Today's post is brought to you by the letter...

U!

A little explanation... My friend Simon, over at Stuck in a Book (and also a contributor at Shiny New Books, which you should all check out), posed this little idea.  Basically, people were to come up with their favourite book, author, song, movie, and object beginning with a letter assigned by Simon via a random generator.  I got the letter U and, while it proved a bit challenging, it was a bit fun. 

Favourite book...  Unbroken

I just finished this book, so that may bias me, but it was truly incredible.  Even one story from Louis Zamperini's life is unbelievable - but the fact that all of those stories happened to one man???  I cannot even fathom...

Read the book because the movie's coming out.
Read the book because Louis Zamperini just passed away.
Read the book because it is positively remarkable.
Read the book because all of the above!

Favourite author... Unknown

I haven't read Updike or Umberto Eco or anyone who's first or last name began with "U."  But... sorting through my goodreads, there was one anonymous but particular "Unknown Author" that wins my favourite:  the Unknown Author of Beowulf.  Though the Anglo-Saxon epic undoubtedly evolved orally, one person penned down the beautiful lyrics of the hero's tale in Old English.  And I am in that person's great debt.

Favourite song...  "Ulysses" by Josh Garrels

 

As the title suggests, this is a song about Ulysses's (or Odysseus if, like me, you prefer the Greek) journey home after the Trojan War.  Full of both the literary allusions and Garrels own journeys, the song is, for me, the perfect blend of melancholy and hope.  Some of my favorite lines are:

Trouble has beset my ways, and wicked winds have blown
Sirens call my name, they say they’ll ease my pain, then break me on the stones
But true love is the burden that will carry me back home
Carry me with the, memories of the, beauty I have known 

Favourite film...  Up

How could it be anything else, really?  This is such a beautiful tale of love and friendship and the truth that the adventure never really ends.  On that topic, nerd-alert: Karen Hallion is putting the finishing touches on her Doctor Who / Up piece, "Come Along, Carl."  Also, I'm excited to say that I'll be going the Seattle Symphony's "Pixar in Concert" this weekend and am most looking forward to "Married Life":

 

Favourite object...  Umbrella

I have one of those clear, dome umbrellas and I rather love it.  Yes, I am one of those umbrella-users that Seattlites call "wimps."  Well, being a bus commuter, the umbrella is quite helpful.  And fun.

[via]

So there you have it for the letter "U."  If you would like to share some of your favorite "U" inspired things or would like a letter of your own, let me know in the comments. 

Ask my Bookshelf

A blogger friend of mine (from England :), Hannah, recently "tagged" me on her blog for this fun little blogging challenge.  Following are 16 questions I had to answer using only book titles.  I may have fudged a bit and used a few poems' titles.  Enjoy! 


1. Are you a man or a woman?  
The Odd Women [Gissing]

2. Describe yourself.
The Hobbit [Tolkien]
 
3. What does life mean to you?  
Six Characters in Search of an Author [Pirandello]

4. How are you doing?
Great Expectations [Dickens]

5. Describe your current home.  
The Little House [Burton]
 
6. Where would you like to travel?
Surprised by Oxford [Weber]
 
7. Describe your best friend.
"Bright Star" [Keats]

8. What is your favourite colour?
The Picture of Dorian Gray [Wilde]

9. What is the weather like now?
Gone with the Wind [Mitchell]

10. What is the best season in your opinion?
A Midsummer Night's Dream [Shakespeare]

11. If your life was a tv series, what would it be called?  
The Metamorphosis [Kafka]

12. What is your (romantic) relationship like?
Much Ado about Nothing [Shakespeare]

13. What are you afraid of?
The Book Thief [Zusak]

14. Aphorism for the day.
You are Special [Lucado]

15. What advice would you like to give?
"Carry On" [Service]

16. How would you prefer to die?  
At the back of the North Wind [MacDonald]


Tag:
Beks :)
 

"Who knows, Samara, your future husband could be sweltering away crafting the next great American novel as we speak..."

One can hope, Bob.  One can always wait and hope.

