--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I don't like someone and I start…" description: "\"If I don't like someone and I start reading their stuff, it seems like my brain will just automatically start criticizing everything that's there. It's..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/tao-lin-3279_book_if-i-don-t-like-someone-and-i-start-read_1227899.jpg" --- # If I don't like someone and I start reading their stuff… ![“If I don't like someone and I start reading their stuff, it seems like my brain will just automatically start criticizing everything that's there. It's really hard to read a book without having all this outside information telling you what to think about it.” quote by Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/tao-lin-3279_book_if-i-don-t-like-someone-and-i-start-read_1227899.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/tao-lin-3279_book_if-i-don-t-like-someone-and-i-start-read_1227899.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ce/tao-lin-3279_book_if-i-don-t-like-someone-and-i-start-read_1227899.jpg) > “If I don't like someone and I start reading their stuff, it seems like my brain will just automatically start criticizing everything that's there. It's really hard to read a book without having all this outside information telling you what to think about it.” [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading material about someone you dislike triggers automatic criticism, making objective engagement difficult. **In simple terms:** Dislike leads to bias when reading. Key Takeaway Recognize bias and pause judgment. Themes bias reading criticism objectivity Mood frustrated reflective Type advice self‑help When to use this quote - personal relationships - literary analysis - media consumption Key Concepts cognitive bias confirmation bias Questions to Reflect On - How can you separate personal feelings from content? - What strategies reduce automatic criticism? A Different Perspective Even with bias, effort can foster fair assessment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticize/) [Criticizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticizing/) [Criticizing Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticizing-really-3546298/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Read A Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-a-book/) [Read Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read-book/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-stuff-1499599/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Start Criticizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-criticizing-2929906/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [When you get a critique, people think you're criticizing them but it's really an intellectual conversation. You can't get emotionally attached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalup-linzy/when-you-get-a-critique-people-think-you-re-criticizing-them-but-it-s/) [Kalup Linzy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalup-linzy/) > [It's about time we start criticizing faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-about-time-we-start-criticizing-faith/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Our attitude define life. If people start criticizing or hurting you, don't be bothered. In any game, spectators make noise not players,so play on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/our-attitude-define-life-if-people-start-criticizing-or-hurting-you/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [I had a vast interest in ghosts and stuff and cryptozoology and every topic that was not normal... if you're reading that stuff at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-black/i-had-a-vast-interest-in-ghosts-and-stuff-and-cryptozoology-and-every/) [Aleister Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-black/) > [I don't particularly dislike any kind of person that might be reading my stuff. They like it and that's cool, but I don't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhonen-vasquez/i-don-t-particularly-dislike-any-kind-of-person-that-might-be-reading/) [Jhonen Vasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhonen-vasquez/) > [I discovered fantasy and science fiction when I was about 10, and read nothing else for about three years. I ran out of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/i-discovered-fantasy-and-science-fiction-when-i-was-about-10-and-read/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You get to be a certain age and you start reading stuff about the age you are, and you think, what is wrong with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/you-get-to-be-a-certain-age-and-you-start-reading-stuff-about-the-age/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [We might remind ourselves that criticism is as inevitable as breathing, and that we should be none the worse for articulating what passes in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-might-remind-ourselves-that-criticism-is-as-inevitable-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ive never read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-bullard/ive-never-read-a-book/) [Jimmy Bullard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-bullard/) > [When I'm deciding to read a book, I never open to the first chapter, because that's been revised and worked over 88 times. I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/when-i-m-deciding-to-read-a-book-i-never-open-to-the-first-chapter/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [Usually when I'm on a plane, I try to enjoy the fact that I have to be still for eight hours and read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michiel-huisman/usually-when-i-m-on-a-plane-i-try-to-enjoy-the-fact-that-i-have-to-be/) [Michiel Huisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michiel-huisman/) > [Free time is a terrible thing to waste. Read a book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri-2/free-time-is-a-terrible-thing-to-waste-read-a-book/) [E. A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri-2/) > [“When you read a book, you don't give up on it. You might soon feel like your part of the story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/when-you-read-a-book-you-don-t-give-up-on-it-you-might-soon-feel-like/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [We should read music in the same way that an educated adult will read a book: in silence, but imagining the sound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoltan-kodaly/we-should-read-music-in-the-same-way-that-an-educated-adult-will-read/) [Zoltan Kodaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoltan-kodaly/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) ## More by Tao Lin > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“i recommend the phrase 'pineapple ass”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/i-recommend-the-phrase-pineapple-ass/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [I actually don't have...opinions. I'm not being secretive about anything. I just actually don't have opinions about society. I can discern that certain things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/i-actually-don-t-have-opinions-i-m-not-being-secretive-about-anything/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“Sara would call one of those cops on horses a motherfucker. The cop would avert his eyes. Sara would ask directions for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/sara-would-call-one-of-those-cops-on-horses-a-motherfucker-the-cop/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Do you sometimes look up from the computer and look around the room and know you are alone, I mean really know it, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/do-you-sometimes-look-up-from-the-computer-and-look-around-the-room/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [I think mostly the commodifying comes after I've done something that has some other value to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/i-think-mostly-the-commodifying-comes-after-i-ve-done-something-that/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“The hamster friend said being able to do front rolls didn't make the hamster as good as Bruce Lee, which was not a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/the-hamster-friend-said-being-able-to-do-front-rolls-didn-t-make-the/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“As a teenager, he made screaming noises at night in his room, like a deranged person. He threw his electrical pencil sharpener at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/as-a-teenager-he-made-screaming-noises-at-night-in-his-room-like-a/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“Don't be stupid and awkward," the dolphin says. "You want to walk together or not?" "You are a stupid piece of shit. Go away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/don-t-be-stupid-and-awkward-the-dolphin-says-you-want-to-walk/) [tao lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [I was delivering pizzas at Domino's. I was 17 maybe. I liked it a lot. Just driving in the nice weather and listening to music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/i-was-delivering-pizzas-at-domino-s-i-was-17-maybe-i-liked-it-a-lot/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [loneliness can fly a helicopter through a cut-out shape of a helicopter the same size as the helicopter and that's it's only skill and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/loneliness-can-fly-a-helicopter-through-a-cut-out-shape-of-a/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [Life has never died, which is something that I think people ignore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/life-has-never-died-which-is-something-that-i-think-people-ignore/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“Amoeba ass is so hot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/amoeba-ass-is-so-hot/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“After untangling a cord, then moving the MacBook to the floor, Paul lay beside Erin and meekly pawed her forearm three times, then briefly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/after-untangling-a-cord-then-moving-the-macbook-to-the-floor-paul-lay/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [“It was a face that said, “Fuck the world,” but said it reluctantly, and tonelessly, and then apologized, said “Sorry,” but said all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/it-was-a-face-that-said-fuck-the-world-but-said-it-reluctantly-and/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) [Explore all 133 Tao Lin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) ## 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. 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