… we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number, really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that’s so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more. perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps twenty. And yet it all seems limitless.
~Paul Bowles
We have reached the half way point of our journey through fairy tale, folklore, fantasy and mythology together. In this brief time we have all grown a bit closer and shared not only the love of reading…a great gift in and of itself…but also the love of books that are old favorites or new-found treasures.
There are 139 book reviews on the review site and the list is growing daily. And we continue to have others join us in this challenge.
Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up
its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.
~Joseph Addison
Up to this point participants have won t-shirts and a signed print and a poppet…not to mention Stainless Steel Droppings’ envelopes o’ delight…and the contest prizes are just going to get bigger! A Neil Gaiman prize pack, a Poppet/art prize pack, and a Friday Favorites prize pack are on the way.
Tomorrow morning Mary and I leave for 3 days of rest and relaxation at our favorite Inn. An early 18th anniversary present to ourselves. During those quiet moments I will no doubt be dreaming up new and exciting things to keep the Once Upon a Time Challenge fires burning.
To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful,
ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.
~Gaston Bachelard
I hope everyone is enjoying themselves and I hope you continue to discover new and exciting literature that takes you on a journey to the fantastic.
And for those of you participating, the 10:4 Challenge has now entered week two! My hope is that everyone had a good start. It is never too late to join in this challenge with us. If we all stick together we are bound to succeed!
Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone. Be healthy, have fun, and as the sands of time slip by make sure you are taking some time to live and love and breathe the fresh air…and to read, of course. 😉
Books, I found, had the power to make time
stand still, retreat or fly into the future.
~Jim Bishop
If we take care of the moments,
the years will take care of themselves.
~Maria Edgeworth
I hope you and Mary have a wonderful time. This challenge has been such a great experience so far. I’ve met so many other great bloggers out there. Read some great books, and discovered (way too many) other great books. And to top it all off, I scored a cool prize. Thanks for hosting all this Carl!
Hope that both you and Mary have a lovely time.
Can’t believe we’re halfway through the challenge already – where does time go?! Thanks for organising it though, as Chris said, it has been a fantastic experience, one that has led to the discovery of many lovely blogs and bloggers!
And just a reminder to everyone, the discussion on symbols, icons, objects that attract us continues over at Poppet Planet and there are many wonderful and interesting comments over there. If you haven’t joined in, please do. If you have, don’t forget to check back in.
Have fun!
And if you feel like it, I tagged you for another short meme…
Carl, I hope you and your wife have a wonderful anniversary trip!
You have been an incredible Challenge “Host”! I really appreciate all
you have done to make this a great challenge….and I’m sure I’m not
alone!!
I’ll definitely do the meme, Angela, sometime within this coming week. Thanks!
hey, have a fun time!
btw: there’s a good post about reading that I thought would interest you… http://sandrablabber.blogspot.com/
We can’t be halfway… I’m so behind. Again! 🙂 You guys have a wonderful time on your getaway!
This has been a fantastic read, not only the ones on my list, but the longer list I put together reading other people’s lists – can’t wait to get started on those. I hope you and Mary have a wonderful relaxing time. Where did that delightful, last picture come from? I thoroughly enjoyed all of your reading quotations.
oh,congratulations, Carl! 🙂 And have a lovely weekend.
I’d better get reading some more of those reviews!
Just adding my good wishes for your anniversary weekend!
The Once Upon a Time Challenge has been so much fun, and I keep finding more titles I want to read.
have a great time!
As a new reader of Carl’s blog, I missed the original announcement of the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I’m joining late and have already read some great reviews. I look forward to the second half!
Happy 18th Aniversary!
I hope you guys have a wonderful time!
Best wishes for a lovely weekend, Carl! I’m looking forward to the 2nd half of this challenge.
Oh and btw, having looked at your post from last year – that inn looks AWESOME.
It is awesome, Quix, and we did indeed have a wonderful, relaxing time.
So glad you’re joining in, Kim, even if you are ‘late’….I’m of the opinion that it is never too late!
Pat, both those pix are of stuff in my house, the second one is a portion of a statue called ‘Sands of Destiny’ by an artist named Brom. I had it in my office at work for a long time and now it is back at home.
I want that statue!
Welcome back! Glad you had a great time.
Have fun! It looks like a gorgeous place to vacation.
Happy anniversary! Hope you had a wonderful time. I’ll try not to be jealous that you got to go away for MY birthday!! I have a question about the challenge..I received the new Tolkein book for said birthday and would like to read it instead of another book for the once upon a time challenge? It’s about the same length as the one I had on schedule.
Swapping out books on your list is always okay for any challenge that I do, Dana. Enjoy the new Tolkein book!