“Reality could be painful to acknowledge, but there came a point when we all realized we weren’t going to walk on the moon, star in a Hollywood movie, or be president of the United States. We’d be who we were, and we could either come to grips with this fact and like the person we’d become, or live with regret and disappointment.”
― The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
― The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
“If nothing was worth living for it followed, didn’t it, that there was nothing worth dying for either.”
― The Hellbound Heart
― The Hellbound Heart
“stewing about something in the past you can’t do anything about anyway.”
― Day Out of Days: Stories
― Day Out of Days: Stories
“After a battle lasting many ages,
The Devil won,
And said to God
(who had been his Maker):
"Lord,
We are about to witness the unmaking of Creation
By my hand.
I would not wish you
to think me cruel,
So I beg you, take three things
From this world before I destroy it.
Three things, and then the rest will be
wiped away."
God thought for a little time.
And at last He said:
"No, there is nothing."
The Devil was surprised.
"Not even you, Lord?" he said.
And God said:
"No. Not even me.”
― Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War
The Devil won,
And said to God
(who had been his Maker):
"Lord,
We are about to witness the unmaking of Creation
By my hand.
I would not wish you
to think me cruel,
So I beg you, take three things
From this world before I destroy it.
Three things, and then the rest will be
wiped away."
God thought for a little time.
And at last He said:
"No, there is nothing."
The Devil was surprised.
"Not even you, Lord?" he said.
And God said:
"No. Not even me.”
― Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War
“When words fail you, you dissolve into an image of nothingness. You disappear.”
― Talking to Strangers: Selected Essays, Prefaces, and Other Writings, 1967–2017
― Talking to Strangers: Selected Essays, Prefaces, and Other Writings, 1967–2017
Tom’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Tom’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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