--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's novel reading, and then there's…" description: "\"There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of reading. Take somebody like Carl Jung, the psychiatrist - now there's somebody worth getting ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/van-morrison-1192_books_there-s-novel-reading-and-then-there-s-t_498223.jpg" --- # There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of… ![“There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of reading. Take somebody like Carl Jung, the psychiatrist - now there's somebody worth getting into. With novels, I'm kind of fly by night. It isn't something I can be really consistent with.” quote by Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/van-morrison-1192_books_there-s-novel-reading-and-then-there-s-t_498223.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/van-morrison-1192_books_there-s-novel-reading-and-then-there-s-t_498223.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/van-morrison-1192_books_there-s-novel-reading-and-then-there-s-t_498223.jpg) > “There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of reading. Take somebody like Carl Jung, the psychiatrist - now there's somebody worth getting into. With novels, I'm kind of fly by night. It isn't something I can be really consistent with.” [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading varies; some books are fleeting, while deep works like Jung’s offer lasting insight. **In simple terms:** Some reading is light, some deep. Key Takeaway Choose reading that enriches you. Themes literature psychology personal growth Mood contemplative inquisitive Type literary educational When to use this quote - academic study - self‑study - creative inspiration Key Concepts depth of reading intellectual curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What deep book has changed your view? - How do you balance light and deep reading? A Different Perspective Light reading may still have value. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-reading/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Psychiatrist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychiatrist/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Novels are a kind of experiment in selfhood, for the reader as well as for the author.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/novels-are-a-kind-of-experiment-in-selfhood-for-the-reader-as-well-as/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [Reading a novel after reading semiotic theory was like jogging empty-handed after jogging with hand weights. What exquisite guilt she felt, wickedly enjoying narrative!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/reading-a-novel-after-reading-semiotic-theory-was-like-jogging-empty-2/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [I think instead writers and publishers and readers need to go to the places where people are, and make the argument that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-instead-writers-and-publishers-and-readers-need-to-go-to-the/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Well into the 19th century there were pronouncements from just about every branch of science and medicine that reading, writing, and thinking were dangerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-spender/well-into-the-19th-century-there-were-pronouncements-from-just-about/) [Dale Spender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-spender/) > [“-why had she found the story so absorbing? Of course it was quite possible she hadn't. Maybe she merely preferred a novel--any novel--to reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hilton/why-had-she-found-the-story-so-absorbing-of-course-it-was-quite/) [James Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hilton/) > [“Novel-reading is indeed unusually private, unusually personal, unusually intimate. It doesn’t happen out there, in front of our eyes; it happens in here, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/novel-reading-is-indeed-unusually-private-unusually-personal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Reading a novel after reading semiotic theory was like jogging empty-handed after jogging with hand weights...How wonderful it was when one sentence followed logically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/reading-a-novel-after-reading-semiotic-theory-was-like-jogging-empty/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [If I'm reading something I happen to know and gets it wrong, I just don't trust the book any more. What I ask of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/if-i-m-reading-something-i-happen-to-know-and-gets-it-wrong-i-just/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [The dull people decided years and years ago, as everyone knows, that novel-writing was the lowest species of literary exertion, and that novel reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilkie-collins/the-dull-people-decided-years-and-years-ago-as-everyone-knows-that/) [Wilkie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilkie-collins/) > [“Readers will be swept up by the drama and fast pace of this powerful debut novel.” Reading Today Online, International Reading Association”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-lovejoy/readers-will-be-swept-up-by-the-drama-and-fast-pace-of-this-powerful/) [Sharon Lovejoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-lovejoy/) > [“Peri disliked these dinner parties, which went on late into the night and often left her with a migraine the next day. She would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/peri-disliked-these-dinner-parties-which-went-on-late-into-the-night/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [“Jen pohleďte na ty ďábelské prostředky ničení. Vynalezli je docela dobráčtí gentlemani, rozumní a vážení občané, kteří jsou přesně takoví, jaké si je přejeme…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/jen-pohle-te-na-ty-belsk-prost-edky-ni-en-vynalezli-je-docela-dobr-t/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [What we, thanks to Jung, call "synchronicity" (coincidence on steroids), Buddhists have long known as "the interpenetration of realities." Whether it's a natural law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/what-we-thanks-to-jung-call-synchronicity-coincidence-on-steroids/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Mythologies were the earliest dreams of mankind, and in the psychotic delusions of his patients, Jung believed he was encountering those dreams again. Freud,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-valentine/mythologies-were-the-earliest-dreams-of-mankind-and-in-the-psychotic/) Gary Valentine > [I am astonished, disappointed, pleased with myself. I am distressed, depressed, rapturous. I am all these things at once and cannot add up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/i-am-astonished-disappointed-pleased-with-myself-i-am-distressed/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Van Morrison > [The fog of illusion, the fog of confusion is hanging all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/the-fog-of-illusion-the-fog-of-confusion-is-hanging-all-over-the-world/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Somebody's going to hear a song that will key in a nerve or something in their experience that represents their own vision. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/somebody-s-going-to-hear-a-song-that-will-key-in-a-nerve-or-something/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I realized that what I was looking for was doing collaborations with other people - people who can play a ballad, rock, jazz. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-realized-that-what-i-was-looking-for-was-doing-collaborations-with/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [It will make you feel good, and it will make you feel whole, when the spirit moves you and it fills you through and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/it-will-make-you-feel-good-and-it-will-make-you-feel-whole-when-the/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [ I'd much prefer to hear somebody like Ed Thigpen \[drummer with New York session group Stuff, and featured on innumerable hits\] take a solo.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-d-much-prefer-to-hear-somebody-like-ed-thigpen-drummer-with-new/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I've always listened to jazz or folk or blues. I was always listening to the prophets. I don't really go for...I don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-ve-always-listened-to-jazz-or-folk-or-blues-i-was-always-listening/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [My experiences with dope were not good for me. I had to go another route. Because in my experience, dope didn't give me those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/my-experiences-with-dope-were-not-good-for-me-i-had-to-go-another/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [You learn to read the audiences after a while, and there are all different kinds of gigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/you-learn-to-read-the-audiences-after-a-while-and-there-are-all/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [You gotta fight every day to keep mediocrity at bay...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/you-gotta-fight-every-day-to-keep-mediocrity-at-bay/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I didn't know what some of the stuff on Astral Weeks was about until years later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-didn-t-know-what-some-of-the-stuff-on-astral-weeks-was-about-until/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Sometimes you do know where the ideas are coming from and sometimes you don't. You might get a song coming through that you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/sometimes-you-do-know-where-the-ideas-are-coming-from-and-sometimes/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [At the end of the day, we should give thanks and pray, to the one, to the one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/at-the-end-of-the-day-we-should-give-thanks-and-pray-to-the-one-to/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [Have I told you lately that I love you, have I told you lately there's no one above you. Fill my heart with gladness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/have-i-told-you-lately-that-i-love-you-have-i-told-you-lately-there-s/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I also like to do physical things. I like swimming a lot. I like traveling. Not touring traveling but just plain traveling. I also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/i-also-like-to-do-physical-things-i-like-swimming-a-lot-i-like/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [There's no man alive who has any answers. We all know that. It's like the guru trip. All a guru can do is direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/there-s-no-man-alive-who-has-any-answers-we-all-know-that-it-s-like/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) [Explore all 276 Van Morrison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) ## 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": "There's novel reading, and then there's the other kind of reading. Take somebody like Carl Jung, the psychiatrist - now there's somebody worth getting into. With novels, I'm kind of fly by night. 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