--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a kid, I was a big science…" description: "\"When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.\" — John Darnielle" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png" --- # When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but… ![“When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.” quote by John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png) > “When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.” [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on childhood reading habits, noting a preference for science fiction and the difficulty of accessing horror literature at that time. **In simple terms:** Nostalgic reading preferences Key Takeaway Access to genre books shapes early interests Themes nostalgia reading habits genre accessibility childhood influences literary culture Mood reflective curious Type personal anecdote literary observation When to use this quote - discussing personal reading history - explaining why certain genres were scarce - comparing past and present book markets Key Concepts science fiction horror literature book availability Practical Applications - library acquisition strategies - digital publishing expansion Questions to Reflect On - How does genre availability affect a child's imagination? - What modern tools could have changed this experience? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [When I was growing up, I always read horror books, while my sister read romance novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/when-i-was-growing-up-i-always-read-horror-books-while-my-sister-read-2/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [When I was growing up, I always read horror books, while my sister read romance novels. My sister became unmarried and pregnant during high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/when-i-was-growing-up-i-always-read-horror-books-while-my-sister-read/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [There were no horror movies or horror books to speak of in the '40s. I picked the '50s because that pretty well spans my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-were-no-horror-movies-or-horror-books-to-speak-of-in-the-40s-i/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The advantage of horror books is to take the reader and cut him out of the pack and work on him one on one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-advantage-of-horror-books-is-to-take-the-reader-and-cut-him-out/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I'm a more skilled writer now, but after 23 books it's harder to be fresh and that's really important to me. I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/i-m-a-more-skilled-writer-now-but-after-23-books-it-s-harder-to-be/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [“Good horror is written by people who understand that fear is one of the cardinal passageways into the core of humanity. Good horror is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cross/good-horror-is-written-by-people-who-understand-that-fear-is-one-of/) [Alistair Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cross/) > [I don't read horror, ever. When I was 15, I made the mistake of reading part of 'The Exorcist.' It was the first and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-don-t-read-horror-ever-when-i-was-15-i-made-the-mistake-of-reading/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [An excellent indie horror book with a wholly original premise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/an-excellent-indie-horror-book-with-a-wholly-original-premise/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [“I had one woman come up to me in a bookstore and say, 'You know, everyone told me it was a horror book, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/i-had-one-woman-come-up-to-me-in-a-bookstore-and-say-you-know/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [One day I want to write a full-on horror book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/one-day-i-want-to-write-a-full-on-horror-book/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) > [I take the seashell from my jeans pocket and rub my fingers across its silken, indented surface, shallow as my own open hand. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katrina-kenison/i-take-the-seashell-from-my-jeans-pocket-and-rub-my-fingers-across/) [Katrina Kenison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katrina-kenison/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) ## More by John Darnielle > [I don't write my own publicity materials, I just read 'em and give 'em the OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-don-t-write-my-own-publicity-materials-i-just-read-em-and-give-em/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But secret agents, like God, only give signs to their confidants. They are also very cruel and even unhappy at times. At any rate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-secret-agents-like-god-only-give-signs-to-their-confidants-they/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“I am heavy in his arms, and I feel safe there, but I am lost, and I need constantly to be shoring up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-am-heavy-in-his-arms-and-i-feel-safe-there-but-i-am-lost-and-i-need/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [The more I learn about stuff the more conscious I become of grave gaps in my knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/the-more-i-learn-about-stuff-the-more-conscious-i-become-of-grave/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [If you get into a fight and somebody punches you, you get two feelings. One: That really hurts. 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I believe in mental health care, but when we call people "crazy," we exclude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/everybody-is-in-various-states-of-needing-to-transcend-something-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“But resiliency only means that a thing retains its shape. That it doesn’t break, or lose its ability to function. It doesn’t mean a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/but-resiliency-only-means-that-a-thing-retains-its-shape-that-it/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“One thing I’ve learned is it’s better sometimes, in the weeds, to resist the temptation to stand up and follow the compass. \*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/one-thing-i-ve-learned-is-it-s-better-sometimes-in-the-weeds-to/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [People always talk about good time rock and roll, Chuck Berry or whatever, like this liberating force for feeling good. But what I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/people-always-talk-about-good-time-rock-and-roll-chuck-berry-or/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [It's hard always to say what it is one likes about a place, for me. I feel it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/it-s-hard-always-to-say-what-it-is-one-likes-about-a-place-for-me-i/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [“Another nagging little question lodged like a bit of grapeshot in his chest. It was nothing major, but the place where he stored them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/another-nagging-little-question-lodged-like-a-bit-of-grapeshot-in-his/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [I'm not really a goal-oriented guy. I started doing the Mountain Goats just for the sheer hell of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-m-not-really-a-goal-oriented-guy-i-started-doing-the-mountain-goats/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [I start writing, pull whatever images happen to occur to me and make up a story, instead of starting with details that are real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/i-start-writing-pull-whatever-images-happen-to-occur-to-me-and-make/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) [Explore all 181 John Darnielle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Darnielle" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bigs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba3/john-darnielle-2176_bigs_when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fic_84524.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I was a kid, I was a big science fiction fan, but current horror books were harder to get your hands on.” — John Darnielle", "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": "John Darnielle", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I was a kid, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-a-big-science-fiction-fan-but-current-horror/#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 } } ] } ```