--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a kid, I read the…" description: "\"When I was a kid, I read the science-fiction shelves, and I read the fantasy shelves.\" — Terry Pratchett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/terry-pratchett-19_books_when-i-was-a-kid-i-read-the-science-fict_2038829.jpg" --- # When I was a kid, I read the science-fiction shelves, and… ![“When I was a kid, I read the science-fiction shelves, and I read the fantasy shelves.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/terry-pratchett-19_books_when-i-was-a-kid-i-read-the-science-fict_2038829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/terry-pratchett-19_books_when-i-was-a-kid-i-read-the-science-fict_2038829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/terry-pratchett-19_books_when-i-was-a-kid-i-read-the-science-fict_2038829.jpg) > “When I was a kid, I read the science-fiction shelves, and I read the fantasy shelves.” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## 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 a childhood spent exploring both science‑fiction and fantasy literature, indicating a broad imagination. **In simple terms:** Childhood reading spanned sci‑fi and fantasy. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse genres early. Themes imagination reading genre exploration Mood curious nostalgic Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - school libraries - personal growth - creative writing - storytelling - cultural literacy Key Concepts literary exposure creative development Questions to Reflect On - What genres shaped your worldview? - How does genre diversity influence creativity? A Different Perspective May limit exposure to non‑fiction or real‑world knowledge. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [“You go into the office and take a book or two from the shelves. You read a few lines, like your life depended on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/you-go-into-the-office-and-take-a-book-or-two-from-the-shelves-you/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [So let's not get frightened when the children read fantasy. It's the compost for a healthy mind. 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We'd consume them like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/back-in-middle-school-catherine-and-i-had-gone-through-this-stage/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [So, when people try to give you some book with a shiny round award on the cover, be kind and gracious, but tell them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/so-when-people-try-to-give-you-some-book-with-a-shiny-round-award-on/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [My own novel, 'The Silver Bough,' about the inhabitants of a remote town at risk of being overwhelmed by Scotland's mythological past, was once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-tuttle/my-own-novel-the-silver-bough-about-the-inhabitants-of-a-remote-town/) [Lisa Tuttle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-tuttle/) > [People read vampire novels and say, 'Oh I want to read another vampire novel.' People read fantasy, and they're like, 'Oh I love fantasy.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/people-read-vampire-novels-and-say-oh-i-want-to-read-another-vampire/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“Webb read fantasy; Jude read realism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/webb-read-fantasy-jude-read-realism/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [I've read fantasy my whole life. Quite literally; my mom read me The Hobbit before I could read stuff to myself. So I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/i-ve-read-fantasy-my-whole-life-quite-literally-my-mom-read-me-the/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I really can't write fantasy. I cannot invent a world which does not exist. And I can't read fantasy either. As soon as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/i-really-can-t-write-fantasy-i-cannot-invent-a-world-which-does-not/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/we-read-fantasy-to-find-the-colors-again-i-think-to-taste-strong/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [Jerel Law has crafted a fantastic story that will leave every reader wanting more. Stop looking for the next great read in fantasy fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-liparulo/jerel-law-has-crafted-a-fantastic-story-that-will-leave-every-reader/) [Robert Liparulo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-liparulo/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. I am as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-i-did-not-return-until-half-past-four-this-morning-and-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Someone broke from the scrum and, punching and kicking, staggered towards the Klatchian goal. "Isn't that man your butler?" said Ahmed. "Yes." "One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/someone-broke-from-the-scrum-and-punching-and-kicking-staggered/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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