“Here at the close of the year 1533, his spirit is sturdy, his will strong, his front imperturbable. The courtiers see that he can shape events, mold them. He can contain the fears of other men, and give them a sense of solidity in a quaking world: this people, this dynasty, this miserable rainy island at the edge of the world.”
- Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall.
Month: December 2019
“For Drake is no longer in his hammock, children, nor is Arthur somewhere sleeping, and you may not…”
“For Drake is no longer in his hammock, children, nor is Arthur somewhere sleeping, and you may not lie idly expecting the second coming of anybody now, because the world is yours and it is up to you. Now especially since man has the strength to destroy the world, it is the responsibility of man to keep it alive, in all its beauty and marvelous joy.”
- Susan Cooper, Silver on the Tree.
- Susan Cooper, Silver on the Tree.
nastylittlenerd: ‘The electric street-lamp may indeed be…
‘The electric street-lamp may indeed be ignored, simply because it is so insignificant and transient. Fairy-stories, at any rate, have many more permanent and fundamental things to talk about.‘ (J.R.R. Tolkien in On Fairy-Stories)
‘In about ten minutes she reached it and found it was a lamp-post. As she stood looking at it, wondering why there was a lamp-post in the middle of a wood and wondering what to do next…’ (C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe)
aka ‘am I petty enough to write a lamp-post into my story just because my friend said it’s a ‘no-no’ in fantasy? Why yes, yes I am.’
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you…”
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.”
- Neil Gaiman.
- Neil Gaiman.
books-and-cookies: Someone important to me asked me today why it’s so easy for me to fall in love…
Someone important to me asked me today why it’s so easy for me to fall in love with books, and yet reject genuine emotion. I told them it’s probably because books never reject, abandon or make you feel less than you are. With people, there’s always a risk of that. It’s easy to fall in love with books, it’s scary to fall in love with people. Because out of these two, only one can hurt you. I can always go pick up a book and know it wants me. Not the same with people.
“—this gave him a not uncommon sensation of his own huge ignorance, a grey mist, in which floated or…”
“—this gave him a not uncommon sensation of his own huge ignorance, a grey mist, in which floated or could be discerned odd glimpses of solid objects, odd bits of glitter of domes or shadows of roofs in the gloom.”
- A. S. Byatt, Possession.
- A. S. Byatt, Possession.
Photo
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice. And…”
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
- T.S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding” / Four Quartets.
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
- T.S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding” / Four Quartets.
miishae: Has anyone else noticed that as a society, we’re shamed for wanting to sleep?…
Has anyone else noticed that as a society, we’re shamed for wanting to sleep? Sleeping in is bad, naps are only okay if they’re 20 minutes, you cant be tired unless you’re a <insert career/lifestyle choice here>, so on and so forth.
I mean, I think we all need to spread our blankets out, cuddle a pillow, and go to sleep. Everyone needs more of it, fuck this “it’s not productive” nonsense. It’s okay to sleep, it’s okay to want to sleep. You’re not lazy because of it.
“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.”
- William Blake, from Proverbs of Hell.
- William Blake, from Proverbs of Hell.