New Year's Wishes from Neil Gaiman

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.

I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever. - Neil Gaiman"

-Neil's three New Years wishes to his fans. Beautiful words to welcome in a New Year. I hope 2012 treats you all wonderfully. Be Safe and Have a great night!

Good Quotes from Banned Books

So, what is there to say about Banned Books that hasn't already been said? This whole week has been filled with wonderful posts and lists and general blog-y goodness. In the spirit of the controversial book I'd like to add two cents to the argument, but not my two cents. I figure, who can speak better for these books then themselves? Here are some fantastic quotes from (in my opinion) amazing books that regularly make the banned/challenged list. I hope they make you think, or feel a little sad, or maybe even inspire you.

Catch-22 - Heller

What a lousy Earth! He wondered how many people were destitute that same night even in his own prosperous country, how many homes were shanties, how many husbands were drunk and wives socked, and how many children were bullied, abused, or abandoned. How many families hungered for food they could not afford to buy? How many hearts were broken? How many suicides would take place that same night, how many people would go insane? How many cockroaches and landlords would triumph? How many winners were losers, successes failures, and rich men poor men? How many wise guys were stupid? How many happy endings were unhappy endings? how many honest men were liars, brave men cowards, loyal men traitors, how many sainted men were corrupt, how many people in positions of trust had sold their souls to bodyguards, how many had never had souls? How many straight-and-narrow paths were brooked paths? How many best families were worst families and how many good people were bad people? When you added them all up and then subtracted, you might be left with only the children, and perhaps with Albert Einstein and an old violinist or sculptor somewhere

Brave New World - Huxley

But I don't want comfort. I want God,  I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.

Catcher in the Rye - Salinger

Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles, You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.

Slaughterhouse Five

It is so short and jumbled and jangled, Sam, because there is nothing intelligent to say about a massacre. Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what do the birds say? all there is to say about a massacre, things like "Poo-tee-weet"

The Great Gatsby

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

Now go read some banned books! Or any books, really.

Top Ten - Quotes

Jillian over at Random Ramblings hosts a weekly top ten meme that I love to at least follow when I don't actually have the time to make a list myself. This week I have the time and I love the topic, so without further adieu here are my top ten favorite quotes!


1. "We could imagine all sorts of universes unlike this one, but this is the one that happened."- Foer


2. Over his shoulder i saw a star fall. it was me" -  Tracy Cheviler


3. -“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” - G. K Chesterton

4. "My brother and i used to play a game. i'd ooint to a chair."THIS IS NOT A CHAIR." I'd say. Bird would point to the table."THIS IS NOT A TABLE.""THIS IS NOT A WALL."i'd say."THAT IS NOT A CEILING."We'd  go on like that."IT IS NOT RAINING OUT." "My SHOE IS NOT UNTIED!" Bird would yell. I'd point to my elbow. "THIS IS NOT A SCRAPE!" Bird would life his knee. "THIS IS ALSO NOT A SCRAPE!" "THAT IS NOT AKETTLE!" "NOT A CUP!" "NOT A SPOON!" NOT DIRTY DISHES!" We denied whole rooms, years, weaters, once, at the peak of our shouting, bird took a deep breath. At the top of his lungs, he shrieked:"I! HAVE NOT! BEEN UNHAPPY! MY WHOLE! LIFE! "But you're only seven," i said" - Krauss

5. "He wondered how many people were destitute that same night even in his own prosperous country, how many homes were shanties, how many husbands were drunk and wives socked, and how many children were bullied, abused or abandoned. How many families hungered for food they could not afford to buy? How many hearts were broken? How many suicides would take place that same night, how many people would go insane? How many cockroaches and landlords would triumph? How many winners were losers, successes failures, rich men poor men? How many wise guys were stupid? How many happy endingsd were unhappy endings? How many honest men were liars, brave men cowards, loyal men traitors, how many sainted men were corrupt, how many people in positions of trust had sold their souls to blackguards for petty cash, how many had never had souls? How many straight-and-narrow paths were brooked paths? How many best families were worst families and how many good people were bad people? When you added them all up and then sibtracted, you might be left with only the children, and perhaps Albert Einstein and an old violinist or sculptor somewhere." - Joseph Heller

6. "I took my morning walk, I took my evening walk, I ate something, I thought about something, I wrotes something, I napped and dreamt something too, and with all that something, I still have nothing because so muchof sum'things has always been and always will be you.

I miss you." - Mark Z. Danielewski

7. "you're always you, and that doesn't change, and you're always changing, and there's nothing you can do about it"- Gaiman

8. “People are always shouting they want to create a better future. It's not true. The future is an apathetic void of no interest to anyone. The past is full of life, eager to irritate us, provoke and insult us, tempt us to destroy or repaint it. The only reason people want to be masters of the future is to change the past.” Kundera (I think?)

9. "This year, I have committed more faults than ever before and I have never been a better person." - Hugo

10. "I feel the same way about disco as i do about herpes" - Hunter S. Thompson

Hope everyone is having a good week!