Being the child of a self proclaimed gypsy, I never knew what it was like to live in one house for more than 18 months or so. Moving so frequently, it became easier over time to just not try and make friends. After all, we'd be leaving sooner or later and leaving hurt worse when you left people behind.
I filled my time with books...matter of fact, I cannot remember a time when I couldn't read and didn't have a book in my hand.
One particularly astute high school English teacher recognized this and introduced me to "The Hobbit" and later "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
These stories became life-long friends from the first word of the first page. To be read and savored time and again. When my son got old enough to grasp the stories, he and his father embarked upon the quest and came to love them as much as I.
To say our copies are "dog-eared" is an understatement. And we've since added to the collection with The Silmarillion; Unfinished Tales; The Children of Hurin and others.
I loved the movies depicting the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was as if Peter Jackson looked at the character descriptions and saw them with my eyes...particularly the Ents!
To bring things full circle, the family and I are going tonight to see the first installment of "The Hobbit"...from what I've been told it will be like greeting an old friend...we can't wait!
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
LOTR
Rare is the book that you can pick up time after time and find something new in the story. But Lord of the Rings (LOTR) certainly qualifies in this regard. Although it can technically be broken down into (3) books, my copy has them all between the covers.
The written word, in the form of books and stories, are my forever friends. Through a series of events, I was introduced to LOTR in high school and since have often spent time in Middle Earth. Although I do believe my son may have lingered more often and longer, he has no more love of them than I do.
Throughout different times in my life, Tolkien's words and characters have spoken truth to me:
The written word, in the form of books and stories, are my forever friends. Through a series of events, I was introduced to LOTR in high school and since have often spent time in Middle Earth. Although I do believe my son may have lingered more often and longer, he has no more love of them than I do.
Throughout different times in my life, Tolkien's words and characters have spoken truth to me:
- Through Sam I see a purity of spirit not often seen in our world and through him I have learned the value of sacrifice and loyalty. He is a beautiful example of how to face grim times with a smile on my face.
- Through Frodo, I have witnessed the break down of an innocent and loving heart. He is influenced by evil that is beyond his control and from which he cannot walk away. He sacrifices his joy of life in order to serve the greater good.
- Through Aragorn, I learned that assuming responsibility is required of grown-ups. That one's word is one's bond and that retreat from obligation is dishonorable.
- Through Theoden, I learned that dying on a battlefield fighting evil is preferable to merely wasting away in old age.
- In Eowyn I found a kindred spirit. I sometimes share her frustration at being limited because of being female and whole heartedly agree with her fear of being held behind the bars in a cage (whether real or imagined) "until use and old age accept them, and all chance of great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire"
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Illumination!
Courtesy of "The Atlantic"
The history of bookmaking hasn't been without its challenges, but never was its craft as painstaking as during the era of illuminated manuscripts. Joining the ranks of history's most appalling and amusing complaints, like this or young Isaac Newton's self-professed sins, is an absolute treat for lovers of marginalia such as myself—a collection of complaints monks scribbled in the pages of illuminated manuscripts.
The history of bookmaking hasn't been without its challenges, but never was its craft as painstaking as during the era of illuminated manuscripts. Joining the ranks of history's most appalling and amusing complaints, like this or young Isaac Newton's self-professed sins, is an absolute treat for lovers of marginalia such as myself—a collection of complaints monks scribbled in the pages of illuminated manuscripts.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Beowulf
Hubby and I can both be voracious readers, given half a chance...and we have birthed at least one other. We don't confine ourselves to one genre of literature, but try to experience them all. I have to say, push come to shove, if we don't have anything on the top of the reading pile we will reach for a) something we've read previously and loved or b) a classic.
How cool is it to find Beowulf...in old English (with modern English subtitles) performed in such an inspiring way...
These are the opening lines...
This is Grendel's ambush...
This is the battle...
Kind of makes you want to read it...doesn't it?
How cool is it to find Beowulf...in old English (with modern English subtitles) performed in such an inspiring way...
These are the opening lines...
This is Grendel's ambush...
This is the battle...
Kind of makes you want to read it...doesn't it?
Friday, December 16, 2011
Happy Birthday...
To two favorites of mine...
Ludwig van Beehtoven (1770 - 1827)
A German composer whose profound deafness during the last ten years of his life makes all the more remarkable his renowned musical achievements. These include nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, two Masses, a violin concerto, and five piano concertos.
