--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't trust books. They're all fact and…" description: "\"I don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart.\" — Stephen Colbert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png" --- # I don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart. ![“I don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart.” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png) > “I don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart.” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books can be overly factual, lacking emotional resonance, which may limit their impact. **In simple terms:** Facts without feeling can feel cold. Key Takeaway Seek balance of data and empathy. Themes literature media emotion knowledge communication Mood reflective critical Type media philosophical When to use this quote - reading clubs - educational curricula - writing workshops Key Concepts narrative tone human connection critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story emotionally compelling? - How can facts be presented with heart? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on facts may alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [I don't like books, they're all fact, no heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-like-books-they-re-all-fact-no-heart/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I don't trust books. They're all fact, no heart. And that's exactly what's pulling our country apart today. Because face it, folks, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-no-heart-and-that-s-exactly-what/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [The fact is that when you do something from your heart, you leave a heart print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/the-fact-is-that-when-you-do-something-from-your-heart-you-leave-a/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [“She has a bookshelf for a heart, and ink runs through her veins, she’ll write you into her story with the typewriter in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-h/she-has-a-bookshelf-for-a-heart-and-ink-runs-through-her-veins-she-ll/) E.H > [From whence it happens, that they which trust to books, do as they that cast up many little sums into a greater, without considering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hobbes/from-whence-it-happens-that-they-which-trust-to-books-do-as-they-that/) [Thomas Hobbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hobbes/) > [“A serious bibliophile never lends his books. In fact he does not even read his books, for fear of wearing them out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-rard-de-nerval/a-serious-bibliophile-never-lends-his-books-in-fact-he-does-not-even/) [Gérard de Nerval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-rard-de-nerval/) > [“If you add up how much you read in a year on the Internet—tweets, Facebook posts, lists—you’ve read the equivalent of a shit ton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/if-you-add-up-how-much-you-read-in-a-year-on-the-internet-tweets/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“What was his greatest fact"... "His heart. The way he loved so deep and felt so much. The way he loved his sister and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/what-was-his-greatest-fact-his-heart-the-way-he-loved-so-deep-and/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [The reason why I cant let you go is the fact that you are always in my heart every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuthbert-mashiri/the-reason-why-i-cant-let-you-go-is-the-fact-that-you-are-always-in/) Cuthbert Mashiri > [“You can die of a broken heart -- it's scientific fact -- and my heart has been breaking since that very first day we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/you-can-die-of-a-broken-heart-it-s-scientific-fact-and-my-heart-has/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [The hardest part of letting him go is that the fact that your heart still beats for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-hardest-part-of-letting-him-go-is-that-the-fact-that-your-heart/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The fact that our heart yearns for something Earth can't supply is proof that Heaven must be our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-fact-that-our-heart-yearns-for-something-earth-can-t-supply-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [My mother had to justify the fact that she had heart pills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrik-sinkewitz/my-mother-had-to-justify-the-fact-that-she-had-heart-pills/) [Patrik Sinkewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrik-sinkewitz/) > [The fact of the matter is that the Internet has brought together millions of people who trust one another for reasons that are unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-huh/the-fact-of-the-matter-is-that-the-internet-has-brought-together/) [Ben Huh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-huh/) > [There is no science without fancy and no art without fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/there-is-no-science-without-fancy-and-no-art-without-fact/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## 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 don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Colbert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and-no-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and-no-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c2/stephen-colbert-503_book_i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and_1839334.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't trust books. They're all fact and no heart.” — Stephen Colbert", "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": "Stephen Colbert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't trust books. They're all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and-no-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-don-t-trust-books-they-re-all-fact-and-no-heart/#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 } } ] } ```