A person who won’t read has no advantage over one who can’t read.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) American writer [pseud. of Samuel Clemens]

(Spurious)

First attributed to Twain in 1945, but not found in his works. Earliest appearances of the quote date back to 1910, but are unattributed. It's often attributed to Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby), but she didn't say it until 1966.

For more research and discussion see Quote Origin: The Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read – Quote Investigator® and Mark Twain quotations - Reading.

Variants:

• "Who can see the barely perceptible line between the man who can not read at all and the man who does not read at all? The literate who can, but does not, read, and the illiterate who neither does nor can? [Joseph D. Eggleston Jr. (1910)]
• "The person who does not read has no advantage over the person who cannot read." ["Dear Abby" (1966-10-19)]
• "The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them."