--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was what I did at night. I read all…" description: "\"“That was what I did at night. I read all the stuff that you're supposed to read in college but never do, or if you do, you're not paying attention. I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/steven-pressfield-696_books_that-was-what-i-did-at-night-i-read-all_2237171.jpg" --- # That was what I did at night. I read all the stuff that… ![“That was what I did at night. I read all the stuff that you're supposed to read in college but never do, or if you do, you're not paying attention. I read Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and Turgenev. I read Cervantes and Flaubert and Stendhal and Knut Hamsun, and I read every American except Faulkner.” quote by Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/steven-pressfield-696_books_that-was-what-i-did-at-night-i-read-all_2237171.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/steven-pressfield-696_books_that-was-what-i-did-at-night-i-read-all_2237171.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd9/steven-pressfield-696_books_that-was-what-i-did-at-night-i-read-all_2237171.jpg) > ““That was what I did at night. I read all the stuff that you're supposed to read in college but never do, or if you do, you're not paying attention. I read Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and Turgenev. I read Cervantes and Flaubert and Stendhal and Knut Hamsun, and I read every American except Faulkner.”” [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading widely outside formal curricula expands perspective and fuels creative work. **In simple terms:** Read beyond school assignments. Key Takeaway Explore diverse literature. Themes learning self‑education creativity Mood thoughtful motivational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal development - writing practice - self‑directed study - literary analysis Key Concepts literary breadth intellectual curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What books have reshaped your thinking? - How can you integrate reading into a busy schedule? A Different Perspective Time constraints may limit deep reading. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) ## Related quotes > [“It reminded me of how I’d felt applying to college. Night after night, I sat with my father in his study while he read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-bank/it-reminded-me-of-how-i-d-felt-applying-to-college-night-after-night/) [Melissa Bank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-bank/) > [I read a poem every night, as others read a prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahar-ben-jelloun/i-read-a-poem-every-night-as-others-read-a-prayer/) [Tahar Ben Jelloun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahar-ben-jelloun/) > [I grew up thinking that you were supposed to read and write all your waking hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hope/i-grew-up-thinking-that-you-were-supposed-to-read-and-write-all-your/) [John Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hope/) > [I'm always amazed at friends who say they try to read at night in bed but always end up falling asleep. I have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/i-m-always-amazed-at-friends-who-say-they-try-to-read-at-night-in-bed/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [People have proven over and over that they will read if they are given something they like. The problem with reading is not reading,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/people-have-proven-over-and-over-that-they-will-read-if-they-are/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) > [I only sleep about four or five hours a night. I read all night long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-harrison/i-only-sleep-about-four-or-five-hours-a-night-i-read-all-night-long/) [Rick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-harrison/) > [Every night, I have to read a book, so that my mind will stop thinking about things that I stress about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/every-night-i-have-to-read-a-book-so-that-my-mind-will-stop-thinking/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [I will have an endless invisible night and read all those books and understand all until I am a liquid chromium cascade of understanding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-will-have-an-endless-invisible-night-and-read-all-those-books-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This assumption that the blue collar crowd is not supposed to read it, or a farmer in his overalls is not to read poetry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-brodsky/this-assumption-that-the-blue-collar-crowd-is-not-supposed-to-read-it/) [Joseph Brodsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-brodsky/) > [At night I read and write, and things I have never understood become clear; I reap the harvest of the rest of the year's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/at-night-i-read-and-write-and-things-i-have-never-understood-become/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [“I can’t get past one or two pages at a time.’ ‘That’s how it’s supposed to be read. Sipped like a soothing cup of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadeqa-johnson/i-can-t-get-past-one-or-two-pages-at-a-time-that-s-how-it-s-supposed/) [Sadeqa Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadeqa-johnson/) > [Sometimes I read read as read when its actually supposed to be read as read. I want to cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/sometimes-i-read-read-as-read-when-its-actually-supposed-to-be-read/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) > [We're supposed to worship Adam Smith but you're not supposed to read him. That's too dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-supposed-to-worship-adam-smith-but-you-re-not-supposed-to-read/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Last night I read two books back to back. Tonight I’ll probably read both of those books’ front covers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/last-night-i-read-two-books-back-to-back-tonight-i-ll-probably-read/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Does there, I wonder, exist a being who has read all, or approximately all, that the person of average culture is supposed to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-bennett/does-there-i-wonder-exist-a-being-who-has-read-all-or-approximately/) [Arnold Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-bennett/) ## More by Steven Pressfield > [Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/most-of-us-have-two-lives-the-life-we-live-and-the-unlived-life/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [“The artist and the fundamentalist both confront the same issue, the mystery of their existence as individuals. Each asks the same questions: Who am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-artist-and-the-fundamentalist-both-confront-the-same-issue-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The professional arms himself with patience, not only to give the stars time to align in his career, but to keep himself from flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/the-professional-arms-himself-with-patience-not-only-to-give-the/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Kabbalah describes angels as bundles of light, meaning intelligence, consciousness. 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Insights accrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/when-we-sit-down-each-day-and-do-our-work-power-concentrates-around/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [Anything that draws attention to ourselves through pain-free or artificial means is a manifestation of Resistance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/anything-that-draws-attention-to-ourselves-through-pain-free-or/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [The Gnostics believed that exile was the essential condition of man. Do you agree? I do. 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'I was there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/i-don-t-need-to-read-nothing-said-the-new-zealander-i-was-there/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) [Explore all 404 Steven Pressfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) ## 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! 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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": "“That was what I did at night. I read all the stuff that you're supposed to read in college but never do, or if you do, you're not paying attention. I read Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and Turgenev. 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