--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let me put it this way: when I read, I…" description: "\"Let me put it this way: when I read, I learned the world was not as small as my house. And that everybody in my home town was not representative of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/terry-mcmillan-7261_everybody_let-me-put-it-this-way-when-i-read-i-lea_2781298.jpg" --- # Let me put it this way: when I read, I learned the world… ![“Let me put it this way: when I read, I learned the world was not as small as my house. And that everybody in my home town was not representative of the way people in the world were raised. And that was what saved me.” quote by Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/terry-mcmillan-7261_everybody_let-me-put-it-this-way-when-i-read-i-lea_2781298.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/terry-mcmillan-7261_everybody_let-me-put-it-this-way-when-i-read-i-lea_2781298.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f2/terry-mcmillan-7261_everybody_let-me-put-it-this-way-when-i-read-i-lea_2781298.jpg) > “Let me put it this way: when I read, I learned the world was not as small as my house. And that everybody in my home town was not representative of the way people in the world were raised. And that was what saved me.” [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading expands worldview beyond hometown, revealing diverse experiences and perspectives. **In simple terms:** Reading shows the world is bigger than home. Key Takeaway Seek varied perspectives. Themes growth perspective education Mood curious reflective Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - travel - reading clubs - online courses - diverse friendships Key Concepts Cultural awareness self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How has reading changed your view of your community? - What perspectives are you still missing? A Different Perspective Personal bias may persist despite exposure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Home town](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home-town/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Representatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representatives/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The world has raised its whip; where will it descend?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-world-has-raised-its-whip-where-will-it-descend/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I read and learned and fretted more about Canada after I left than I ever did while I was home. I absorbed anything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-ferguson/i-read-and-learned-and-fretted-more-about-canada-after-i-left-than-i/) [Will Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-ferguson/) > [I think the cardinal rule of learning to write is learning to read first. I learned to write by learning to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/i-think-the-cardinal-rule-of-learning-to-write-is-learning-to-read/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“He had already learned to read, but now he learned the pleasure of stories which is like no other pleasure—the experience of slipping sideways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-carey/he-had-already-learned-to-read-but-now-he-learned-the-pleasure-of/) [M.R. Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-carey/) > [I feel like, in a lot of ways, 'Hidden Figures' is the book that I wrote and have been waiting to read since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/i-feel-like-in-a-lot-of-ways-hidden-figures-is-the-book-that-i-wrote/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) > [I had learned so much about the world that I had decided to withdraw from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/i-had-learned-so-much-about-the-world-that-i-had-decided-to-withdraw/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [We could use up two Eternities in learning all that is to be learned about our own world and the thousands of nations that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/we-could-use-up-two-eternities-in-learning-all-that-is-to-be-learned/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [However exquisitely human nature may have been described by writers, the true practical system can be learned only in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/however-exquisitely-human-nature-may-have-been-described-by-writers/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [For the mind and the imagination, bookstores aren't enough, college courses aren't enough, the Internet isn't enough. Those resources are all governed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-vendler/for-the-mind-and-the-imagination-bookstores-aren-t-enough-college/) [Helen Vendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-vendler/) > [“Despite all that I had taught, I had learned nothing about the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-benjamin/despite-all-that-i-had-taught-i-had-learned-nothing-about-the-world/) [Melanie Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-benjamin/) > [“By the time you are old enough to pick up a book like this one, you have learned it: the world is not your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-neiman/by-the-time-you-are-old-enough-to-pick-up-a-book-like-this-one-you/) [Susan Neiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-neiman/) > [What the learned world tends to offer is one second-hand scrap of information illustrating ideas derived from another second-hand scrap of information. The second-handedness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/what-the-learned-world-tends-to-offer-is-one-second-hand-scrap-of/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [The more I learned about the world I thought I knew and all the ones I didn't, the more everything threaded together, leading everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/the-more-i-learned-about-the-world-i-thought-i-knew-and-all-the-ones/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [By not going to school I learned that the world is a beautiful place and needs to be discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-hauer/by-not-going-to-school-i-learned-that-the-world-is-a-beautiful-place/) [Rutger Hauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-hauer/) > [I learned a world from each / one whom I loved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-ginsberg/i-learned-a-world-from-each-one-whom-i-loved/) [Allen Ginsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-ginsberg/) ## More by Terry McMillan > [It should be obvious that I wasn't no honor roll student in high school. My favorite class was boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-should-be-obvious-that-i-wasn-t-no-honor-roll-student-in-high/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [The best rush in the world is getting something at 80 percent