--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The novels we read allow us to encounter…" description: "\"“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, visions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in places w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/thomas-c-foster-20469_books_the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter_892107.jpg" --- # The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons… ![“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, visions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in places we can never go and might not care to, while assuring that we get to return home again.” quote by Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/thomas-c-foster-20469_books_the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter_892107.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/thomas-c-foster-20469_books_the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter_892107.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/893/thomas-c-foster-20469_books_the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter_892107.jpg) > ““The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, visions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in places we can never go and might not care to, while assuring that we get to return home again.”” [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading novels lets us explore alternate lives and perspectives, offering a safe return to familiar comfort after imaginative journeys. **In simple terms:** Novels let us experience other lives safely. Key Takeaway Explore, return home. Themes empathy imagination identity comfort Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - Reading groups - personal growth - educational curricula Key Concepts Literary immersion self‑discovery psychological escape Questions to Reflect On - Which character resonated most with you? - How do imagined worlds influence your real life? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Encounter Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter-possible-1158317/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-read-367349/) [Permit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permit/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Persons Visions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons-visions-1158316/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Visions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visions/) ## Related quotes > [“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, versions of ourselves hat we would never see, never permit ourselves to see, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter-possible-persons-versions-of/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [The work of the Spirit is the bringing to be of the vision of God…the capacitating of persons to 'see visions' and 'dream dreams'.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-fackre/the-work-of-the-spirit-is-the-bringing-to-be-of-the-vision-of-god-the/) [Gabriel Fackre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-fackre/) > [What I like in novels that I read and enjoy is interplay of theme: the mystery of how we seem to be so separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/what-i-like-in-novels-that-i-read-and-enjoy-is-interplay-of-theme-the/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [“Maybe it was the novels I read - the racier Mills & Boon romances of late, Danielle Steel instructing me on international sex and sin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manil-suri/maybe-it-was-the-novels-i-read-the-racier-mills-boon-romances-of-late/) [Manil Suri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manil-suri/) > [We read novels. We read hundreds of pages of words, when the story is good because we're willing to stay there. I hope the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veena-sud/we-read-novels-we-read-hundreds-of-pages-of-words-when-the-story-is/) [Veena Sud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veena-sud/) > [Often I think the novels I read won't make very good movies - I better not say which I'm looking at for potential films!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/often-i-think-the-novels-i-read-won-t-make-very-good-movies-i-better/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I would like my novels to be read the way I read the novels I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-would-like-my-novels-to-be-read-the-way-i-read-the-novels-i-love/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [There're no novels that I like to read so I write my own novels, and then I read them again, and it's the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willow-smith/there-re-no-novels-that-i-like-to-read-so-i-write-my-own-novels-and/) [Willow Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willow-smith/) > [Now the novels that are read are purely entertainment – well done, very polished, with a very effective technique – but not literature, just entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario/now-the-novels-that-are-read-are-purely-entertainment-well-done-very/) [Mario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario/) > [I read a lot of detective stories because they always deliver. They give you a beginning, a middle, and an end - a resolution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cormier/i-read-a-lot-of-detective-stories-because-they-always-deliver-they/) [Robert Cormier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cormier/) > [I love Walter Mosley and Robert Parker crime novels. And I read a lot of music reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-hunt/i-love-walter-mosley-and-robert-parker-crime-novels-and-i-read-a-lot/) [Van Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-hunt/) > [I love novels, and I read them more than anything, but stories cut in sharp and hard and are able to reveal things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-love-novels-and-i-read-them-more-than-anything-but-stories-cut-in/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [As a kid, I was a big reader. Books and theater were the way I understood the world, and also the way I organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-gerwig/as-a-kid-i-was-a-big-reader-books-and-theater-were-the-way-i/) [Greta Gerwig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-gerwig/) > [I read all types of books. I read Christian books, I read black novels, I read religious books. I read stuff like 'Rich Dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tee-grizzley/i-read-all-types-of-books-i-read-christian-books-i-read-black-novels/) [Tee Grizzley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tee-grizzley/) > [I read novels but I also read the Bible. And study it, you know? And the more I learn, the more excited I get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-read-novels-but-i-also-read-the-bible-and-study-it-you-know-and-the/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) ## More by Thomas C. Foster > [“I can’t go as far as Barthes in killing off the author, but I’m with him on the importance of the reader. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/i-can-t-go-as-far-as-barthes-in-killing-off-the-author-but-i-m-with/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“of his need to assert responsibility for his own life. It may be that Adela does panic in the face of Nothingness, only recovering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/of-his-need-to-assert-responsibility-for-his-own-life-it-may-be-that/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“When it's over, we may feel wooed, adored, appreciated, or abused, but it will have been an affair to remember.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/when-it-s-over-we-may-feel-wooed-adored-appreciated-or-abused-but-it/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, versions of ourselves hat we would never see, never permit ourselves to see, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/the-novels-we-read-allow-us-to-encounter-possible-persons-versions-of/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Education is mostly about institutions and getting tickets stamped; learning is what we do for ourselves. When we're lucky, they go together. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/education-is-mostly-about-institutions-and-getting-tickets-stamped/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“we accept fictions as fictions, as things that might be true in their world, if not quite in ours.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/we-accept-fictions-as-fictions-as-things-that-might-be-true-in-their/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“We sometimes hear of the death of literature or of this or that genre, but literature doesn't die, just as it doesn't 'progress' or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/we-sometimes-hear-of-the-death-of-literature-or-of-this-or-that-genre/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“corollaries—where have I seen his face, don’t I know that”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/corollaries-where-have-i-seen-his-face-don-t-i-know-that/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Always" and "never" are not words that have much meaning in literary study. For one thing, as soon as something seems to always be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/always-and-never-are-not-words-that-have-much-meaning-in-literary/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“What happens if the writer is good is usually not that the work seems derivative or trivial but just the opposite: the work actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/what-happens-if-the-writer-is-good-is-usually-not-that-the-work-seems/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“characters as rich and complex as those we believe ourselves to be”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/characters-as-rich-and-complex-as-those-we-believe-ourselves-to-be/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“So how do we get from there to a pattern of experience that can stand for the whole of postcolonial Latin America? Ah, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/so-how-do-we-get-from-there-to-a-pattern-of-experience-that-can-stand/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“Every novel is brand-new. It’s never been written before in the history of the world. At the same time, it’s merely the latest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/every-novel-is-brand-new-it-s-never-been-written-before-in-the/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“The process of dehuminazing the locals was under way, and it had very little to do with veracity. The Puritan narratives would continue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/the-process-of-dehuminazing-the-locals-was-under-way-and-it-had-very/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) > [“A novel is a made-up work about made-up people in a made-up place, all of which is very real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-c-foster/a-novel-is-a-made-up-work-about-made-up-people-in-a-made-up-place-all/) [Thomas C. Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) [Explore all 29 Thomas C. Foster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-c-foster/) ## 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! 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/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [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/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "“The novels we read allow us to encounter possible persons, visions of ourselves that we would never see, never permit ourselves to become, in places we can never go and might not care to, while assuring that we get to return home again.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas C. 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