I Had Forgotten What Fiction Was To Me As A Boy, Forgotten What It Was Like In The Library: Fiction Was

“I had forgotten what fiction was to me as a boy, forgotten what it was like in the library: fiction was an escape from the intolerable, a doorway into impossibly hospitable worlds where things had rules and could be understood; stories had been a way of learning about life without experiencing it, or perhaps of experiencing it as an eighteenth-century poisoner dealt with poisons, taking them in tiny doses, such that the poisoner could cope with ingesting things that would kill someone who was not inured to them. Sometimes fiction is a way of coping with the poison of the world in a way that lets us survive it. And I remembered. I would not be the person I am without the authors who made me what I am—the special ones, the wise ones, sometimes just the ones who got there first. It’s not irrelevant, those moments of connection, those places where fiction saves your life. It’s the most important thing there is.”

— Neil Gaiman, “Newberry Medal Acceptance Speech”

Can we talk about the scene in Fellowship of the Ring where Arwen first appears for a second?

Aragorn goes from “oh shit” to “really, Arwen?” in like three seconds. Like he’s scared one moment, and then he’s just fondly annoyed.

I appreciate this scene for so many reasons.

“I just feel so alone, even when I’m surrounded by people.”

— Lost in Translation (2003), Dir. Sofia Coppola

“Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. Being brave means that you are scared, really scared, badly scared, and you do the right thing anyway.”

— Coraline, Neil Gaiman

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)

“You know, she was four years old the first time she beat me at hide and seek. Four. I was looking for her for hours. When I finally found her she just smiled. You know, that Effy smile that means ‘you don’t know me at all, and you never will’. See that’s a kind of magic. She’s so good at concealing things… hiding, avoiding. But I do know her. And I know that she has got so much love in her heart. But the thought of letting it out, showing her cards, scares her to death.”

— Anthea Stonem, Skins