[Ads-l] Quote Origin: People Don't Really Read Your Books (Mark Twain?)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The following remark has been attributed to Mark Twain:

People don’t really read your books; they only say they do to keep you
from feeling bad.

I received a request to explore the provenance of this statement. It
is a genuine Twain quotation. Here is a citation:

[ref] 1906 April 15, The New York Times, Mark Twain Tells How To
Manage Audiences, Quote Page 9, Column 3, New York, New York.
(ProQuest) [/ref]

Here is a link to the Quote Investigator article:
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2026/07/16/really-read/

Feedback welcome
Garson O'Toole

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