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A.J. Hackwith QUOTES

A.J. Hackwith QUOTES

1 " Every book carried a scar, a splinter of psyche, that was essential to its need to exist. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Archive of the Forgotten (Hell's Library, #2)

2 " Forgiven doesn't mean no regret. We'll always regret the wrongs we've done. It just means you're not punishing yourself for it. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

3 " Stories can die. Of course they can. Ask any author who's had an idea wither in their head, fail to thrive and bear fruit. Or a book that spoke to you as a child but upon revisiting it was silent and empty. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

4 " Churches gave sanctuary, in my time. To the unwanted, the unloved, and also the criminals, whether they repented or not. I don't see why a library in Hell shouldn't be a kind of church - lord knows that we have enough altars to longing, to regret, to mistakes, here in the stacks. Few souls find their way down here, but if they do, what shelter we can provide, the Library should. Libraries have always been a kind of church, a kind of sanctuary. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The God of Lost Words (Hell's Library, #3)

5 " Build good fences, make good friends, and keep your laundry indoors. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

6 " Claire lived by the firm moral philosophy that one could never have too many pockets, too many books, or too much tea. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

7 " Stories can die. Of course they can. Ask any author who's had an idea wither in their head, fail to thrive and bear fruit. Or a book that spoke to you as a child but upon revisiting it was silent and empty. Stories can die from neglect, from abuse, from rot. Even war, as Shakespeare warned, can turn books to graves.
We seek to preserve the books, of course. But we forget the flip side of that duty: treasure what we have. Honor the stories that speak to you, that give you something you need to keep going. Cherish stories while they are here.
There's a reason the unwritten live on something as fragile as paper. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

8 " The pain in death isn't the dying. It's the wounds we leave in our wake. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

9 " How much easier it would be if everyone knew their role: the hero, the sidekick, the villain. Our books would be neater and our souls less frayed. But whether you have blood or ink, no one's story is that simple. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

10 " The best stories are bled. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

11 " The trouble with reading is it goes to your head. Read too many books and you get savvy. You begin to think you know which kind of story you’re in. Then some stupid git with a cosmic quill fucks you over. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

12 " We think stories are contained things, but they’re not. Ask the muses. Humans, stories, tragedies, and wishes—everything leaves ripples in the world. Nothing we do is not felt; that’s a comfort. Nothing we do is not felt; that’s a curse. Librarian Poppaea Julia, 50 BCE "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

13 " We have a choice, all of us, in seeing the world and system we participate in. At some point, we are confronted with the cost. What suffers for happiness. What dies for life. Even Caesar couldn't keep such a thing hidden, the blood that waters an empire's soil. You have a choice. You can choose to close your eyes and enjoy your lucky position on the good earth. You can choose to walk away.

Or you can choose to rebel. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

14 " Nothing burns up humanity as thoroughly as eternity. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

15 " Stories are, at the most basic level, how we make sense of the world. It doesn’t do to forget that sometimes heroes fail you when you need them the most. Sometimes you throw your lot in with villains. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

16 " A lie. A dream. Good stories are both. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

17 " There is no library of secrets. Secrets cannot be kept or curated. Secrets have no need for a library but each library needs secrets. Books are a secret hidden in plain sight. Read me, they say. Look at me. Turn my pages. Touch my spine. Read my words, and content yourself.

Every book is a secret that only readers know. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Archive of the Forgotten (Hell's Library, #2)

18 " They burn them first, the stories. Humans always come for the stories first. It’s their warm-up, before they start burning other humans. It’s their first form of control, to burn the libraries, to burn the books, to burn the archives of a culture. Humans are the stories they tell. If you want to destroy your enemy, destroy their stories. Even if the people survive, it will be as if they never existed at all. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Archive of the Forgotten (Hell's Library, #2)

19 " It is a story’s natural ambition to wake up and start telling itself to the world. "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)

20 " Books are knowledge weaponized. And what weapons you cannot steal, you must burn. Librarian Gregor Henry, 1986 CE "

― A.J. Hackwith , The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)