The Importance of Being An Earnest Re-Reader
or Under the Microscope
First, let me pimp Stephen R. Donaldson. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant struck a deep chord with me in high school, and they remain one of the most challenging set of books I've ever read - both in terms of vocabulary and in terms of what the characters endure. They're not for the faint of heart (or the light of dictionary), but they are well worth the effort. It also should be noted that they are a far cry from the generally formulaic fantasy books that tout men that look like Fabio in leather armor on their covers; this is a few steps away from the norm.*
Now to the point. Have you ever thought about the things in life that have defined your character, your attitudes, and your general frame of mind? Just tonight, someone was drawing parallels between a friend of his and a character portrayed in a movie. Donaldson's TC books offer several glimpses into why I am the way I am. I see in myself Foamfollower's choice to laugh even in the worst situations. I see myself in Covenant's rage against impotence at the way events unfold in my life. I see the respect and love of the Land manifest itself in this real world in my environmental consciousness.
And it's not just Donaldson's works that have shaped me. Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles** were my first taste of moral law outside the strictures of the Bible; the beginnings of my passion for justice. Stephen King's immortal Roland Deschain had a similar sense of what should be done. Another character once says of him that he is the sort of man who straightens pictures frames as he walks through rooms. David Eddings created characters with very dry senses of character in his Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium, and Tamuli series - dry humor is pretty much the foundation of my own wit. Howard Roark's strict rationalism was a model of my own uncompromisingly rational phase before I realized there were flaws in its design and reforged it into something much finer and more practical. My one-sided smile comes from reading about a character with a lopsided smile in the Boxcar Children books.
The list goes on. How many moments or lengths of time in your past can be sharply recalled or summarized in a song from that period? I don't just end every post with "Stay young" because Liam sings it - it's an attitude I'm constantly trying to reinforce both in myself and in those I know. How many times have you watched a TV show and decided that you want to be like that actor? Or how many times have you watched a movie and felt the same attraction towards a style, a demeanor, or a hobby?
Collecting all of these sources is a wild exercise in self-discovery. Feeling bored sometime? Think about the sources that have shaped you, or the sources you have used to shape yourself. Did it turn out the way you wanted it to? Have you forgotten what you wanted to be? Fire up the turntable and do nothing but listen to the music. Dust off that book and read it not just to learn what happens next, but to examine the characters you love. Dig the VCR out of the basement and watch that VHS tape that you used to watch religiously every day after school when you were younger. Rediscover the person you once wanted to be. If you're not that person now, it's never too late to change.
Stay young, kids. I really mean it.
* - The Holt-Rinehart Winston editions of the first trilogy are examples of what true cover art should look like. The editions which use D.K. Sweet's illustrations are abominable.
** - Apparently I'm most influenced by books with the word "Chronicles" in the title.
or Under the Microscope
First, let me pimp Stephen R. Donaldson. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant struck a deep chord with me in high school, and they remain one of the most challenging set of books I've ever read - both in terms of vocabulary and in terms of what the characters endure. They're not for the faint of heart (or the light of dictionary), but they are well worth the effort. It also should be noted that they are a far cry from the generally formulaic fantasy books that tout men that look like Fabio in leather armor on their covers; this is a few steps away from the norm.*
Now to the point. Have you ever thought about the things in life that have defined your character, your attitudes, and your general frame of mind? Just tonight, someone was drawing parallels between a friend of his and a character portrayed in a movie. Donaldson's TC books offer several glimpses into why I am the way I am. I see in myself Foamfollower's choice to laugh even in the worst situations. I see myself in Covenant's rage against impotence at the way events unfold in my life. I see the respect and love of the Land manifest itself in this real world in my environmental consciousness.
And it's not just Donaldson's works that have shaped me. Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles** were my first taste of moral law outside the strictures of the Bible; the beginnings of my passion for justice. Stephen King's immortal Roland Deschain had a similar sense of what should be done. Another character once says of him that he is the sort of man who straightens pictures frames as he walks through rooms. David Eddings created characters with very dry senses of character in his Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium, and Tamuli series - dry humor is pretty much the foundation of my own wit. Howard Roark's strict rationalism was a model of my own uncompromisingly rational phase before I realized there were flaws in its design and reforged it into something much finer and more practical. My one-sided smile comes from reading about a character with a lopsided smile in the Boxcar Children books.
The list goes on. How many moments or lengths of time in your past can be sharply recalled or summarized in a song from that period? I don't just end every post with "Stay young" because Liam sings it - it's an attitude I'm constantly trying to reinforce both in myself and in those I know. How many times have you watched a TV show and decided that you want to be like that actor? Or how many times have you watched a movie and felt the same attraction towards a style, a demeanor, or a hobby?
Collecting all of these sources is a wild exercise in self-discovery. Feeling bored sometime? Think about the sources that have shaped you, or the sources you have used to shape yourself. Did it turn out the way you wanted it to? Have you forgotten what you wanted to be? Fire up the turntable and do nothing but listen to the music. Dust off that book and read it not just to learn what happens next, but to examine the characters you love. Dig the VCR out of the basement and watch that VHS tape that you used to watch religiously every day after school when you were younger. Rediscover the person you once wanted to be. If you're not that person now, it's never too late to change.
Stay young, kids. I really mean it.
* - The Holt-Rinehart Winston editions of the first trilogy are examples of what true cover art should look like. The editions which use D.K. Sweet's illustrations are abominable.
** - Apparently I'm most influenced by books with the word "Chronicles" in the title.
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