--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are some awful things in the world…" description: "\"There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.\" — Jo Walton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg" --- # There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but… ![“There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.” quote by Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg) > “There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.” [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. Despite global suffering, literature offers profound insight and solace, highlighting the duality of human experience. **In simple terms:** Bad things exist; books provide hope. Key Takeaway Read to balance darkness with light. Themes literature hope human condition balance Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary psychological When to use this quote - reading groups - therapy - education Key Concepts philosophy psychology culture Questions to Reflect On - Which books have changed your perspective? - How does reading affect resilience? A Different Perspective Books cannot solve systemic issues alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) [Awful Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful-things-1391133/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Great book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-book/) [Great Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-books-242565/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Things World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [great books are the ones we need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/great-books-are-the-ones-we-need/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Why aren't more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books aren't within everybody's reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-aren-t-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [We find little in a book but what we put there. But in great books, the mind finds room to put many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joubert/we-find-little-in-a-book-but-what-we-put-there-but-in-great-books-the/) [Joseph Joubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joubert/) > [Great books, like large skulls, have often the least brains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-benton-clulow/great-books-like-large-skulls-have-often-the-least-brains/) [William Benton Clulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-benton-clulow/) > [Al forms of consensus about ''great'' books and ''perennial'' problems, once stabilized, tend to deteriorate eventually into something philistine. The real life of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/al-forms-of-consensus-about-great-books-and-perennial-problems-once/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The truly great books are always novels: 'Anna Karenina,' 'The Brothers Karamazov,' 'The Magic Mountain.' Just as with 'Shahnameh,' I browse these books from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/the-truly-great-books-are-always-novels-anna-karenina-the-brothers/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I could read the great books but the great books don't interest me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-could-read-the-great-books-but-the-great-books-don-t-interest-me/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Great books help you understand, and they help you to feel understood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/great-books-help-you-understand-and-they-help-you-to-feel-understood/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Great books are written from a sense that there is nothing to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/great-books-are-written-from-a-sense-that-there-is-nothing-to-lose/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [Every 10 years you're a different person, and the really great books evolve with you as you get older. They're full of new rewards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/every-10-years-you-re-a-different-person-and-the-really-great-books/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Great books conserve time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holbrook-jackson/great-books-conserve-time/) [Holbrook Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holbrook-jackson/) > [The truly great books are the few books that are over everybody's head all of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truly-great-books-are-the-few-books-that-are-over-everybody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Why are not more gems from our great authors scattered over the country? Great books are not in everybody's reach; and though it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/why-are-not-more-gems-from-our-great-authors-scattered-over-the/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [The aim of great books is ethical: to teach what it means to be a man. Every major form of literary art has taken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-aim-of-great-books-is-ethical-to-teach-what-it-means-to-be-a-man/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) ## 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. I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/i-figured-it-out-this-afternoon-when-they-let-me-take-a-walk-around/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“You can almost always find chains of coincidence to disprove magic. That's because it doesn't happen the way it does in books. It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/you-can-almost-always-find-chains-of-coincidence-to-disprove-magic/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [You can't do magic with books unless they're very special copies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/you-can-t-do-magic-with-books-unless-they-re-very-special-copies/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [Reading is awesome and flexible and fits around chores and earning money and building the future and whatever else I’m doing that day. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/reading-is-awesome-and-flexible-and-fits-around-chores-and-earning/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [You know, class is like magic. There's nothing there you can point to, it evaporates if you try to analyse it, but it's real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/you-know-class-is-like-magic-there-s-nothing-there-you-can-point-to/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“The thing with dying, well, with death really, is that there's a difference between being someone who knows they can really die at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/the-thing-with-dying-well-with-death-really-is-that-there-s-a/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [It's amazing how large the things are that it's possible to overlook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/it-s-amazing-how-large-the-things-are-that-it-s-possible-to-overlook/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“My ideal relationship with a book is that I will read it for the first time entirely unspoiled. I won’t know anything whatsoever about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/my-ideal-relationship-with-a-book-is-that-i-will-read-it-for-the/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“Anyway, while most people can't see fairies anyway because they don't believe in them, seeing them isn't a bad thing. Some of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/anyway-while-most-people-can-t-see-fairies-anyway-because-they-don-t/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“Aujourd’hui, rien. That’s what Louis XVI wrote in his diary on the day of the storming of the Bastille.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/aujourd-hui-rien-that-s-what-louis-xvi-wrote-in-his-diary-on-the-day/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [If the purpose of literature is to illuminate human nature, the purpose of fantastic literature is to do that from a wider perspective. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/if-the-purpose-of-literature-is-to-illuminate-human-nature-the/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [“There are two kinds of people in the world, those who re-read and those who don’t. No, don’t be silly, there are far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-re-read-and/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [There may be stranger reasons for being alive. There are books There’s interlibrary loan. There are books you can fall into and pull up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-may-be-stranger-reasons-for-being-alive-there-are-books-there-s/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) [Explore all 88 Jo Walton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/) [Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jo Walton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world-it-s-true-but-there-are-also/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world-it-s-true-but-there-are-also/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd6/jo-walton-7623_awful_there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world_1790606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are some awful things in the world, it's true, but there are also some great books.” — Jo Walton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jo Walton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are some awful things in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world-it-s-true-but-there-are-also/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/there-are-some-awful-things-in-the-world-it-s-true-but-there-are-also/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```