Love them :)

Radcliffe Camera in Radcliffe Square, the Bodleian Library.

Seriously, one of my favorite places in the whole world :')

It's a good day in my fictional life:

Thursday = LBD and I think it's going to be an important one today! :)

And then theres this adaptation I've been following for 3+ years... and i only have to wait 16 more hours :D


"People wonder why the novel is the most popular form of literature... It is merely that the novel is more true..." - G. K. Chesterton

One of the fascinating parts of Lord of the Rings is the insight into different characters temptations - especially when tempted by the ring.  Much is made of Gandalf's and Galadriel's and even Aragorn's temptations... but today I came across Sam's--and it blew my mind!

A little background... it's the chapter entitled "The Tower of Cirith Ungol" where Sam is going to rescue Frodo, but he has the ring and wears it to get past some of the orcs.  And thus begins the temptation of Samwise:

Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason.  Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to overthrow Barad-dur.  And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at the his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit.  He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be. 

In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his hear that he was not large enough to bear such a burden... The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.

So precious!  But also convicting - am I content with my "one small garden"?

Oh, Tolkien, you never cease to amaze!

[T-26 hours till some more Tolkien amaze takes place :]

"Sherlock!  There's something in here.  There's something in here with me!!"

;)

The results from picture day are back... and despite the wind and the rain, it turned out ok.

But funny story, as soon as I walked into the room, the photographer started calling me Zooey.

And so when he asked for my "Zooey-I'm-trying-to-be-serious-but-can't-help-but-smile" look, this is what he got. 

So there it is... my failed serious face :)

This film has been on my mind lately...

And I have a growing realization of the profundity of this clip.

(And I adore Peter O'Toole :)

Don't normally do these questionnaire things... but it was about books!


1. One book that changed your life?
Jane Eyre

2. One book you have read more than once?
Pride & Prejudice (x5)

3. One book you would want on a desert island?
If not the Bible, I've always said the original French unabridged Les Miserables so I could teach myself French and read it for real all at the same time. 

4. One book that made you laugh?
Alice in Wonderland

5. One book that made you cry?
History of Love

6. One book you wish hadn't been written?
The Scarlet Letter, Twilight, or Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

7. One book you are currently reading?
Return of the King

8. One book you have been meaning to read?
Just one?? Great Expectations. The Fault in Our Stars. Sense of an Ending.

Do you know what's torture? Going to the dentist.

No! Not for the reasons you're thinking. Torture is your dentist bringing up Chesterton, Tolkien, Lewis, Eugene Peterson, a couple novels, the beauty & wonder God created around us - and not being able to say anything because his hand is in your mouth!!

:/ :)