--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And the process of reading is such a…" description: "\"And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg" --- # And the process of reading is such a private one. I once… ![“And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.” quote by Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg) > “And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.” [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## 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 solitary act; interruptions can feel invasive, highlighting the personal intimacy of the reading experience. **In simple terms:** Reading is personal and private. Key Takeaway Respect others' reading time. Themes reading privacy social norms Mood thoughtful calm Type advice observation When to use this quote - libraries - book clubs - public transport - study groups Key Concepts personal space literary intimacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle interruptions while reading? - Can shared reading enhance relationships? A Different Perspective Some enjoy reading aloud together. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-books/) ## Related quotes > [God in heaven,please protect my friends.Sent with a smile,sealed with a kiss,i love my friend who is reading this!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jegede-abiodun/god-in-heaven-please-protect-my-friends-sent-with-a-smile-sealed-with/) [Jegede Abiodun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jegede-abiodun/) > [Reading is a private pursuit; one that takes place behind closed doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/reading-is-a-private-pursuit-one-that-takes-place-behind-closed-doors/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [The logic: Reading is a private pursuit, one that often takes place behind closed doors. A young lady might retreat with a book, might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-logic-reading-is-a-private-pursuit-one-that-often-takes-place/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [reading is a private act, private even from the person who wrote the book. Once the novel is out there, the author is beside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/reading-is-a-private-act-private-even-from-the-person-who-wrote-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He pinched the remaining chapters’ pages delicately between his fingers and sighed. He always hated reaching the end of a good book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-e-zapanta/he-pinched-the-remaining-chapters-pages-delicately-between-his/) [David S.E. Zapanta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-e-zapanta/) > [Pretending that there are no choices to be made - reading only books, for example, which are cheery and safe and nice - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/pretending-that-there-are-no-choices-to-be-made-reading-only-books/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [I feel lucky that I read so many books as a kid because I know that no matter how much I appreciate a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-stead/i-feel-lucky-that-i-read-so-many-books-as-a-kid-because-i-know-that/) [Rebecca Stead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-stead/) > [I'm always reading books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maverick-carter/i-m-always-reading-books/) [Maverick Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maverick-carter/) > [“I really do believe stories about the struggles of life do help foster resilient and happy children. They make Tips children understand the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iben-dissing-sandahl/i-really-do-believe-stories-about-the-struggles-of-life-do-help/) [Iben Dissing Sandahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iben-dissing-sandahl/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“A book may be regarded as irrelevant until it's relevance, importance and purpose is discovered through reading”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/a-book-may-be-regarded-as-irrelevant-until-it-s-relevance-importance/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/when-we-read-a-story-we-inhabit-it-the-covers-of-the-book-are-like-a/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Love of books is the best of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-kennedy/love-of-books-is-the-best-of-all/) [Jackie Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-kennedy/) > [“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/) > [“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/) ## More by Vikram Seth > [Realism hasn't fallen out of favor with most people, who are interested in people's lives rather than gymnastics of style or literary trends. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/realism-hasn-t-fallen-out-of-favor-with-most-people-who-are/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think anyone should be banned. If you don't like a book, set it aside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-anyone-should-be-banned-if-you-don-t-like-a-book-set-it/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [It's not the gods But our own hearts We need to fear. The evil starts Against all odds Not there but here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/it-s-not-the-gods-but-our-own-hearts-we-need-to-fear-the-evil-starts/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“But what should I do?' Varun was saying. 'I'm not good for anything.' 'Write a book! Pull a rickshaw! Live! Don't make excuses,' said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/but-what-should-i-do-varun-was-saying-i-m-not-good-for-anything-write/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“In a clear brook With joyful haste The whimsical trout Shot past me like an arrow I play the line of the song, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/in-a-clear-brook-with-joyful-haste-the-whimsical-trout-shot-past-me/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Boredom provides a stronger inclination to write than anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/boredom-provides-a-stronger-inclination-to-write-than-anything/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [I don't think people give Indian society enough credit. We may not like to talk much about things but we do, basically, want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/i-don-t-think-people-give-indian-society-enough-credit-we-may-not/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [The problem with too beautiful a view is that it's alright for the mulling stage. But for the writing stage, you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-problem-with-too-beautiful-a-view-is-that-it-s-alright-for-the/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Romantic retrospect aside, the night spent in the truck is distinctly unpleasant. We are cramped and cold. The much-vaunted heating of the truck is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/romantic-retrospect-aside-the-night-spent-in-the-truck-is-distinctly/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Is it not love that knows how to make smooth things rough and rough things smooth?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/is-it-not-love-that-knows-how-to-make-smooth-things-rough-and-rough/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Well, what do you think? Avanti?" "Avanti," cries everyone, and, after a few quick re-tunings of our instruments, and re-initialisings of our hearts, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/well-what-do-you-think-avanti-avanti-cries-everyone-and-after-a-few/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [Behind every door on every ordinary street, in every hut in every ordinary village in this middling planet of a trivial star, such riches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/behind-every-door-on-every-ordinary-street-in-every-hut-in-every/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“Perhaps it is true that for all the evidence of the mirror, one pictures oneself in some deep niche of the mind as forever 18.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/perhaps-it-is-true-that-for-all-the-evidence-of-the-mirror-one/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [What is the difference between my life and my love? One gets me low, the other lets me go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/what-is-the-difference-between-my-life-and-my-love-one-gets-me-low/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) > [“The past is the past, and he can't make amends, only hope that the gain will outlast the damage.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/the-past-is-the-past-and-he-can-t-make-amends-only-hope-that-the-gain/) [Vikram Seth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) [Explore all 113 Vikram Seth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/) ## 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": "And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading one of my books, and he clicked his tongue impatiently and shooed me off.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vikram Seth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-private-one-i-once-came-into-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-private-one-i-once-came-into-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/417/vikram-seth-4208_book_and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-pri_2942925.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And the process of reading is such a private one. I once came into a room where a friend of mine was reading…” — Vikram Seth", "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": "Vikram Seth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-seth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And the process of reading is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-private-one-i-once-came-into-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-seth/and-the-process-of-reading-is-such-a-private-one-i-once-came-into-a/#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 } } ] } ```