--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...looking back, has this journalism…" description: "\"“...looking back, has this journalism experience been a nightmare for you?' 'Not entirely.' 'Did you enjoy any of it?' 'I liked going to the library,' ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png" --- # ...looking back, has this journalism experience been a… ![“...looking back, has this journalism experience been a nightmare for you?' 'Not entirely.' 'Did you enjoy any of it?' 'I liked going to the library,' he says. 'I think I prefer books to people -- primary sources scare me.” quote by Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png) > ““...looking back, has this journalism experience been a nightmare for you?' 'Not entirely.' 'Did you enjoy any of it?' 'I liked going to the library,' he says. 'I think I prefer books to people -- primary sources scare me.”” [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers books over people because primary sources feel intimidating, revealing a discomfort with direct human interaction in journalism. **In simple terms:** He likes books more than people because sources scare him. Key Takeaway Embrace primary sources gradually. Themes journalism personal preference library source anxiety Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal observational When to use this quote - research projects - writing assignments - library visits - interview prep Key Concepts primary sources human interaction comfort zones Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance primary sources with human insight? - What steps make people less scary? A Different Perspective He may miss networking benefits of people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Going Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-library-406167/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Journalism Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism-experience-1628465/) [Library Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library-says-2590595/) [Looking Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looking-journalism-3055723/) [Prefer Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prefer-books-1566005/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I wish I had a dollar for every hour I've spent in the library," he always says. I have to agree- we'd probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/i-wish-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-hour-i-ve-spent-in-the-library-he/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) > [Fiction writing and journalism, in my experience, are really excellent training grounds for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-hesse/fiction-writing-and-journalism-in-my-experience-are-really-excellent/) [Monica Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-hesse/) > [We have standards. Anybody with the kind of journalism experience and professionalism that you have displayed over these years can not work for my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/we-have-standards-anybody-with-the-kind-of-journalism-experience-and/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/books-say-she-did-this-because-life-says-she-did-this-books-are-where-3/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“For one person who likes Spain there are a dozen who prefer books on her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-one-person-who-likes-spain-there-are-a-dozen-who-prefer-books-on/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Do the children who prefer books set in the real, ordinary, workaday world ever read as obsessively as those who would much rather be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-miller/do-the-children-who-prefer-books-set-in-the-real-ordinary-workaday/) [Laura Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-miller/) > [“—I really prefer books. No matter how bad a book is, it's unique, but people are all so ordinary. —I think we really like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gaddis/i-really-prefer-books-no-matter-how-bad-a-book-is-it-s-unique-but/) [William Gaddis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gaddis/) > [People who prefer e-books...think that books merely take up space. This is true, but so do your children and Prague and the Sistine Chapel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-queenan/people-who-prefer-e-books-think-that-books-merely-take-up-space-this/) [Joe Queenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-queenan/) > [“Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/books-say-she-did-this-because-life-says-she-did-this-books-are-where/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [But, indeed, we prefer books to pounds; and we love manuscripts better than florins; and we prefer small pamphlets to war horses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-d-israeli/but-indeed-we-prefer-books-to-pounds-and-we-love-manuscripts-better/) [Isaac D'Israeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-d-israeli/) > [People who read are not too lazy to turn on the television; they prefer books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/people-who-read-are-not-too-lazy-to-turn-on-the-television-they/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I'd much prefer my books to shoes...In the summer I sometimes take walks without shoes but never without a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-englander/i-d-much-prefer-my-books-to-shoes-in-the-summer-i-sometimes-take/) [Nathan Englander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-englander/) > [OKAY. So I was going to the library every Saturday. So what? So what? It's not like I was reading books or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-d-schmidt/okay-so-i-was-going-to-the-library-every-saturday-so-what-so-what-it/) [Gary D. