the resulting text from

Favorite Lines

It is difficult to be sat on all day, every day, by some other creature, without forming an opinion about them. On the other hand, it is perfectly possible to sit all day, every day, on top of another creature and not have the slightest thought about them whatsoever [1.6]. That’s because racism isn’t just about hate. We all have biases, even if we don’t think we do. It’s because racism is also about who has power … and who has access to it [7.430]. I want to touch, and punch and HUG EVERYBODY [11.*].

To Cyrus, Alexander and Catherine Hale, this is an immediate request to release Benjamin Ridley from his training so that he may participate in Operation Blazing Furry. Operation Blazing Furry? I asked, not Operation Blazing Fury which indicates a mission full of passion and ferocity. No this says Operation Blazing Furry, which indicates a bunch of flaming mammals [4.34–35]. But heck, if kittens and slushies aren’t worth getting in trouble for, what in the world is [3.10]?

But gravity makes these moments, where you can grasp the full nature of a thing, fleeting [5.74]. Now it became a mirror, a weird cousin to play with, a thing that offered up a meaning that wasn’t mine until I looked closer [8.205]. It was hideous and monstrous and absolutely perfect [3.34]. The strongest weapon a woman has at her disposal is that she is often underestimated [9.301].

Navigating the darkling streets like a pale transparent fish, down cobbled arcades, past the enclosures of houses and stone walls lining the walkways along the river, the call goes out. Everything is immersed in the call. It cuts through invisible airborne sediments of time, quietly penetrating the furthest reaches of the Town [6.13]. Always bring cotton to stuff your nose [10.36]. There are some people in this world who remind you of exactly how you like to speak [2.138]. There are some people in this world who remind you of exactly how you like to speak [2.138].

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Favorite Lines is an artwork by Emily Larned for the Wilton Library as part of the AmFab Artist Studios group exhibition Terrains of the Heart, February 7–March 6, 2025, Wilton, Connecticut. During the month the exhibition was installed, library patrons were invited to submit as many favorite lines from as many library books as they wished. The new text above was composed from all submitted lines.

WILTON LIBRARY BOOKS SUBMITTED

In citations above, the first number is the source; the second number cited is the page.

1. Adams, Douglas. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
2. Espach, Alison. The Wedding People (line submitted twice)
3. Gemeinhart, Dan. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
4. Gibbs, Stuart. Spy school: Goes Wild
5. Imbler, Sabrina. How Far the Light Reaches
6. Murakami, Haruki. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
7. Picoult, Jodi. Small Great Things
8. Powers, Richard. Playground
9. Roberts, Lauren. Powerless
10. Sands, Kevin. The Blackthorn Key
11. Sutherland, Tui T. Wings of Fire: Escaping Peril (* page given as 'unknown')