[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f8Buk_oN-5oyhWLkxED6RWZ-USB7S23K0Vr2_Mztysjw":3,"$f_bo-w6mTvU9JPNcSxxINIfsORI0g3P1ZaAecSFLABlo":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},13079,"Sofia Samatar","S",30,null,"sofia-samatar",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":77},[14,22,28,34,40,47,53,59,65,71],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3435982,"I sat enchanted, far from my gods, adrift in the boat of spices, in the sigh of the South, in the net of the wheeling stars, in the country of dolphins.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3435978,"People talked about loneliness as if it were something alive and it could get you. But loneliness is something dead, it’s deadness. Lonely people are slowly dying people.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3435973,"I should die,” said Ivrom. “That is blasphemy,” the old man answered kindly. “I should suffer.” “You are suffering, are you not?” “Not enough.” “Consider the sufferings ordained by the Nameless Gods,” the priest quoted. “A cupful weighs as much as an ocean.” In fact – as Ivrom would discover later – a cupful weighs much more. When.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3435972,"There is enough cruelty in the world,” she told me softly, “to justify all the music ever made.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":46},3435966,"The word for “book” in all the known languages of the earth is vallon, “chamber of words,” the Olondrian name for that tool of enchantment and art.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nThis quote is likely from Sofia Samatar's novel \"A Stranger in Olondria\", which explores themes of identity, language, and storytelling. The novel is set in a fantasy world where the protagonist navigates the complexities of cultural exchange and linguistic translation. As a Historian specializing in Samatar's biography, I can attest that this passage reflects her interest in exploring the intersections of language, culture, and power.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nAt first glance, the quote appears to be a poetic description of the significance of books. However, upon closer examination, it reveals a deeper tension between the idea of words as enchantment and art, versus their utilitarian function as \"a tool\". This paradox highlights the complex relationship between language, creativity, and purpose.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn today's fast-paced digital age, where information is readily available but often lacking in depth, this quote encourages writers and creatives to approach their craft with a sense of reverence for the power of words. By acknowledging that our writing is not merely a \"tool\", but an \"enchantment\" that has the potential to transport and transform others, we can tap into our own creative potential and produce work that truly resonates with readers.",{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},3435948,"The tunneling entrance curves before it opens into this space and there is absolute, waiting, coiled, and sentient blackness.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":9},3435936,"I want to stay there. I don’t want to go any further. I want to stay. I can’t remember who it was – one of the poets, perhaps Tamundein – who said that all of our happiest hours must pass away at last, even those in which we believe we are unhappy.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},3435930,"Ravhathos called the life of the poet “the fair and fatal road, of which even the dust and stones are dear to my heart,” and cautioned that those who spend long hours engaged in reading or writing should not be spoken to for seven hours afterward.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":66,"quote_text":67,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":68,"source":69,"quote_tag":70,"commentary":9},3435920,"The silence had a depth to it, like the stillness after a bell has been struck and the echoes have died away, and one waits for what has been summoned.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},3435909,"A book,” says Vandos of Ur-Amakir, “is a fortress, a place of weeping, the key to a desert, a river that has no bridge, a garden of spears.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":78,"totalPages":79,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":80},1,3,10]