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Every good book should be entertaining. A good book will be more; it must not be less. Entertainment…is like a qualifying examination. If a fiction can’t provide that, we may be excused from inquiring into its higher qualities.
C. S. Lewis
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Interpretation

What this quote means

A good book must entertain its readers as a fundamental quality, but it should also offer more than just entertainment.

C. S. Lewis emphasizes the importance of entertainment in literature, positing that a fiction book must engage and entertain its audience to be considered worthy of deeper examination. While entertainment is essential, it serves as a threshold for appreciating the book's other qualities, suggesting that without this foundational aspect, the book does not merit further analysis.

Themes

BooksEntertainmentLiteratureQualityReading

In practice

Example use cases

This quote would be perfect for a speech at a book club meeting discussing what makes a book enjoyable.

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The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
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