--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Serious reading is hardly a social…" description: "\"“Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a form of coitus interruptus. Family members or..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg" --- # Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every… ![“Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a form of coitus interruptus. Family members or friends who lack the desire, the courage, or the opportunity to burst in on you when there's some indication that you could be sexually entwined…” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg) > ““Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a form of coitus interruptus. Family members or friends who lack the desire, the courage, or the opportunity to burst in on you when there's some indication that you could be sexually entwined will seldom hesitate to interject themselves between you and a page, even though the act of reading is often as intimate and intense as a full-fledged carnal embrace. You must take steps to ensure your privacy.”” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading is a deeply personal act that can be disrupted by others, so protecting solitude is essential for full immersion. **In simple terms:** Reading needs privacy to be truly intimate. Key Takeaway Guard your reading space. Themes privacy solitude reading distraction intimacy Mood contemplative protective intimate Type advice reflective When to use this quote - library study - home reading - public transport - coffee shop - quiet room Key Concepts personal space social intrusion focus intimacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you create a private reading environment? - What benefits arise from reading alone? A Different Perspective Not all interruptions are harmful; some can spark discussion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Coitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coitus/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Family members](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family-members/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a form of coitus interruptus. Family members or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activity-and-every-halfway-serious-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Coitus Interruptus!” I screamed.  “Stop and put your hands where I can see them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-zolendz/coitus-interruptus-i-screamed-stop-and-put-your-hands-where-i-can-see/) [Christine Zolendz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-zolendz/) > [“Coitus interruptus by SWAT team. At last a form of birth control that was one hundred percent reliable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/coitus-interruptus-by-swat-team-at-last-a-form-of-birth-control-that/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [Television is coitus interruptus brought into aesthetics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/television-is-coitus-interruptus-brought-into-aesthetics/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“When you've committed yourself to violence it takes an almost inhuman effort to stop short. It's one of those things that once you've started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lawrence/when-you-ve-committed-yourself-to-violence-it-takes-an-almost-inhuman/) [Mark Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lawrence/) > [“Reading is too intimate,' Spofforth said. 'It will put you too close to the feelings and ideas of others. It will disturb and confuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-tevis/reading-is-too-intimate-spofforth-said-it-will-put-you-too-close-to/) [Walter Tevis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-tevis/) > [“Reading is an intimate act, perhaps more intimate than any other human act. I say that because of the prolonged (or intense) exposure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/reading-is-an-intimate-act-perhaps-more-intimate-than-any-other-human/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [The act of reading is so intimate that readers are unpredictable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-huston/the-act-of-reading-is-so-intimate-that-readers-are-unpredictable/) [Charlie Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-huston/) > [“...and there will be no more interruptions and you will be staying for dessert, coffee, and cigars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/and-there-will-be-no-more-interruptions-and-you-will-be-staying-for/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [“I wasn't grateful. You want to talk cranky, coitus interruptus takes me well beyond cranky. My engorged labia felt like they were pressing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-wasn-t-grateful-you-want-to-talk-cranky-coitus-interruptus-takes-me/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“who wants to make it grand or fortify it for the coitus, must rub it before copulation with tepid water, until it gets red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-cliff/who-wants-to-make-it-grand-or-fortify-it-for-the-coitus-must-rub-it/) Nigel Cliff > [“Holy Mother we do believe, That without sin Thou didst conceive; May we now in Thee believing, Also sin without conceiving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p-herbert/holy-mother-we-do-believe-that-without-sin-thou-didst-conceive-may-we/) [A. P. Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-p-herbert/) > [Nowadays, one of the churches of Tlön maintains platonically that such and such a pain, such and such a greenish-yellow colour, such and such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/nowadays-one-of-the-churches-of-tl-n-maintains-platonically-that-such/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“These notes, however they may be read, are intended only as a painstaking affectionate commentary on a world into which I have been born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/these-notes-however-they-may-be-read-are-intended-only-as-a/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [Coitus can scarcely be said to take place in a vacuum; although of itself it appears a biological and physical activity, it is set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-millett/coitus-can-scarcely-be-said-to-take-place-in-a-vacuum-although-of/) [Kate Millett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-millett/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "“Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a form of coitus interruptus. Family members or friends who lack the desire, the courage, or the opportunity to burst in on you when there's some indication that you could be sexually entwined will seldom hesitate to interject themselves between you and a page, even though the act of reading is often as intimate and intense as a full-fledged carnal embrace. You must take steps to ensure your privacy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activity-and-every-halfway-serious/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activity-and-every-halfway-serious/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af9/tom-robbins-169_books_serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activ_1344863.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Serious reading is hardly a social activity and every halfway serious reader is perpetually subject to a…” — Tom Robbins", "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 Robbins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Serious reading is hardly a social...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activity-and-every-halfway-serious/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/serious-reading-is-hardly-a-social-activity-and-every-halfway-serious/#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 } } ] } ```