[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fnUmt_i6fK5zLh16A-a_R3deTizC3geDsNcxkI8-_Jpo":3,"$f5UiFhme3WtXFLuugwsXMt58f6niqYNE0TPstqfekgYQ":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},54255,"Tessa Maurer","T",2,null,"tessa-maurer",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":70},[14,42],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":8,"has_image":17,"author":18,"source":19,"quote_tag":20,"commentary":41},326747,"Books are more honest than the world. If you want to understand people, listen to what they make up.",true,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[21,26,31,36],{"id":22,"tag":23},1956588,{"id":24,"tag_name":25},177,"books",{"id":27,"tag":28},1956589,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},660,"fantasy-fiction",{"id":32,"tag":33},1956591,{"id":34,"tag_name":35},2193,"sci-fi",{"id":37,"tag":38},1956590,{"id":39,"tag_name":40},15160,"post-apocalyptic","**The Backstory**\nTessa Maurer's quote, \"Books are more honest than the world. If you want to understand people, listen to what they make up,\" is likely a reflection of her introspective and analytical nature, honed through her experiences as a writer and observer of human behavior. As an artist and intellectual living in 20th-century America, Maurer would have been surrounded by the complexities and superficialities of modern life, leading her to ponder the disparities between appearance and reality.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nAt its core, this quote reveals a profound skepticism towards the notion that people can be understood at face value. Maurer is pointing out that individuals often present a curated version of themselves, hiding their true thoughts, desires, and fears behind a mask of conventionality or social expectation. This tension between appearance and reality speaks to the fundamental challenge of understanding others.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset in your own life, cultivate a habit of observing people's narratives, rather than taking them at face value. When engaging with others, actively seek out the stories they create for themselves – not just what they explicitly say – and use these narratives as a window into their inner lives.",{"id":43,"quote_text":44,"author_id":5,"source_id":8,"has_image":45,"author":46,"source":47,"quote_tag":48,"commentary":9},326741,"Then why are you still here?” I ask. I stand up and her gun follows me. I welcome its bullets just to see if I could survive.“Masochism.”“I don’t know what that means.”“It means I like my own pain.”“That doesn’t make sense.”“I’m human. You think we ever make sense?",false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[49,54,57,62,67],{"id":50,"tag":51},1956566,{"id":52,"tag_name":53},47,"fantasy",{"id":55,"tag":56},1956567,{"id":29,"tag_name":30},{"id":58,"tag":59},1956569,{"id":60,"tag_name":61},663,"science-fiction",{"id":63,"tag":64},1956570,{"id":65,"tag_name":66},1450,"short-stories",{"id":68,"tag":69},1956568,{"id":39,"tag_name":40},{"currentPage":71,"totalPages":71,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":72},1,10]