--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Have you done anything that’s like that?”…" description: "\"“Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. So I had to tell him. “You’re not going to like it. But I was very lonely and very desperate. I wa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg" --- # Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. So I… ![“Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. So I had to tell him. “You’re not going to like it. But I was very lonely and very desperate. I was doing a magic for protection against my mother, because she kept sending me terrible dreams all the time. And while I was at it, I did a magic to…” quote by Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg) > ““Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. So I had to tell him. “You’re not going to like it. But I was very lonely and very desperate. I was doing a magic for protection against my mother, because she kept sending me terrible dreams all the time. And while I was at it, I did a magic to find me a karass.” He looked blank. “What’s a karass?” “You haven’t read Vonnegut? Oh well, you’d like him I think. Start with Cat’s Cradle. But anyway, a karass is a group of people who are genuinely connected together. And the opposite is a granfalloon, a group that has a fake kind of connection, like all being in school together. I did a magic to find me friends.” He actually recoiled, almost knocking his chair over. “And you think it worked?” “The day after, Greg invited me to the book group.” I let that hang there while he filled in the implications for himself. “But we’d been meeting for months already. You just … found us.” “I hope so,” I said. “But I didn’t know anything about it before. I’d never seen any indication of it, or of fandom either.” I looked at him. He was rarer than a unicorn, a beautiful boy in a red-checked shirt who read and thought and talked about books. How much of his life had my magic touched, to make him what he was? Had he even existed before? Or what had he been? There’s no knowing, no way to know. He was here now, and I was, and that was all. “But I was there,” he said. “I was going to it. I know it was there. I was at Seacon in Brighton last summer.” “Er’ perrhenne,” I said, with my best guess at pronunciation. I am used to people being afraid of me, but I don’t really like it. I don’t suppose even Tiberius really liked it. But after a horrible instant his face softened. “It must have just found us for you. You couldn’t have changed all that,” he said, and picking up his Vimto, drained the bottle.”” [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A conversation about finding genuine connections (karass) versus superficial groups (granfalloon) through a personal ritual. **In simple terms:** He describes a magical search for true friends versus fake communities. Key Takeaway Cultivate authentic relationships, not just superficial ones. Themes connection authenticity friendship spiritual quest literary reference Mood introspective philosophical Type literary dialogue When to use this quote - book clubs - personal rituals - seeking community - self‑discovery Key Concepts karass granfalloon meaningful bonds social constructs Questions to Reflect On - Do you recognize a karass in your life? - How can you differentiate true bonds from superficial ones? A Different Perspective The concept may feel abstract and hard to verify in everyday life. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Magic touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-touch/) ## Related quotes > [I did magic at children's parties when I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-cornish/i-did-magic-at-children-s-parties-when-i-was-a-kid/) [Joe Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-cornish/) > [Damn, tell me where did all the magic go? 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Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-j-harris/) ## More by Jo Walton > [I care more about the people in books than the people I see every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/i-care-more-about-the-people-in-books-than-the-people-i-see-every-day/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [Class is entirely intangible, and the way it affects things isn't subject to scientific analysis, and it's not supposed to be real but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/class-is-entirely-intangible-and-the-way-it-affects-things-isn-t/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“I figured it out this afternoon, when they let me take a walk around the grounds, that these cows are stupid. Bovine. 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Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. So I had to tell him. “You’re not going to like it. But I was very lonely and very desperate. I was doing a magic for protection against my mother, because she kept sending me terrible dreams all the time. And while I was at it, I did a magic to find me a karass.” He looked blank. “What’s a karass?” “You haven’t read Vonnegut? Oh well, you’d like him I think. Start with Cat’s Cradle. But anyway, a karass is a group of people who are genuinely connected together. And the opposite is a granfalloon, a group that has a fake kind of connection, like all being in school together. I did a magic to find me friends.” He actually recoiled, almost knocking his chair over. “And you think it worked?” “The day after, Greg invited me to the book group.” I let that hang there while he filled in the implications for himself. “But we’d been meeting for months already. You just … found us.” “I hope so,” I said. “But I didn’t know anything about it before. I’d never seen any indication of it, or of fandom either.” I looked at him. He was rarer than a unicorn, a beautiful boy in a red-checked shirt who read and thought and talked about books. How much of his life had my magic touched, to make him what he was? Had he even existed before? Or what had he been? There’s no knowing, no way to know. He was here now, and I was, and that was all. “But I was there,” he said. “I was going to it. I know it was there. I was at Seacon in Brighton last summer.” “Er’ perrhenne,” I said, with my best guess at pronunciation. I am used to people being afraid of me, but I don’t really like it. I don’t suppose even Tiberius really liked it. But after a horrible instant his face softened. “It must have just found us for you. You couldn’t have changed all that,” he said, and picking up his Vimto, drained the bottle.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jo Walton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that-he-asked-so-i-had-to-tell-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that-he-asked-so-i-had-to-tell-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3f/jo-walton-7623_books_have-you-done-anything-that-s-like-that_3011185.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Have you done anything that’s like that?” he asked. 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