I divide all readers into two classes; those who read to remember and those who read to forget.

Phelps’s aphorism contrasts two common motives for reading: retention and escape. Some readers approach books as repositories of knowledge—facts, arguments, and memorable language to be carried forward and used. Others read as a form of relief, seeking temporary self-forgetfulness, emotional release, or distance from daily pressures. The division is deliberately schematic (most people do both), but it highlights reading’s dual power: it can build the mind through memory while also offering consolation through imaginative absorption. The line also implies a humane tolerance for “unserious” reading, treating diversion not as a lesser aim but as a legitimate function of literature.