's\_girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-girl/) > [Stay classy, not trashy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stay-classy-not-trashy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“True sensuality is classy, not trashy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebo-grand/true-sensuality-is-classy-not-trashy/) [Lebo Grand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebo-grand/) > [Without a heart I can never really know what it would be like to love someone, or ever really understand trashy novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/without-a-heart-i-can-never-really-know-what-it-would-be-like-to-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I cant date you if you don't act like a lady. Every girl should carry herself with dignity and class. Good men don't like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-cant-date-you-if-you-don-t-act-like-a-lady-every-girl-should-carry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Money and fame are trashy and don't guarantee happiness, but we all refuse really to know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/money-and-fame-are-trashy-and-don-t-guarantee-happiness-but-we-all/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [You can't dress trashy 'til you spend a lot of money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-joel/you-can-t-dress-trashy-til-you-spend-a-lot-of-money/) [Billy Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-joel/) > [Be classy, not trashy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgeous-girl/be-classy-not-trashy/) [Georgeous\_girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgeous-girl/) > [People assume that I'm this trashy motel girl, and that those are the only roles I can play, but I really take it seriously,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bria-vinaite/people-assume-that-i-m-this-trashy-motel-girl-and-that-those-are-the/) [Bria Vinaite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bria-vinaite/) > [Eenie meanie miney mo. You ain't nothing but a hoe. You think you're cool, you think you're classy. Reality check, you're really trashy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-heideman/eenie-meanie-miney-mo-you-ain-t-nothing-but-a-hoe-you-think-you-re/) [Bailey Heideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-heideman/) > [“When you walk with trash, you end up smelling the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/when-you-walk-with-trash-you-end-up-smelling-the-same/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Its so sad how such nice girls turn into trashy hoes smh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eyoh/its-so-sad-how-such-nice-girls-turn-into-trashy-hoes-smh/) [Eyoh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eyoh/) ## More by Rebecca West > [I see the main problem of my life, and indeed anybody's life, as the balancing of competitive freedoms ... a sense of mutual obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-see-the-main-problem-of-my-life-and-indeed-anybody-s-life-as-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“There is, of course, no reason for the existence of the male sex except that sometimes one needs help with moving the piano.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-is-of-course-no-reason-for-the-existence-of-the-male-sex-except/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“At the top of a hill our automobile stuck in a snowdrift. Peasants ran out of a cottage near by, shouting with laughter because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/at-the-top-of-a-hill-our-automobile-stuck-in-a-snowdrift-peasants-ran/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [We all drew on the comfort which is given out by the major works of Mozart, which is as real and material as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/we-all-drew-on-the-comfort-which-is-given-out-by-the-major-works-of/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Christianity must be regarded not as a final revelation but as a phase of revelation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/christianity-must-be-regarded-not-as-a-final-revelation-but-as-a/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Art and propaganda have this much connection, that if a propaganda makes art impossible, it is clearly damned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/art-and-propaganda-have-this-much-connection-that-if-a-propaganda/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The American struggle for the vote was much more difficult than the English for the simple reason that it was much more easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-american-struggle-for-the-vote-was-much-more-difficult-than-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ Like all bad drivers, he \[Henry Andrews\] thought he was the best driver in the world... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/like-all-bad-drivers-he-henry-andrews-thought-he-was-the-best-driver/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [The childhood of the individual and the race is full of fears, and panic-stricken attempts to avert what is feared by placating the gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/the-childhood-of-the-individual-and-the-race-is-full-of-fears-and/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Humanity is never more sphinxlike than when it is expressing itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/humanity-is-never-more-sphinxlike-than-when-it-is-expressing-itself/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [ \[On Jane Austen:\] To believe her limited in range because she was harmonious in method is as sensible as to imagine that when the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/on-jane-austen-to-believe-her-limited-in-range-because-she-was/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [a good oyster cannot please the palate as acutely as a bad one can revolt it, and a good oyster cannot make him who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/a-good-oyster-cannot-please-the-palate-as-acutely-as-a-bad-one-can/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [If there is a God, I don't think He would demand that anyone bow down or stand up to Him. I often have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-there-is-a-god-i-don-t-think-he-would-demand-that-anyone-bow-down/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-authentic-work-of-art-must-start-an-argument-between-the-artist/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [... there has never been a period in history when there have been necessary killings which has not been instantly followed by a period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-has-never-been-a-period-in-history-when-there-have-been/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) [Explore all 264 Rebecca West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## 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": "“Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what she called trashy books, but it was news to her that there were people who read nothing at all.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rebecca West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-people-who-read-what-she-called/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-people-who-read-what-she-called/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7bb/rebecca-west-1248_books_mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-peo_531995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Mamma was aware that there were many people who read what she called trashy books, but it was news to her…” — Rebecca West", "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": "Rebecca West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Mamma was aware that there were...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-people-who-read-what-she-called/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/mamma-was-aware-that-there-were-many-people-who-read-what-she-called/#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 } } ] } ```