Please forgive this return to Science Fiction in the middle of the Once Upon a Time IV Challenge, but when SGist posted this link in the Melodious Monday post I could not help but be inspired to post a sci fi Friday Favorites post.
And, since we are rapidly approaching the 30 year anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back (May 21st), this is sort of a precursor to the celebration.
You might remember my recent posting of the poster I picked up at Planet Comicon to eventually decorate my new office (pictured above).
Well, here are some other great Star Wars inspired designs that I am certainly tempted to add to my decor:
“How many a man has dated a new era in his life from the reading of a book. The book exists for us perchance which will explain our miracles and reveal new ones.”
~Henry David Thoreau
With the recent taste of a new-to-me Anna Quindlen, I could not resist the urge to return to the book that made me a fan, How Reading Changed My Life. This return to the abode of a kindred spirit was every bit as pleasurable the second time around. This slight book is one of the most wonderful reflections on the love of reading that has ever been written, and it is written not in a dry, stoic, elitist manner–it is written from a place of a passion that was birthed in childhood and remains equally strong today.
This delightful book, championing the great pleasures of the written word, is a book that I think all book lovers should read.
(image of Montgomery Ward’s “Telephone Dial” Airline radio by The Rocketeer)
On this gorgeous Monday afternoon in Kansas City, when a glance outside makes us working stiffs want to find an early out from the work day, it is natural to reflect back on an equally gorgeous weekend–one that went by all too quickly.
Not sure what the rest of you did, but we spent Friday evening and part of Sunday doing things to improve the look of the yard: planted grass, repaired fence boards, built a stone landing at the bottom of the deck, cut down volunteer trees, planted a few flowers (thank you Dad for all your help!!!). Sandwiched in between the work was a lazy Saturday filled with reading and listening to the music of a group that I newly discovered late last week: Angus and Julia Stone.
This brother-sister duo from Australia is probably not new to the rest of you, but blog surfing just brought them to my attention and my daughter and I are both smitten with them. Not only do I enjoy their sound, but a number of their videos showcase the kind of creativity that sparks my artistic interest.
And so, to help both myself and the rest of you start your week off on the right note…yes, I realize how lame that is…I thought I would share a few of their songs/videos with you, starting off with the video that I stumbled across online, which is a very fun video of someone’s wedding put to the song Bella by Angus and Julia Stone. More videos after the jump.
‘Tis a dangerous thing to journey into the realm of a book blogger as ’tis easy to be ensnared by the lure of enticing books. Such was my peril when I recently came across this review by my friend Chris. When he wrote “Millhauser’s writing is something that is just a pure gift to readers”, I was hooked.
Enchanted Night is an all-too-brief glimpse into the magical and mysterious events that happen to a handful of residents in a small Connecticut town on a particular hot summer moonlit night. As darkness is pierced by the almost-full moon, strange forces begin to work on a group of people and inanimate objects in seemingly random, unconnected ways. Millhauser weaves these diverse elements into a cohesive though unconventional story, a story with its own set of dangers and mysteries yet filled with such beauty that it is nigh unto impossible to put this book down.
Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne ~John Keats
–this collection published 2009
–Penguin Books
–130 pages
–4/5 stars
I recently reviewed the beautifully tragic love story of John Keats and Fanny Brawne as adapted in Jane Campion’s film, Bright Star. I was so impressed with Keats’ poetry in the film that I picked up the companion book as a gift for my wife for her birthday…then promptly borrowed it to celebrate the beginning of National Poetry Month.