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-d-schmidt/) > [I am a librarian. I discovered me in the library. I went to find me in the library. Before I fell in love with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-am-a-librarian-i-discovered-me-in-the-library-i-went-to-find-me-in/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I can't imagine why you would want to take your child to see what the career of a writer is like, because it mostly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/i-can-t-imagine-why-you-would-want-to-take-your-child-to-see-what-the/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) ## More by Tom Rachman > [At the outset, my notion of being a writer was that you would have moments of inspiration and moments of frustration, when you'd crumple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/at-the-outset-my-notion-of-being-a-writer-was-that-you-would-have/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“He cannot deny a certain relief in being able to sift through academic tomes, fulfilling his journalistic duty without having to barge past security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/he-cannot-deny-a-certain-relief-in-being-able-to-sift-through/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [My intent was to gain experience for fiction I eventually hoped to write. But there's no question I was drawn in by the hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-intent-was-to-gain-experience-for-fiction-i-eventually-hoped-to/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“I built and I built— heaven knows I have done that well. Those skyscrapers, full of tenants, floor after floor, and not a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/i-built-and-i-built-heaven-knows-i-have-done-that-well-those/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“What is wrong with guys? Half are molting; half are nothing but undergrowth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/what-is-wrong-with-guys-half-are-molting-half-are-nothing-but/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“What I really fear is time. That's the devil: whipping us on when we'd rather loll, so the present sprints by, impossible to grasp,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/what-i-really-fear-is-time-that-s-the-devil-whipping-us-on-when-we-d/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Journalism is a bunch of dorks pretending to be alpha males.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/journalism-is-a-bunch-of-dorks-pretending-to-be-alpha-males/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [My parents used to rent old movies - my whole childhood is in black and white - and it was my dream to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/my-parents-used-to-rent-old-movies-my-whole-childhood-is-in-black-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I went to the University of Toronto to study the history and theory of film, in the back of my mind thinking I'd go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/i-went-to-the-university-of-toronto-to-study-the-history-and-theory/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [The training of a journalist, of working with words for thousands of hours, is extraordinarily useful for a fiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/the-training-of-a-journalist-of-working-with-words-for-thousands-of/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [During my past career as a journalist, I relished writing obits and equally dreaded phoning relatives for the necessary facts. But to my surprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/during-my-past-career-as-a-journalist-i-relished-writing-obits-and/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Don't people drown their sorrows in things like scotch? Not strawberry whatever-it's-called.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/don-t-people-drown-their-sorrows-in-things-like-scotch-not-strawberry/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“Nothing epitomizes the futility of human striving quite like aspartame.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/nothing-epitomizes-the-futility-of-human-striving-quite-like-aspartame/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“She is a wonderful nerd, and he hopes this won't change. He'd be distressed if she were cool-- it'd be as if his flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/she-is-a-wonderful-nerd-and-he-hopes-this-won-t-change-he-d-be/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [Many things embarrass me, but reading isn't one of them. I'm not ashamed of my slightly weird collection of prison memoirs. Nor the flaky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/many-things-embarrass-me-but-reading-isn-t-one-of-them-i-m-not/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) [Explore all 83 Tom Rachman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) ## 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": "“...looking back, has this journalism experience been a nightmare for you?' 'Not entirely.' 'Did you enjoy any of it?' 'I liked going to the library,' he says. 'I think I prefer books to people -- primary sources scare me.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Rachman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/looking-back-has-this-journalism-experience-been-a-nightmare-for-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/looking-back-has-this-journalism-experience-been-a-nightmare-for-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/tom-rachman-8194_books_looking-back-has-this-journalism-experie_2744969.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...looking back, has this journalism experience been a nightmare for you?' 'Not entirely.' 'Did you enjoy…” — Tom Rachman", "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": "Tom Rachman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“...looking back, has this journalism experience...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/looking-back-has-this-journalism-experience-been-a-nightmare-for-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/looking-back-has-this-journalism-experience-been-a-nightmare-for-you/#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 } } ] } ```