Those darn price-tag stickers

 

Tangerine Dream: Loved by the Sun

I woke up this morning singing this song because I was singing it in my dreams for some reason (wish I could remember why): Loved by the Sun by Tangerine Dream, from the 1985 movie Legend.  

And so, of course, since I couldn't get it out of my head, I had to get online to watch the video.  Twice.  I have always loved this song, scene, and movie.  A favorite of mine since I was a kid.  

I've always had a thing for bizarre fantasy-type movies.  When I was a kid, my favorites were movies like Legend, Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story, The Princess Bride, Flight of the Navigator, Dark Crystal, The Last Unicorn, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Little Mermaid, Time Bandits, The Great Muppet Caper, Sheena, Ghostbusters, Splash, Flash Gordon, Wizard of Oz (but Return to Oz was terrible, so terrible), Dragonslayer, The Beastmaster, etc.  Those fun (or slightly dark) fantasy kinds of movies.  

And I have recently, as an over-45-year old, began reading fantasy-type books too, such as The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The NeverEnding Story, The Princess Bride, Redwall, The Last Unicorn, The Narnia series, and others.  So much fun!  And a great break from the stresses and tragedies of real life.

Enjoy the song, a blast from my past!  

(Now I have to go watch the movie again too.)

Book-lovers will understand!

A conversation between my husband and me as we were leaving for a hike:

Me: Am I gonna need a book?

Him: No, we're just hiking.

Me: Yeah, but are we gonna stop anywhere for a few minutes where I might need a book to read?

Him: That's not the plan.

Me: I'm going back to get a book.

Books I Finished and Books I'm Starting

I’ve been working my way through a bunch of books right now.  I’ve always got several books going at once for different moods and different times of the day.  I prefer Christian/inspirational/Bible-based books (and the Bible itself, of course) in the morning and maybe right before bed (depending on how much anxiety I’ve got that day), relaxing ones in the lull between finishing lunch and starting dinner, and heavier books when I feel like I can handle heavier topics (which isn’t often lately, which is why I’ve gravitated towards children’s/young adult books). 

[Ugh, I’m so bummed!  I was driving home the other day from some stupid random outing, and I saw a “library book sale today” sign on the front of the library.  I missed the first, critical day of the area’s best library book sale by ONE HOUR!  I was so mad the whole rest of the day.  I LOVE library book sales.  Bummer!  But I did go the next day, when everything was all picked over, and I found a few random art books … and a book called The Gospel According to Tolkien.  SCORE!  I’ve been totally addicted to Lord of the Rings since lockdown 2020, so I was tickled pink to find this book.  Made it okay that I missed the sale the day before.  Well, not really, but kinda.]

My Kind of Books

I love books.  Of all different kinds.  Over the years, I've gone through phases of which genre I liked and read.  

I've gone through the "academic phase" during college and grad school when I mostly read educational/psychology books.  

There was the "gardening phase," which included LOTS of books on creating gardens, using food from the garden, herb gardens, fruit plants, etc.  (I did an enormous amount of garden reading in the 11 years we rented, when we couldn't have a garden.  That way, I was prepared for when we did finally get our own home and yard.)  Currently, I am researching medicinal herb gardens - which herbs/weeds (not pot!) to grow and how to use them.  Because ... well, because it's 2022 and the world's falling apart.  Time to be prepared and take some matters into our own hands.

"The Last Goodbye" - A Song for Us Hobbits

There's a song at the end of The Battle of the Five Armies (from the Hobbit trilogy) that's become one of my favorite songs.  I feel this song, especially the line about "Many places I have been, many sorrows I have seen..."  That's kinda been my last several years: many sorrows I have seen.  Many trials.  Many heartbreaks.  (Everyone who lives long enough will have many of these.)

Most recently, I had the awful experience of being on the witness stand for three hours, giving testimony against my mom.  And after nearly a week of trial, she was found guilty of ... well, of something really bad.  (She insists she didn't do it, but we think otherwise.  It's not exactly like the prosecution says, but close enough.)  And now she will spend her life in prison.  

Many sorrows I have seen.

Panic Buying

(Okay, I'm finally getting back to books.  I already brought this up, but I'm doing it again.)  

I admit it ... when lockdown happened last year (or was it two years ago?  I can't remember anymore; it's all a big blur.), I freaked out and started "panic buying."  Not toilet paper (well, a little ... okay, a lot) but a different kind of paper.  You see, shortly after the world went on lockdown, our library closed for remodeling ... and all of a sudden, I found myself in a panic.  A "what if books become unavailable" panic.  

Which first: book or movie?

I've contemplated this question over the years ...

Which is best: Watch the movie first or read the book first?  

And I've gone back and forth on this: "It's best to read the book first because then I'll understand the movie better/deeper ... No, it's best to watch the movie first so that I have a mental picture of places and characters and then the book will come more alive for me ... No, book first because it's what the author intended and then when I watch the movie, I'll be able to know the real story, what the movie changed or left out ... But, wait, maybe that's why I should watch the movie first, because if I know the real story and can tell what the movie changed or left out, it'll ruin the movie for me ... But if I watch the movie first then I'll know how it ends, and I'll feel like I'm wasting my time reading the book because the ending won't be a surprise anymore ... But surprises aren't always good; I hate investing a lot of time in a book and then being burned by a terrible ending, so maybe it's better to watch the movie first so that I'll know if I like the ending or not, if it's worth reading the book or not, and I won't waste as much time finding out because movies are way shorter than books ... But maybe the fact that the book takes so long to read is a reason to read the book first because, if I don't know what happens but it turns out to have a great ending (but I won't know till I get there), then I get more time to savor the journey, to get more invested in it and to enjoy the mystery of where it's going ... etc." 

Anyway, after going round and round on this for years, I think I finally figured out the best answer ...

Book-Sale Finds

Well, I went to that book sale the other day ... and what a bummer!  

Thousands of books and almost none that interested me.  

I was trying to find 2 books from a certain series and, of course, those were like the only 2 from the series they didn't have.  There were none from another series I was looking for.  The kid's section was really small, and I was hoping for a large one.  

Deep Thoughts, by a Book Lover

Okay, I'm just gonna come out and say it ...

I love books.  I love reading.  I love the written word.  Books, magazines, newspapers, comic strips, cookbooks, cereal boxes, the Bible, even school textbooks.  (You don't go on to graduate school to get a master's degree in psychology if you can't stand school and reading!)  

It doesn't matter what it is, I love to read.