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Stories

teach us how to love

and swallow sadness,

find light in darkness,

 turn away from despair.

Crafting and grafting us

into a plot much bigger,

much smaller

than our own.

They remake us

like their protagonists,

from coward to courageous.

Each story that passes

through our hands,

through our minds,

is a gift

wrapped up inside words.

 "Hello, old friend

and here we are,

you and me

on the last page."

Where they end

our hearts break or smile,

crying from tragedy or delight.

But then, our next page.

While their story ends,

our journey is only mid-way,

another chapter,

a new gift.

Top:  Nurse, Young Man, Kiss-a-gram

Below:  Old Man, Journalist, Hero

"We are all stories in the end..."
- The Doctor

"The end of a matter is better than it's beginning."

- Ecclesiastes 7.8

“If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not the heart of man become in its long journey toward the stars?"

- GK Chesterton

"It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer."
- Samwise Gamgee

  

“Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”  

- Madeleine L'Engle

"You were my new dream."

- Flynn Rider

"There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die...that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living."

- The Count

[HitRECord]

"Though truth is heavier than fiction,

Gravity lifts as the projectionist rolls tape.
And it makes us brave again"

- Sleeping at Last

Come along, Ponds

Last night we said goodbye to the Ponds.  And I just had to share (a spoiler free) appreciation post to the most darling couple and the most precious companions:  Amy + Rory.

From the beginning,

[via]

to the end

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you were "cool."

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You may have thought you needed the Doctor...

[via]

 but he needed you more.

[via]

 You showed us bravery.

 

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You showed us passion.

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You showed us that true love waits.

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We will miss that story.

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But we're all stories in the end.

Just make it a good one, eh?

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So, come along, Ponds.

31 Days of Books: A Review

Whew!  You guys, I did it.  31 book reviews in 31 days.  Some days I had to double up, and some reviews were probably more thoughtful than others, but they're all up!  Thank you to everyone who showed interest and encouraged this project.  It was not easy, but I feel like I learned a lot.

I though I'd recap by mentioning a few reflections on the project:

*  The whole "31 days" concept is a really good challenge if you want to express or share something you're passionate about.  I definitely want to do another one and don't think I'll wait till next October.

*  The hardest part of each post was the "One Sentence Summary."  You will probably notice a lot of complex sentences, bending the rules of what can be included in one sentence... but I knew if I allowed myself to elaborate on the plot, the review would become 1) way too long and 2) probably give too much away.

*  While I did modify the structure a bit along the way, I realized a bit too late that I should have included a rating system (e.g. out of five stars).  I specifically chose books I liked well enough to recommend - reviewing books you don't like can be fun, but gets too easy and boring over time - but some of these are a good 3.5/5 while others are novels par excellence.  Interestingly, as I added my reviews to goodreads, more than once I adjusted my rating on there to reflect how I feel about the book in hindsight.

*  When I first started out, I composed a list of what I was going to review.  Any of the requests I got for authors or specific books happened to already be included in that list.  [You know me so well ;]  The only alteration that was made after drafting up the list was to sub out "Silas Marner" to include a poem, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. [If you're a big George Eliot fan, I'm sorry.  I just wasn't feeling up to her that day.]

*  By far, the most viewed review is Animal Farm, which kind of surprises me.

*  The funnest (and often easiest) part of each review was actually "One reason you maybe shouldn't read it."


I plan to continue more book reviews, and will likely use a similar structure, though I look forward on expanding certain parts of it.  I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about each of these books.  Books are my love language and literally nothing compares to the feeling I get when people tell me they're reading a book I recommended or they're enjoying one of my favorites.  So, if you choose to pick up one of these, please do let me know and mention what you think of it.


Below I've compiled the final list with links to each review:

1. The Fault in Our Stars
2. The Princess Bride
3. Pygmalion
4. At the Back of the North Wind
5. A Wrinkle in Time
6. The Count of Monte Cristo
7. A Study in Scarlet
8. Northanger Abbey
9. The Woman in White
10. Much Ado about Nothing
11. Animal Farm
12. The Age of Innocence
13. Six Characters in Search of an Author
14. Oedipus Tyrannus
15. The Picture of Dorian Gray
16. Room
17. History of Love
18. Ender's Game
19. Manalive
20. Surprised by Oxford
21. A Severe Mercy
22. To the Lighthouse
23. Heart of Darkness
24. Hunchback of Notre-Dame
25. The Scarlet Pimpernel
26. A Tale of Two Cities
27. The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock
28. To Kill a Mockingbird
29. Wieland
30. Phantom of the Opera
31. Frankenstein

Happy reading!

