The library card is a passport to wonders and miracles, glimpses into other lives, religions, experiences, the hopes and dreams and strivings of ALL human beings, and it is this passport that opens our eyes and hearts to the world beyond our front doors, that is one of our best hopes against tyranny, xenophobia, hopelessness, despair, anarchy, and ignorance.
Libba BrayAin't that a sight? With all the things we know and learn, we still ain't touched the big mysteries -- where we come from, where we go next, why we even her. And when something truly miraculous happens, we run and hide in our caves. We deny.
Libba BrayAs a kid, I imagined lots of different scenarios for my life. I would be an astronaut. Maybe a cartoonist. A famous explorer or rock star. Never once did I see myself standing under the window of a house belonging to some druggie named Carbine, waiting for his yard gnome to steal his stash so I could get a cab back to a cheap motel where my friend, a neurotic, death-obsessed dwarf, was waiting for me so we could get on the road to an undefined place and a mysterious Dr. X, who would cure me of mad cow disease and stop a band of dark energy from destroying the universe.
Libba BrayThere is no greater power on this earth than story.โ Will paced the length of the room. โPeople think boundaries and borders build nations. Nonsenseโwords do. Beliefs, declarations, constitutionsโwords. Stories. Myths. Lies. Promises. History.โ Will grabbed the sheaf of newspaper clippings he kept in a stack on his desk. โThis, and theseโโhe gestured to the libraryโs teeming shelvesโโtheyโre a testament to the countryโs rich supernatural history.
Libba Bray