--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I love to read long books. I enjoy…" description: "\"I love to read long books. I enjoy experiencing that extension. But it's not something I feel comfortable with and not something I think I can gain com..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/shane-mccrae-22873_book_i-love-to-read-long-books-i-enjoy-experi_304335.jpg" --- # I love to read long books. I enjoy experiencing that… ![“I love to read long books. I enjoy experiencing that extension. But it's not something I feel comfortable with and not something I think I can gain comfort with by practice. It was a real struggle for me while writing memoir to get past three pages or so. In poems, I can write long poems. But…” quote by Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/shane-mccrae-22873_book_i-love-to-read-long-books-i-enjoy-experi_304335.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/shane-mccrae-22873_book_i-love-to-read-long-books-i-enjoy-experi_304335.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/shane-mccrae-22873_book_i-love-to-read-long-books-i-enjoy-experi_304335.jpg) > “I love to read long books. I enjoy experiencing that extension. But it's not something I feel comfortable with and not something I think I can gain comfort with by practice. It was a real struggle for me while writing memoir to get past three pages or so. In poems, I can write long poems. But length in prose: no.” [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author struggles with prose length due to personal discomfort, yet finds freedom in long poetic forms, highlighting differing creative constraints. **In simple terms:** Prose feels restrictive; poetry feels freeing. Key Takeaway Explore different formats to discover personal comfort. Themes creativity self-doubt form expression Mood introspective hopeful Type literary personal When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journaling - academic study - creative retreats Key Concepts literary theory psychology artistic process Questions to Reflect On - Why does prose feel limiting? - Can practice reshape comfort with length? A Different Perspective Length constraints may stem from deeper insecurities, not just skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfort/) [Love to read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-to-read/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The long poem has been a relative constant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-not-say-i-chose-to-write-long-poems-on-a-conscious-level-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But really, that is kind of silly,' Abigail tried to explain. 'I mean, a book is much less personal than a programmed screen that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-sleator/but-really-that-is-kind-of-silly-abigail-tried-to-explain-i-mean-a/) [William Sleator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-sleator/) > [Make no mistake, those who write long books have nothing to say. Of course those who write short books have even less to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/make-no-mistake-those-who-write-long-books-have-nothing-to-say-of/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [I cannot write long books; I leave that for those who have nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-green/i-cannot-write-long-books-i-leave-that-for-those-who-have-nothing-to/) [Celia Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-green/) > [The short story feels like the most natural length for prose fiction, or certainly for the kind of ideas and situations I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/the-short-story-feels-like-the-most-natural-length-for-prose-fiction/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) > [The first book was my first attempt at writing full-length prose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-simon/the-first-book-was-my-first-attempt-at-writing-full-length-prose/) [Neil Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-simon/) > [There are definitely connections between poems, but I wanted each to stand on its own. I guess it goes back to the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-powers/there-are-definitely-connections-between-poems-but-i-wanted-each-to/) [Kevin Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-powers/) > [“(W)hy is poetry wholly an elderly taste? When I was twenty I could not for the life of me read Shakespeare for pleasure; now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/w-hy-is-poetry-wholly-an-elderly-taste-when-i-was-twenty-i-could-not/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Diode: A couple of long poems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/diode-a-couple-of-long-poems/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I like to joke that I started writing long poems out the anxiety over ending and starting poems. It just seemed easier to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-hawthorne-deming/i-like-to-joke-that-i-started-writing-long-poems-out-the-anxiety-over/) [Alison Hawthorne Deming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-hawthorne-deming/) > [“While you're moving about your way in this world, just remember, read long and prosper. Cheers!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-vayna/while-you-re-moving-about-your-way-in-this-world-just-remember-read/) Virginia Vayna > [My father went to work by train every day. It was half an hour's journey each way, and he would read a paperback in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/my-father-went-to-work-by-train-every-day-it-was-half-an-hour-s/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [The only two places where I can read for long stretches are in airplanes and in bed at nighttime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-only-two-places-where-i-can-read-for-long-stretches-are-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I don't like to read long books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tomi-lahren/i-don-t-like-to-read-long-books/) [Tomi Lahren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tomi-lahren/) > [“Will I be less dead because I wrote this poem or you more because you read it long years hence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/will-i-be-less-dead-because-i-wrote-this-poem-or-you-more-because-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More by Shane McCrae > [I like having a phrase lying around to get poems started. It's like having a key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-like-having-a-phrase-lying-around-to-get-poems-started-it-s-like/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I think that the moment we're living in offers the best opportunity we've had in a long time in that a lot of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-think-that-the-moment-we-re-living-in-offers-the-best-opportunity/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I believe rhythmic sensibility is always a product and extension of language, defined broadly, among other things. But it is an immediate product and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-believe-rhythmic-sensibility-is-always-a-product-and-extension-of/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I actually can't listen to music and write poetry at the same time, but I do kind of think about the music I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-actually-can-t-listen-to-music-and-write-poetry-at-the-same-time/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [There's no such thing as an animal too big too kill, AND we're cornered by such animals every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/there-s-no-such-thing-as-an-animal-too-big-too-kill-and-we-re/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I don't know that I find either aspect of Jesus more interesting than the other, although maybe I think about the God one more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-don-t-know-that-i-find-either-aspect-of-jesus-more-interesting-than/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I definitely notice the absence of character in most poetry, which is not so say that I'm an innovator in that regard. Character-based poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-definitely-notice-the-absence-of-character-in-most-poetry-which-is/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I think I cause a lot of headaches for editors - it's impossible to keep up with the ridiculous amount of changes I make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-think-i-cause-a-lot-of-headaches-for-editors-it-s-impossible-to/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I just can't write and listen to music at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-just-can-t-write-and-listen-to-music-at-the-same-time/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I do believe in Jesus as wholly God and wholly human, and I believe the human part was human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-do-believe-in-jesus-as-wholly-god-and-wholly-human-and-i-believe/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I was just thinking about how my grandparents, who raised me, would be considered "white trash," whatever that means - mostly for being racists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-was-just-thinking-about-how-my-grandparents-who-raised-me-would-be/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I'm always glad that other people are way smarter about my poems than I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-m-always-glad-that-other-people-are-way-smarter-about-my-poems-than/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I think that the casual reader and the lyric and confession are trickily tied up together. I mean often when I read my students'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-think-that-the-casual-reader-and-the-lyric-and-confession-are/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [I do try to incorporate particular rhythmic and generally sonic motifs I discover in music as such, and if one thinks of language in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-do-try-to-incorporate-particular-rhythmic-and-generally-sonic/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [If I can quote myself, I explained whatever it is I'm doing once for No Tell Motel, and I still think it's the clearest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/if-i-can-quote-myself-i-explained-whatever-it-is-i-m-doing-once-for/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) [Explore all 26 Shane McCrae quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I love to read long books. 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