News-flash:  I love narrative!

Seriously - the past year, being out of school, has made me fall more in love with narrative than ever before.  I still can't articulate how awed I am by the power God gave us when He decided, "they will be story-tellers." 

I recently read an article on Relevant called "Why Christian's should Read more Fiction."  Excellent article! A few favorite bits:

I’d like to make a case for the imagined stories, the ones that can throttle our hearts and challenge our biases, and for the fictional characters who, if we get close enough, can become real...
The writer takes the chaos of what he sees, and does his best to weave a unified story that is somehow reflective of that experience. And it’s not necessarily his message or theme that is his offering of what is beautiful. The story itself is the offering. The story is the prayer...
We shouldn’t overlook the power of stories, both real and imagined, to move us, break down our walls and send us out wanting to love more...

I get all "jump-up-and-down-in-your-chair-excited" when reading this article.  Over the weekend, I was with extended family, all of whom were asking, "What's next for you?" or "Still thinking of grad school?"  And yes, yes it's still a thought.  But it challenges me to think, what comes after the summer?  What comes after this particular season of my life?

Then, today, my boss took me out to lunch and we spent most of the time comparing notes on books.  "Count of Monte Cristo - one of the best endings ever!" "Oh The Road was good, but terribly depressing..."  "Oh, you should get the goodreads app - it'll track your books and lists for you!"  "Julian Barne's, Sense of an Ending - now there's a brilliant take on memory and fiction..."   And there I am.  Coming alive, again, when immersed in a conversation about narrative. 

I have few specifics on what "career" I should pursue (I think I'm a bit too stir-crazy / "artistic" / hippy for a traditional "career"), but I know I need to be surrounded by and immersed in narrative. 

Basically, I need to find a job where people will pay me to read and discuss good books!  Does that position exist?

For real...

No... seriously.

Loving lately...

These kiddos!

My view

My fictional life - 

221B is coming along... filming finally! begins next month! :D

Pride and Prejudice,

200 years and we're as delighted as ever!

^ is this v moment

New jeans :)

Inspiration - 

Paris in the early 1900's

Words to live by

Happy February, Everyone.

What have you been loving lately?

1.16.13

Today starts with yesterday.  Under an unusual compulsion, I jump into the shower before bed. I blow dry my bangs back - they're too long - and let the rest of my hair dry au naturale while I sleep.

Sleep in just a bit.  Begin morning routine, slightly thrown off by the tres au naturale hair.  Decide to curl it, pinning the bangs back.  It turns out well and faster than expected.  Makeup.  I realize, with my bangs back, I can do a smoky eye...first time in months.

Hair looks good.  Makeup looks good.  What do I have that's clean and will hide the holiday weight?  What to wear?  I pick a mustard yellow, lacy skirt.  Grab black tights, shirt, grey sweater (one of five), black boots.  Not too shabby.

Samara, you could drive in.  I could.  Forget the bus, I'm driving this morning.  Turn on the car so it will melt.

Keys x2, (brand new) iPhone, purse, book.

Not too bad of a commute... praying today goes better than the last two days.  Bob's back today.  It'll be a better day.

"I Will Wait" comes on.  Theme song of the season.

Paint my spirit gold...

I'm crying at the 4th street exit.

Park the car.  Dry my eyes.

Work away work away.  Compliments on the skirt "Oh, thank you..."  Work away work away.

Work is good - it is a better day.

Lunch - no LBD. Crack open the book for the first time.  Embrace fiction.  It's different, but I barely make it back to work on time.  Then I have a hard time leaving the book-scape and focusing on work.

"At some point you have to choose between life and fiction.  The two are very close, but they never actually touch."  I hear my mom quoting.  I'd rather not choose.  Eh, date a girl who reads.

Work away work away.  Cross off to-do list.  The afternoon goes fast.

Join the parade northbound.  Random musings during "five for the drive."  Why can people accept the abstractness of music but not of narratives?  They don't sit around frustrated asking - "but what do the notes mean?"  No, it's only when you complicate things with spoken language that people expect the speaker to have things figured out, sorted, wrapped in a bow.  They're not content to pass through the language and see what sticks afterward.  "Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept mystery."  Listen to the music.  Look at the paintings.  Read the books.  Watch the films.  Accept the mystery.

Arrive at destination = another silent soap box session over.

Massage appointment.  Car accidents stink, but I can't complain about consistent massages.  My therapist says I look "British."  For the win.

And finally... home.

1.16.13