Freya Sampson > Quotes

“Libraries are like a net, there to catch those of us in danger of falling through the cracks.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“You can tell a lot about a person from the library books they borrow.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Libraries are boats / And the books are life jackets / Without them we’ll drown.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Libraries are places where everyone, rich or poor, wherever they come from in the world, can feel safe. Where they can access information that will empower them.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Libraries aren't made by books; they're made by librarians.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“And she understood implicitly what it felt like to be more at home with books than with people, to prefer the adventures and travels within their pages to those in real life.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“So, in answer to your question, June, no. I'm never scared when I'm fighting for something I know is right.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“You see, libraries aren't just about books. They're places where an eight-year-old boy can have his eyes opened to the wonders of the world, and where a lonely eighty-year-old woman can come for some vital human contact. Where a teenager can find precious quiet space to do her homework and a recently arrived immigrant can find a new community. Libraries are places where everyone, rich or poor, wherever they come from in the world, can feel safe. Where they can access information that will empower them.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“You are never alone when you have a good book.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“But here's the thing- wherever I ended up, and however much trouble I was in, there was always a library. A place that was safe and warm and dry, where no one would judge me. Libraries were my only light in some very dark times.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Bloody Tories,' Mrs. B said. 'We know what you're up to here, destroying public services with a hundred little cuts so you bring in privatization and volunteerism.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Libraries are boats And the books are life jackets. Without them we’ll drown.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Library

“it’s never too late to find your voice, to stand up and shout from the top of your lungs about injustice.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Life could be full of excitement, if you allow yourself to live a little.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“How did you deal with the grief?"
"I realized that by moping around and feeling sorry for myself, I was doing her a disservice. She loved me because I was angry and noisy and a pain in the arse. And by not living my life, by being scared and hiding away, I was letting her down."
"So, what did you do?"
"I went to the protests against the poll tax and ended up getting arrested in a riot. I spent three days in a prison after that."
"Goodness," Stanley said.
"But I felt alive again. For the first time since she died, I felt alive.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“She lifted up the paperback and held it to her nose, inhaling the reassuring aroma of aged paper and dust.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“You have to get out there and seize life with both hands, Nono,' he used to say when he closed the pages and kissed her goodnight. 'After all, no one writes books about characters who sit around waiting for life to happen to them.”
― Freya Sampson, The Busybody Book Club

“I can know see why people love fantasy novels: they're the perfect escape from real life.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“how a small act of kindness can have a huge impact on other people’s lives.”
― Freya Sampson, The Lost Ticket

“your mum never really cared about possessions, love. She liked all this stuff, but she was much more interested in getting out there and living her life.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Library

“Hector looked unconvinced. “Does your job make you rich?”
“Nah, but it does make me happy, and I think that’s more important.”
― Freya Sampson, The Lost Ticket

“People could hurt her, June had realized, in a way that a character in a novel never would.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Libraries are like a net, there to catch those of us in danger of falling through the cracks. That’s what we’re really fighting to protect.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“They both had the confidence to chase their own dreams, but I’ve given all of mine up to make other people happy.”
― Freya Sampson, The Lost Ticket

“Libby's mind was whirring with Frank's story. She couldn't imagine what that must have felt like, to have had such a strong connection with someone that you'd spend a lifetime trying to find them. How on earth would he cope if that purpose got taken away from him?”
― Freya Sampson, The Lost Ticket

“I think you need to ask yourself: What would Matilda do?”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“Why didn't you warn me about Charlotte's Web? I almost burst into tears in front of a customer when I finished it."
June smiled, relieved. "Oh. Well, just because a book is meant for children doesn't mean it can't pack an emotional punch."
"But still, why did the writer have to kill Charlotte? I'll never hurt a spider again.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“become so consumed with these what-ifs and the life that was stolen from me, I stopped living the life I still have.”
― Freya Sampson, Nosy Neighbors

“She recognized the look in his eyes every time he walked in, that mixture of anticipation and excitement at the promises held within the shelves. And she understood implicitly what it felt like to be more at home with books than with people, to prefer the adventures and travels within their pages to those in real life.”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library

“How can you put a cost value on all the things the library provides?" June didn't need to look to know this was Mrs. B speaking. "Literacy, social inclusion, encouraging a love of reading in the young. Do these things have a price, Mr. Donnelly?”
― Freya Sampson, The Last Chance Library