31 days of Books: Six Characters in Search of an Author

Title:  Six Characters in Search of an Author

Author:  Luigi Pirandello

Published:  1921

Year I read it:  2012

One sentence summary:  In one of the most famous modernist plays, Pirandello explores characters with personality and a story - but no author to give them meaning.

Interesting fact:  It's categorized as an "absurdist metatheatrical" play.

Three reasons to read it:

• This really epitomizes modernism's search for what would provide meaning.  
• There is a really interesting argument about which is more eternal - the artist or what he creates.  He also explores the creative process: are characters and stories discovered by the author, or woven in his imagination?
• It's very meta - it's a play about staging a play that gets interrupted by characters from another play.

One reason you maybe shouldn't:

• Some adult content.  Reader discretion is advised.  [He's an Italian Modernist... what do you expect?]

Great quotes:

“Life is full of strange absurdities, which, strangely enough, do not even need to appear plausible, since they are true.” 

“When a character is born, he acquires at once such an independence, even of his own author, that he can be imagined by everybody even in many other situations where the author never dreamed of placing him; and so he acquires for himself a meaning which the author never thought of giving him.” 

[On the character] "He will never die.  The one who will die is the man, the writer, the instrument of the creation.  The creation never dies."

Wednesday Creatives: Obvious State

Ok, I know I've mentioned them before here and here and probably one too many times in conversation... but it's worth dedicating today's Creatives to Obvious State - because today I finally bought my first lit poster from them! 

A bit of background for those who I haven't talked to...

Obvious State is a multi-disciplinary creative studio co-run by Nichole and Evan Robertson. Our projects reflect our shared love of Paris, language and literature.

Obvious State is a husband / wife creative duo.  An English major, she worked in fashion & beauty; he went to Julliard and pursued the stage - both in acting & music.  After starting life and their family in the big city, they felt the need for change.  So, in 2009, they packed up their life in NYC and moved their things and two boys to an itty-bitty place in Paris.  They are currently back in the states - though frequently hopping the Atlantic to pursue their creative projects.

[Can you say "couple crush"?]

They started creating... and they haven't stopped.

She found a niche as a photographer and blogs about their adventures.  He designs fantastic posters based on quotes from famous authors. 



[Someday this will hang in my kitchen.]




[Love this one for This Side of Paradise]




[She also has done some Illustrations, each capitalizing on multiple images.] 




[Paris in Mint!]




[Assorted "Paris in Color"]


Her breakout book, Paris in Color is regularly featured by Shakespeare & Co.;  I happily spotted his posters on display on my last trip to Powell's.




[They, understandably, didn't want us taking pictures of the artwork... but they were right above my head in this shot]

 Together they've recently launched an ambitious and exciting project to create a virtual experience - using photography, video, and text - to give their readers "a day in a Parisian neighborhood."  The app and first neighborhood for their "The Paris Journal" are available free on the app store

I so appreciate the Evans' sense of adventure and their creative vision.  It helps that we share an affinity for Paris, Norton anthologies, and the strong sense both that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and that "a word is worth a thousand pictures."

I've been waiting to amass a few of their items for quite a while now.  They have shown up on Birthday & Christmas & general wish lists for over a year now.  This past birthday, I was given the Paris in Color: Notecards by a sib. 



[These now await frames and more wall space... but I can't wait to display them]


They currently have a 2-day promotional going on - go visit either of their Etsy's and use FACEBOOK20 when checking out to receive 20% off.  The promotion was the added incentive for me to purchase one of the literature posters.  I'm going to warn you - it's a reeeally hard decision to just choose one.  But I just told myself, I'd be back to purchase several more.



[Paris inspired fashion. Also, apparently my striped green shirt likes Obvious State too ;) ]

If you like Paris or literature or photography or adventure [or life], you will enjoy browsing their sites and shops.  Check out obviousstate.com, their page on facebook, The Paris Journal, their Etsy shops (listed below), or @obviousstate on twitter.



*All photography comes from obviousstate.com or the Etsy sites for Obvious State or The Paris Print Shop.