First Among Sequels Quotes

“Whereas story is processed in the mind in a straightforward manner, poetry bypasses rational thought and goes straight to the limbic system and lights it up like a brushfire. It's the crack cocaine of the literary world.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Two minds with but a single thought, two hearts that beat as one.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Dead. Never been that before. Not even once.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Reality TV was to me the worst form of entertainment--the modern equivalent of paying sixpence to watch lunatics howling at the wall down at the local madhouse.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Yes, and imagine a world where there were no hypothetical situations.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Have you ever wondered how nostalgia isn"t what it used to be?”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Death, I had discovered long ago, was available in varying flavors, and none of them particularly palatable. ”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“It's simple. If you go to see 'Saturday Night Fever' expecting it to be good, it's a corker. However, if you go expecting it to be a crock of shit, it's that, too. Thus 'Saturday Night Fever' can exist in two mutually opposing states at the very same time, yet only by the weight of our expectations. From this principle we can deduce that any opposing states can be governed by human expectation - even, as in the case of retro-deficit-engineering, the present use of a future technology."

"I think I understand that. Does it work with any John Travolta movie?"

"Only the artistically ambiguous ones such as 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Face/Off.' 'Battlefield Earth' doesn't work, because it's a stinker no matter how much you think you're going to like it, and 'Get Shorty' doesn't work either, because you'd be hard-pressed not to enjoy it, irrespective of any preconceived notions.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Humans like stories. Humans need stories. Stories are good. Stories work. Story clarifies and captures the essence of the human spirit. Story, in all its forms—of life, of love, of knowledge—has traced the upward surge of mankind. And story, you mark my words, will be with the last human to draw breath.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“There are a lot of idiots in this country, and they deserve representation as much as the next man.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Reading, I had learned, was as creative a process as writing, sometimes more so. When we read of the dying rays of the setting sun or the boom and swish of the incoming tide, we should reserve as much praise for ourselves as for the author. After all, the reader is doing all the work - the writer might have died long ago.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“If you even think about asking Harry Potter for an autograph, your day ends right now.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Without unscrambled eggs, there was no time travel, no more depredation of the Now, and we could look to a brighter future of long-term thought--and more reading.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“If it takes us 10 years to get into the shit, it will take us 20 to get out.

And the journey starts NOW.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Strive for the Long Now”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Thursday, you mean everything to me. Not just because you're cute, smart, funny and have a devastatingly good figure and boobs to die for, but that you do right for right's sake - it's what you are and what you do. Even if I never get my magnum opus published, I will still die secure in the knowledge that my time on this planet was well-spent - giving support, love and security to someone who actually makes a difference.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“She was the sort of parent you would want to have living close by, but only on the grounds that she would then never come to stay. I loved her dearly, but in small doses.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Keep people reading books, Mum; it helps to reinforce and strengthen the indefinable moments that anchor us in the here and now. Strive for the long now.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“You are the best, most loving, supportive family anyone could ever have," I said through my sobs. "I'm so sorry if I'm a burden."
They all told me not to be so bloody silly, I told them not to swear, and Landen gave me a handkerchief for my tears.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Emperor Zhark may have been the embodiment of terror across innumerable star systems, but he lived with his mum- and if the rumours were correct, she still insisted on bathing him.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“You can lose yourself in a book, but you find yourself in Poetry”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“I knocked on his door, received no reply and opened it to a fetid smell of old socks and unwashed adolescence. Carefully bottled and distilled, it would do sterling work as a shark repellent, but I didn’t say so. Teenage sons react badly to sarcasm. The room was liberally covered with posters of Jimi Hendrix, Che Guevara and Wayne Skunk, lead guitar and vocals of Strontium Goat. The floor was covered with discarded clothes, deadline-expired schoolwork and side plates with hardened toast crusts on them. I think the room had once been carpeted, but I couldn’t be sure anymore.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“The four opposing forces in any novel are atmosphere, plot, character and pace. But they don’t have to be in equilibrium. You can have a book without any plot or pace at all, but it has to make up for it in character and a bit of atmosphere—like The Old Man and the Sea. Most thrillers are plot and pace and nothing else, such as Where Eagles Dare. But it doesn’t matter; each to a reader’s own—”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“The problem with pianos,” I began, “is that there aren’t enough to go around. Lots of people in the BookWorld play them, they frequently appear in the narrative, and they’re often used as plot devices. Yet for an unfathomable reason that no one can fully explain, there are only fifteen to cover the entire BookWorld.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“I’ve just had breakfast.” The doorbell rang. “Ooooh!” said Polly, peering furtively out the window. “What fun. It looks like a market researcher!” “Right,” said my mother in a very military tone. “Let’s see how long we can keep him before he runs out screaming. I’ll pretend to have mild dementia, and you can complain about your sciatica in German. We’ll try to beat our personal Market-Researcher Containment record of two hours and twelve minutes.” I shook my head sadly. “I wish you two would grow up.” “You are so judgmental, daughter dear,” scolded my mother. “When you reach our age and level of physical decrepitude, you’ll take your entertainment wherever you can find it. Now, be off with you.” And they shooed me into the kitchen while I mumbled something about how remedial basket weaving, whist drives or daytime soaps would probably suit them better. Mind you, inflicting mental torture on market researchers kept them busy, I suppose.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“All your life you think the half century is death's adolescence, but actually it's really not that bad, as long as you can remember where you left your glasses.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“I shrugged. “All kids are like that today. It’s a modern thing, caused by too much TV, video games and other instant-gratification bullshit. Either that—or kids are exactly the same and I’m getting crusty and intolerant in my old age.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“There are a lot of idiots in this country,” I replied absently, “and they deserve representation as much as the next man.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“Well, that's it." I said after we had waited for another five minutes and found ourselves still in a state of pleasantly welcome existence. "The ChronoGuard has shut itself down and time travel is as it should be: technically, logically, and theoretically...impossible." "Good thing, too," reply Landon. "It always made my head ache. In fact, I was thinking of doing self help book for science-fiction novelists eager to write about time travel. It would consist of a single word: Don't.”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels

“На самом деле я подумывал написать самоучитель для фантастов, собирающихся писать о путешествиях во времени. Он состоял бы из двух слов: «Не надо».”
― Jasper Fforde, First Among Sequels