off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/the-best-rush-in-the-world-is-getting-something-at-80-percent-off/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm a fast writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-a-fast-writer/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's not that marriage itself is bad; it's the people we marry who give it a bad name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-not-that-marriage-itself-is-bad-it-s-the-people-we-marry-who/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [If you jump to conclusions, you make terrible landings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/if-you-jump-to-conclusions-you-make-terrible-landings/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I'm not an angry woman. I'm not bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-m-not-an-angry-woman-i-m-not-bitter/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [My mama taught me that anything worth doing in life should be a little scary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/my-mama-taught-me-that-anything-worth-doing-in-life-should-be-a/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [As far as young kids go, my primary interest is to get parents to read to their kids. That's about the most you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/as-far-as-young-kids-go-my-primary-interest-is-to-get-parents-to-read/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I would be content being a housewife if I could find the kind of man who wouldn't treat me like one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-would-be-content-being-a-housewife-if-i-could-find-the-kind-of-man/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [I've got tons of irreplaceable information inside the soul of this computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-ve-got-tons-of-irreplaceable-information-inside-the-soul-of-this/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [It's sad to think that we've gotten to this, that we actually have to think about how to go about finding a man. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/it-s-sad-to-think-that-we-ve-gotten-to-this-that-we-actually-have-to/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [Cruising the Internet doesn't count as writing. Neither does answering e-mail. Before you check Twitter & FB and do other similar tasks that get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/cruising-the-internet-doesn-t-count-as-writing-neither-does-answering/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“I had been on a whole lot of folks' prayer lists and God had known for years my address was still 111 Unlucky-in-LOve-Avenue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/i-had-been-on-a-whole-lot-of-folks-prayer-lists-and-god-had-known-for/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [“Yeah, well all I can say is that a half truth is a still a while lie, ain't it...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/yeah-well-all-i-can-say-is-that-a-half-truth-is-a-still-a-while-lie/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) > [We get divorce, we get conned, someone we love dies, or we can't find anybody to love us or somebody breaks our heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mcmillan/we-get-divorce-we-get-conned-someone-we-love-dies-or-we-can-t-find/) [Terry McMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) [Explore all 93 Terry McMillan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mcmillan/) ## More Everybody quotes > [It's weird to take your work into a room and everybody reads it. Then comes the terror part, the dissection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/it-s-weird-to-take-your-work-into-a-room-and-everybody-reads-it-then/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [I think everybody in the future has stopped talking to each other and we all just use emojis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-moffatt/i-think-everybody-in-the-future-has-stopped-talking-to-each-other-and/) [Scarlett Moffatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-moffatt/) > [If you're in a meeting and a man talks loudly over you, rather than copying that behaviour and normalising it, what you could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-foster/if-you-re-in-a-meeting-and-a-man-talks-loudly-over-you-rather-than/) [Dawn Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-foster/) > [I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-won-t-be-managing-the-mets-i-am-closing-the-door-on-managing-the/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatan-ibrahimovic/everybody-tries-to-score-a-great-goal-and-i-am-lucky-i-have-netted-a/) [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatan-ibrahimovic/) > [You couldn't get me to go travel around and sit in a hotel room again. I have no interest in doing that. So everybody's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-everly/you-couldn-t-get-me-to-go-travel-around-and-sit-in-a-hotel-room-again/) [Phil Everly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-everly/) > [My intended audience was everybody. I just want to make cartoons for human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kricfalusi/my-intended-audience-was-everybody-i-just-want-to-make-cartoons-for/) [John Kricfalusi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kricfalusi/) > [Everybody has a good idea, but nothing goes as planned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-winklevoss/everybody-has-a-good-idea-but-nothing-goes-as-planned/) [Tyler Winklevoss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-winklevoss/) > [But I didnt feel like an invalid even for a second. I knew that I could never be the player that I was, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunima-sinha/but-i-didnt-feel-like-an-invalid-even-for-a-second-i-knew-that-i/) [Arunima Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunima-sinha/) > [Medium is like the Instagram of the corporate world. It's the layer that we want everybody to see, but not actually how it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-conte/medium-is-like-the-instagram-of-the-corporate-world-it-s-the-layer/) [Jack Conte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-conte/) > [I think, whenever you're in the public eye, you're never going to be loved by everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-jackson/i-think-whenever-you-re-in-the-public-eye-you-re-never-going-to-be/) [Amy Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-jackson/) > [If you followed the media you'd think that everybody in Africa was starving to death, and that's not the case; so it's important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/if-you-followed-the-media-you-d-think-that-everybody-in-africa-was/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [You get those hunger pains. 'I am so hungry. We don't have any food. What are we going to eat?' Your stomach hurts. 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