--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of my rigid goals is to keep each…" description: "\"One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally weighty that people don't get through these ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png" --- # One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages… ![“One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally weighty that people don't get through these books, .. If people don't finish your book, then they don't know what you're talking about.” quote by Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png) > “One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally weighty that people don't get through these books, .. If people don't finish your book, then they don't know what you're talking about.” [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author believes long nonfiction books are too heavy for readers, so he limits his to 300 pages to ensure they are finished and understood. **In simple terms:** Short books are more likely to be read fully. Key Takeaway Keep books concise for better reader engagement. Themes readability accessibility communication Mood pragmatic reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - publishing - education - self‑help - marketing - library curation Key Concepts conciseness information overload reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does length affect comprehension? - When is brevity detrimental? A Different Perspective Shorter works may sacrifice depth or nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [300 Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/300-pages-964784/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-people/) [Finish Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-book/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Talking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talking/) [Think Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-nonfiction-1015198/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I never really understood the idea that nonfiction ought to be this dispensary of data that we have at the moment. Also, roughly around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-agata/i-never-really-understood-the-idea-that-nonfiction-ought-to-be-this/) [John D'Agata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-agata/) > [Everyone else thinks I'm a nonfiction writer. I think it's because my nonfiction is easier to find. But I write both in equal measure.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/everyone-else-thinks-i-m-a-nonfiction-writer-i-think-it-s-because-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [While I love to read contemporary fiction, I'm not drawn to writing it. Perhaps it's because the former journalist in me is too inhibited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/while-i-love-to-read-contemporary-fiction-i-m-not-drawn-to-writing-it/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Imagination is really dependent on memory and observation, these things that we think of as part of nonfiction writing, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-batuman/imagination-is-really-dependent-on-memory-and-observation-these/) [Elif Batuman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-batuman/) > [I like nonfiction books about people with wretched lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/i-like-nonfiction-books-about-people-with-wretched-lives/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [Inspiration is easy. The hard part is getting the inspiration onto 300 pages in an interesting, cohesive, easy-to-read but hard-to-forget story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/inspiration-is-easy-the-hard-part-is-getting-the-inspiration-onto-300/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I have never been clever enough - or egotistical enough to spend 300 pages dipping into the sludge of my own subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-graham/i-have-never-been-clever-enough-or-egotistical-enough-to-spend-300/) [Winston Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-graham/) > [The wonderful thing about a book is that you have a canvas that is 300 pages wide, and it's all free space. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/the-wonderful-thing-about-a-book-is-that-you-have-a-canvas-that-is/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [What this country needs is a great poem. John Brown's Body was a step in the right direction. I've read it once, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/what-this-country-needs-is-a-great-poem-john-brown-s-body-was-a-step/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [I want my characters to really overuse their coping mechanisms to the point where they break down within 300 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/i-want-my-characters-to-really-overuse-their-coping-mechanisms-to-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I'd like to meet fewer people who say 'Oh, I want to write a book, here are 10 pages I've written,' and more 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teju-cole/i-d-like-to-meet-fewer-people-who-say-oh-i-want-to-write-a-book-here/) [Teju Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teju-cole/) > [I won't read a book that starts with a description of the weather. I don't read books over 300 pages, though I'll make an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-won-t-read-a-book-that-starts-with-a-description-of-the-weather-i/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I like a new clean book, freshly bound, particularly when I am the first to read it. I like dirty books - where other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-spain/i-like-a-new-clean-book-freshly-bound-particularly-when-i-am-the/) [Nancy Spain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-spain/) > [I find interesting characters or lessons that resonate with people and sometimes I write about them in the sports pages, sometimes I write them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-find-interesting-characters-or-lessons-that-resonate-with-people/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [I started writing at the kitchen table after midnight. It took ten months to finish that first book; I sent it to a publisher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-started-writing-at-the-kitchen-table-after-midnight-it-took-ten/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Thomas Cahill > [“The phrase "the violent bear it away" fascinated the 20th century Irish-American storyteller Flannery O'Connor, who used it as the title of one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-phrase-the-violent-bear-it-away-fascinated-the-20th-century-irish/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“In becoming an Irishman, Patrick wedded his world to theirs, his faith to their life…Patrick found a way of swimming down to the depths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/in-becoming-an-irishman-patrick-wedded-his-world-to-theirs-his-faith/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [Wherever they went the Irish brought with them their books, many unseen in Europe for centuries and tied to their waists as signs of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/wherever-they-went-the-irish-brought-with-them-their-books-many/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [How real is history? Is it just an enormous soup so full of disparate ingredients that it is uncharacterizable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/how-real-is-history-is-it-just-an-enormous-soup-so-full-of-disparate/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Irish innovation was to make all confession a completely private affair between penitent and priest - and to make it as repeatable as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-irish-innovation-was-to-make-all-confession-a-completely-private/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“They understood, as few have understood before or since, how fleeting life is and how pointless to try to hold on to things or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/they-understood-as-few-have-understood-before-or-since-how-fleeting/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“We followed the rump of a misguiding woman. It is the usual thing for a herd led by a mare to be strayed and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-followed-the-rump-of-a-misguiding-woman-it-is-the-usual-thing-for/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“Cujus regio, ejus religio (Whose region it is, his is the religion).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/cujus-regio-ejus-religio-whose-region-it-is-his-is-the-religion/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-can-hardly-get-up-in-the-morning-or-cross-the-street-without-being/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“I see a sweet country. I could rest my weapon there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/i-see-a-sweet-country-i-could-rest-my-weapon-there/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [(The festival) was awfully impersonal and abstract and there was something really gloomy about it, ... That's when I first started thinking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-festival-was-awfully-impersonal-and-abstract-and-there-was/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [“We will never make it under our own stem. Having made this connection, Augustine falls apart. What he describes at this point in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/we-will-never-make-it-under-our-own-stem-having-made-this-connection/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Jews started it all-and by 'it' I mean so many of the things we care about, the underlying values that make all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-jews-started-it-all-and-by-it-i-mean-so-many-of-the-things-we/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [The Irish believed that gods, druids, poets, and others in touch with the magical world could be literal shape-shifters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/the-irish-believed-that-gods-druids-poets-and-others-in-touch-with/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) > [Is is seldom possible to say of the medievals that they \*always\* did one thing and \*never\* another; they were marvelously inconsistent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/is-is-seldom-possible-to-say-of-the-medievals-that-they-always-did/) [Thomas Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) [Explore all 24 Thomas Cahill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/) ## 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": "One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally weighty that people don't get through these books, .. If people don't finish your book, then they don't know what you're talking about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas Cahill" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-book-under-300-pages-because-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-book-under-300-pages-because-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/670/thomas-cahill-24308_book_one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-bo_2496230.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of my rigid goals is to keep each book under 300 pages because I think so much nonfiction is literally…” — Thomas Cahill", "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": "Thomas Cahill", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-cahill/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of my rigid goals is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-book-under-300-pages-because-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-cahill/one-of-my-rigid-goals-is-to-keep-each-book-under-300-pages-because-i/#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 } } ] } ```