One of his best known pieces:
along with The Fifth Symphony, Moonlight Sonata, Ode to Joy , The 6th Symphony in F Major Opus 68 (one of my very favorites) and too many others to name.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
A well known and much loved English author, her fans today number in the millions and her stories are regularly captured on film. Books such as Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Emma and others.
From a piece she wrote called "Prayer":
"Give us a thankful sense of the Blessings in which we live, of the many Comforts of our lot, that we may not deserve to lose them by Discontent or Indifference."
Ludwig van Beehtoven (1770 - 1827)
A German composer whose profound deafness during the last ten years of his life makes all the more remarkable his renowned musical achievements. These include nine symphonies, 32 piano sonatas, two Masses, a violin concerto, and five piano concertos.
One of his best known pieces:
along with The Fifth Symphony, Moonlight Sonata, Ode to Joy , The 6th Symphony in F Major Opus 68 (one of my very favorites) and too many others to name.
Jane Austen (1775 - 1817)
A well known and much loved English author, her fans today number in the millions and her stories are regularly captured on film. Books such as Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice, Emma and others.
From a piece she wrote called "Prayer":
"Give us a thankful sense of the Blessings in which we live, of the many Comforts of our lot, that we may not deserve to lose them by Discontent or Indifference."
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Happy Birthday
to Clive Staples Lewis, born in Belfast, Ireland on November 22, 1898. You may know him better as CS Lewis.
He fought in World War I, then studied at Oxford. After his graduation Lewis taught English at Oxford and Cambridge. As a youth Lewis gave up on Christianity. In 1929 he had a reconversion to the Christian faith, though he continued to wrestle with doubt in some of his published works.
He was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist who published academic works, religious books, and science fiction before trying his hand at children's literature with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the other 6 books in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Some of his more adult books included Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters and are are intellectual explorations into the meaning of faith. He became friends with JRR Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame) and once said of Tolkien, "When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile. They were H.V.V. Dyson ... and J.R.R. Tolkien. Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices. At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both."
Lewis married Joy Gresham in 1956. When she died from cancer in 1960, Lewis wrote a book about his own grief process, A Grief Observed. C.S. Lewis died on November 22, 1963.
He fought in World War I, then studied at Oxford. After his graduation Lewis taught English at Oxford and Cambridge. As a youth Lewis gave up on Christianity. In 1929 he had a reconversion to the Christian faith, though he continued to wrestle with doubt in some of his published works.
He was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist who published academic works, religious books, and science fiction before trying his hand at children's literature with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the other 6 books in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Some of his more adult books included Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters and are are intellectual explorations into the meaning of faith. He became friends with JRR Tolkien (of Lord of the Rings fame) and once said of Tolkien, "When I began teaching for the English Faculty, I made two other friends, both Christians (these queer people seemed now to pop up on every side) who were later to give me much help in getting over the last stile. They were H.V.V. Dyson ... and J.R.R. Tolkien. Friendship with the latter marked the breakdown of two old prejudices. At my first coming into the world I had been (implicitly) warned never to trust a Papist, and at my first coming into the English Faculty (explicitly) never to trust a philologist. Tolkien was both."
Lewis married Joy Gresham in 1956. When she died from cancer in 1960, Lewis wrote a book about his own grief process, A Grief Observed. C.S. Lewis died on November 22, 1963.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Stories to tell..
I love words...love to hear them, love to read them, love to use them.
As therapy, I journal. No one else reads it...after I have left this world, my children may take the time to see what came tumbling out of their Mom's mind but I have not formally written anything. I do post here regularly and I do write an article for our church's weekly newsletter but that's it. My hubby seems to think that I have more than a few paragraphs a day in me and that I could be an author, but it is such a daunting task. And once you've poured yourself into your manuscript to have it rejected would be heartbreaking to me. I would see it as a personal rejection...not one of my work. Maybe I'll grow up some day and take pen in hand but for now, I am satisfied with this blog, my newsletter article and my journal.
Just in case you think my fears of submitting my work to a publisher are far fetched, check this out:
1. John Grisham’s first novel was rejected 25 times.
2. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) received 134 rejections.
3. Beatrix Potter had so much trouble publishing The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she initially had to self-publish it.
4. Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) received 121 rejections before it was published and went on to become a best seller.
