--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Books give us pleasure not because they…" description: "\"“Books give us pleasure not because they make us comfortable, though some good ones may, but because they entertain us, they make us laugh, they make u..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg" --- # Books give us pleasure not because they make us… ![“Books give us pleasure not because they make us comfortable, though some good ones may, but because they entertain us, they make us laugh, they make us cry; they inform, persuade, disturb, convince, seduce us; they make us think, speculate, see - and we recognize what we see as true, not as the…” quote by William McPherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg) > ““Books give us pleasure not because they make us comfortable, though some good ones may, but because they entertain us, they make us laugh, they make us cry; they inform, persuade, disturb, convince, seduce us; they make us think, speculate, see - and we recognize what we see as true, not as the truth but as a truth in the writer's fabulous construction that corresponds to what we have observed in ourselves, or others, or in the world at large, or can conceive of observing.”” [William McPherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcpherson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Books entertain, provoke, and reveal truths through crafted narratives, shaping our perception. **In simple terms:** Books shape perception. Key Takeaway Read critically and enjoy. Themes literature emotion cognition Mood thoughtful engaged Type critical analytical When to use this quote - book clubs - academic study - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative theory psychology cultural criticism Questions to Reflect On - What makes a book transformative? - How do stories influence beliefs? A Different Perspective Not all books are equally insightful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Books Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books-pleasure-300449/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Ones Entertain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ones-entertain-3226932/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Pleasure Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure-make-2816564/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I do have pleasure when I'm writing. I mean, I'm aware of pleasure. And sometimes I make myself laugh, with a joke or something;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schjeldahl/i-do-have-pleasure-when-i-m-writing-i-mean-i-m-aware-of-pleasure-and/) [Peter Schjeldahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schjeldahl/) > [For me, the greatest pleasure is when you make something, and everyone argues about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/for-me-the-greatest-pleasure-is-when-you-make-something-and-everyone/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [Money can make just pleasure , it can't make happiness but .. if ya couldn't get real happiness right away .. pleasure does work at the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-koko/money-can-make-just-pleasure-it-can-t-make-happiness-but-if-ya-couldn/) [Cynthia Koko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-koko/) > [I don't read books for pleasure, but in desperation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ball/i-don-t-read-books-for-pleasure-but-in-desperation/) [Jesse Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ball/) > [I have depended on books not only for pleasure and for the wisdom they bring to all who read, but also for that knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/i-have-depended-on-books-not-only-for-pleasure-and-for-the-wisdom/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [“Real luxury is time and opportunity to read books for pleasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-brody/real-luxury-is-time-and-opportunity-to-read-books-for-pleasure/) [Jane Brody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-brody/) > [I can look at my books with pleasure from a distance. Four feet is close enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bishop/i-can-look-at-my-books-with-pleasure-from-a-distance-four-feet-is/) [Jim Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bishop/) > [I seek in books only to give myself pleasure by honest amusement; or if I study, I seek only the learning that treats of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-seek-in-books-only-to-give-myself-pleasure-by-honest-amusement-or/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A taste for books, which is still the pleasure and glory of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-taste-for-books-which-is-still-the-pleasure-and-glory-of-my-life/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“I get sad every time I hear a person say "I don't read." It's like saying "I don't learn," or "I don't laugh," or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/i-get-sad-every-time-i-hear-a-person-say-i-don-t-read-it-s-like/) [Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/) > [I closed my own jazz bar so I could be a man who can write novels as I like. I was pleased about that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-closed-my-own-jazz-bar-so-i-could-be-a-man-who-can-write-novels-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [In general, librarians enjoyed special requests. A reference librarian is someone who likes the chase. When librarians read for pleasure, they often pick a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-joy-fowler/in-general-librarians-enjoyed-special-requests-a-reference-librarian/) [Karen Joy Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-joy-fowler/) > [I wouldn't want people to laugh at me. That's why I have to give all that I can, and at least produce something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhao-wei/i-wouldn-t-want-people-to-laugh-at-me-that-s-why-i-have-to-give-all/) [Zhao Wei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhao-wei/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) ## 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": "“Books give us pleasure not because they make us comfortable, though some good ones may, but because they entertain us, they make us laugh, they make us cry; they inform, persuade, disturb, convince, seduce us; they make us think, speculate, see - and we recognize what we see as true, not as the truth but as a truth in the writer's fabulous construction that corresponds to what we have observed in ourselves, or others, or in the world at large, or can conceive of observing.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William McPherson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcpherson/books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they-make-us-comfortable-though/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcpherson/books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they-make-us-comfortable-though/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c0/william-mcpherson-287109_books_books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they_2768905.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Books give us pleasure not because they make us comfortable, though some good ones may, but because they…” — William McPherson", "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": "William McPherson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcpherson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Books give us pleasure not because...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcpherson/books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they-make-us-comfortable-though/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcpherson/books-give-us-pleasure-not-because-they-make-us-comfortable-though/#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 } } ] } ```