Science Fiction Quotations – Gary Westfahl (ed)

Subtitled From the Inner Mind to Outer Limits, this comprehensive collection has gathered quotes from 1851 (the first use of the term ‘science fiction’) to the early 2000’s, grouped under themes like ‘individualism and identity’, ‘justice’, ‘civilisation and barbarism’, ‘dreams and sleep’, ‘love and romance’, ‘morality’, ‘truth’ and ‘surrealism, in addition to the more obvious ‘alien worlds’, ‘astronauts and space travelers’, ‘the laws of science fiction’, ‘robots, androids and cyborgs’ and ‘time travel’.
This is clearly not the kind of book that can be read from cover to cover in a single sitting and, like all books, will not speak to everyone, but there is something for everyone in it. My copy is studded with tags for the quotes that I felt particularly spoke to me, illustrated a concept beautifully, or that could be happily incorporated into a paper. Some of my favourite examples:

This is how humans are: We question all of our beliefs, except for the ones we really believe, and those we never think to question – Orson Scott Card Speaker for the Dead

No man is an island, but I have met many isthmuses and a few peninsulas – Susanna Jacobsen “Notes from Magdalen More"

The anthropologist cannot always leave his own shadow out of the picture he draws – Ursula Le Guin “The Word for World is Forest"

The meeting between ignorance and knowledge, between brutality and culture – it begins with how we treat our dead – Frank Herbert Dune

The very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in common, they don’t alter their views to fit the facts, they alter the facts to fit the views, which can be very uncomfortable of you happen to be one of the facts – Chris Boucher “The Face of Evil”, episode of Dr Who

Nothing is deader than yesterday’s science fiction – Arthur C Clarke “The Sands of Mars”

Finally, there is a section of phrases which let you know you’re reading SF, many of which made me want to read the story or novel from whence they came:

He could not argue with an angry bed – Philip K Dick Galactic Pot Healer

Unfortunately, no one bothered to turn off the tiger – Charles L Grant “A Glow of Candles, a Unicorn’s Eye”

Only twenty minutes ago he had decided he would go mad, and now here he was already chasing a Chesterfield sofa across the fields of prehistoric earth – Douglas Adams Life the Universe and Everything

She would never forgive herself for not being there when her son was born – Sheila Finch Infinity’s Web

Phoebe had enough to worry about without consoling an overemotional fish – Paul Di Filipo “Flying the Flannel”

Clearly if you're not into FSF, this collection won't be particularly interesting (unless you want to challenge your assumptions about the genre). But if you are, there are quotes here to inspire, enlighten, entertain, and - if you're me - rue the fact that you will never be able to so perfectly capture an emotion or experience. Plus there's a certain joy in recognising quotes or texts, and the dangerous lure of unread and promising books. – Alex