--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only advice, indeed, that one person…" description: "\"“The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_books_the-only-advice-indeed-that-one-person-c_1048396.jpg" --- # The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another… ![“The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I feel at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_books_the-only-advice-indeed-that-one-person-c_1048396.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_books_the-only-advice-indeed-that-one-person-c_1048396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_books_the-only-advice-indeed-that-one-person-c_1048396.jpg) > ““The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I feel at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not allow them to fetter that independence which is the most important quality that a reader can possess. After all, what laws can be laid down about books? The battle of Waterloo was certainly fought on a certain day; but is Hamlet a better play than Lear? Nobody can say. Each must decide that question for himself. To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. Everywhere else we may be bound by laws and conventions-there we have none.”” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading should be an independent, instinctual act free from external authority, preserving personal freedom. **In simple terms:** Read independently, trust your own judgment. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal reading autonomy. Themes freedom individualism literature critical thinking autonomy Mood reflective thoughtful introspective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal leisure reading - book clubs - literary criticism Key Concepts reader agency intellectual independence subjective interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance guidance and independence? - What role should experts play in reading? A Different Perspective Too much independence may lead to echo chambers without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-battle-2492538/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Library](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/library/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Reader Possess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-possess-2492539/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-advice-2492537/) [Tell Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-read-1583954/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The only advice ... that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-only-advice-that-one-person-can-give-another-about-reading-is-to/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“IF YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU READ I'LL TELL YOU THE WAY YOU THINK.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/if-you-tell-me-what-you-read-i-ll-tell-you-the-way-you-think/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“To quote French author François Mauriac, ‘Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who your are' is true enough, but I'd know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wendell/to-quote-french-author-fran-ois-mauriac-tell-me-what-you-read-and-i/) [Sarah Wendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wendell/) > [People who read are people who dream, and we connect through the stories we live and tell and read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/people-who-read-are-people-who-dream-and-we-connect-through-the/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [If you read to me I could tell you everything that was read. They didn't know what it was. They knew I wasn't lazy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whoopi-goldberg/if-you-read-to-me-i-could-tell-you-everything-that-was-read-they-didn/) [Whoopi Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whoopi-goldberg/) > [I tell you I can't read a book, but I can read de people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-tell-you-i-can-t-read-a-book-but-i-can-read-de-people/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [“Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are" is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trista-day/tell-me-what-you-read-and-i-ll-tell-you-who-you-are-is-true-enough-2/) [Trista Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trista-day/) > [Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-mauriac/tell-me-what-you-read-and-i-ll-tell-you-who-you-are-is-true-enough/) [Francois Mauriac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-mauriac/) > [“Of course I can read", he said. "Jesus Christ." "Well, then, what are you trying to tell me? That you don't want to?" "No.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/of-course-i-can-read-he-said-jesus-christ-well-then-what-are-you/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“My life is in these books, he wants to tell her. Read these and know my heart. We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/my-life-is-in-these-books-he-wants-to-tell-her-read-these-and-know-my/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Tell me how you read and I'll tell you who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/tell-me-how-you-read-and-i-ll-tell-you-who-you-are/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“We read to know we’re not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/we-read-to-know-we-re-not-alone-we-read-because-we-are-alone-we-read/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [I never listen to what people tell me and I can't read. 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I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Love ought to stop on both sides, don’t you think, simultaneously?’ He spoke without any stress on the words, so as not to wake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/love-ought-to-stop-on-both-sides-don-t-you-think-simultaneously-he/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“...a woman writing thinks back through her mothers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-woman-writing-thinks-back-through-her-mothers/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## 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! 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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": "“The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I feel at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not allow them to fetter that independence which is the most important quality that a reader can possess. After all, what laws can be laid down about books? The battle of Waterloo was certainly fought on a certain day; but is Hamlet a better play than Lear? Nobody can say. Each must decide that question for himself. To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. 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