5. Gertrude Stein spent 22 years submitting before getting a single poem accepted.
6. Judy Blume, beloved by children everywhere, received rejections for two straight years.
7. Madeline L’Engle received 26 rejections before getting A Wrinkle in Time published—which went on to win the Newberry Medal and become one of the best-selling children’s books of all time.
8. Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 20 times before being published and becoming a cult classic.
9. Margaret Mitchell (Gone With The Wind) was rejected over 30 times before her book was published.
10. JK Rowlings first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was rejected 12 times before being given the green light.
These people are / were talented, persistent and felt they had a story to tell. And they did. Do you ever wonder how many stories are out there that never see the light of day except in the notebooks of the authors? Check this out:
Author Dick Wimmer passed away on May 18, 2011, at 74 years old. He received 160+ rejections over 25 years! He spent a quarter of a century being told “no.”
He could have quit after 20 years, or 150 rejections, and no one would have blamed him. But he kept at it (maybe he had his own list of famous author rejection letters to keep him going!). Finally, his novel Irish Wine (Mercury House, 1989) was published to positive reviews. The New York Times called it a “taut, finely written, exhaustingly exuberant first novel.” Assuming the author’s submissions were well-targeted, how could 160+ people have passed over Wimmer’s book? And what does that mean for YOUR writing career? Wimmer’s self-proclaimed legacy is of being the “most rejected novelist,” but we think his legacy is hope and persistence.
As therapy, I journal. No one else reads it...after I have left this world, my children may take the time to see what came tumbling out of their Mom's mind but I have not formally written anything. I do post here regularly and I do write an article for our church's weekly newsletter but that's it. My hubby seems to think that I have more than a few paragraphs a day in me and that I could be an author, but it is such a daunting task. And once you've poured yourself into your manuscript to have it rejected would be heartbreaking to me. I would see it as a personal rejection...not one of my work. Maybe I'll grow up some day and take pen in hand but for now, I am satisfied with this blog, my newsletter article and my journal.
Just in case you think my fears of submitting my work to a publisher are far fetched, check this out:
1. John Grisham’s first novel was rejected 25 times.
2. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup for the Soul) received 134 rejections.
3. Beatrix Potter had so much trouble publishing The Tale of Peter Rabbit, she initially had to self-publish it.
4. Robert Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) received 121 rejections before it was published and went on to become a best seller.
5. Gertrude Stein spent 22 years submitting before getting a single poem accepted.
6. Judy Blume, beloved by children everywhere, received rejections for two straight years.
7. Madeline L’Engle received 26 rejections before getting A Wrinkle in Time published—which went on to win the Newberry Medal and become one of the best-selling children’s books of all time.
8. Frank Herbert’s Dune was rejected 20 times before being published and becoming a cult classic.
9. Margaret Mitchell (Gone With The Wind) was rejected over 30 times before her book was published.
10. JK Rowlings first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was rejected 12 times before being given the green light.
These people are / were talented, persistent and felt they had a story to tell. And they did. Do you ever wonder how many stories are out there that never see the light of day except in the notebooks of the authors? Check this out:
Author Dick Wimmer passed away on May 18, 2011, at 74 years old. He received 160+ rejections over 25 years! He spent a quarter of a century being told “no.”
He could have quit after 20 years, or 150 rejections, and no one would have blamed him. But he kept at it (maybe he had his own list of famous author rejection letters to keep him going!). Finally, his novel Irish Wine (Mercury House, 1989) was published to positive reviews. The New York Times called it a “taut, finely written, exhaustingly exuberant first novel.” Assuming the author’s submissions were well-targeted, how could 160+ people have passed over Wimmer’s book? And what does that mean for YOUR writing career? Wimmer’s self-proclaimed legacy is of being the “most rejected novelist,” but we think his legacy is hope and persistence.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Books
I absolutely adore books and my home can attest to the fact that once I own one, it is almost like an amputation to let it go. Fortunately, my husband feels much the same so the fact that we have books and book shelves in almost every room in the house (even the kitchen which holds my collection of cookbooks) does not seem out of the ordinary to us.
I had the opportunity to receive a Kindle for Christmas but just didn't believe I would like it in the long run...having since handled one, I was right. I have wondered if others (outside my husband and son) felt the same way about books as I and today I found at least one other...
If you love books, spend a moment here...she says it all and says it so well! Bravo!
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