So many worlds
Amazing how many worlds I've encountered as I went on with my literary quests during the years - starting with the brilliance of Louis Carrol in the "Alice" stories, and finishing with the Harry Potter world, which is just a portion of our own. Looking at my book shelves (which are right in front of me as I write) I see the large part theses world have taken in my life - the seven books of the Narnia Chronicles, read in pieces during different times I was sick when I was young. I first got to know the series (even though I didn't know it was a series at the time) when I saw the British version of "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe" that was broadcast at least 15 years ago. Then, in a T.V. quiz about the series, to the first two books my dad brought me when I was sick, to my searches of the last remaining books when that series was not well known in Israel, to the last time I watched Disney's latest version of "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe". I believe that this series has really opened the fantasy world for me.
I won't go into what drew me into the "Alice" books, though the first book was brought home for my brother, not a great reader, and was adopted by me. Years after, I found the books have been translated again, with notes and interpretations I loved reading. Oh, the joy I had finding out all the back-story and the meanings of so many parts I loved!
I, of course, could talk about HP forever if I let myself. I remember not wanting to read the books at start, but when I did... Well, A life-long love was born, and the amount of times these book made me better in innumerable, and the number of times it made me think really hard about things in my life is even more so. There were times it really did, literally, save my life, but I've written about it plenty.
Right next to the HP books stand the Artemis Fowl books. They are really, really funny, and very good. The world of the Fairies in these books is incredibly clever, witty and sarcastic. Right up my alley.
On the shelf right next to the Narnia books stand Tolkin's LotR, a magical trilogy which holds so much in it I haven't even begun to fully unravel. It's incredible, and will always hold a lot of mysteries for me, which will make me go back and read it again, and again, and again, and I'll find better things in it every time I read.
Then we have Gaimen's "Neverwhere", which is the one book among all I've specifies 'till now that I've only read once, but I will again. and the world in this one is indeed "neverwhere".
Lyra's world is one of the most fascinating ones I've ever known, reading His Dark Materials trilogy. The idea of a daemon who is a part of your soul who walks around with you, talks to you and can be an outer expression of yourself for everybody to see is absolutely mind-blowing. In the words of one of the characters "They can't have my center, my Daemon is my center". A voyage I've taken time and time again, and makes me feel light-headed for days each time.
And, right in the end of the bottom left shelf, there's "Howl's moving Castle". Such a sweet story that the world in is one that just accepts magic, weirdness and nuttiness as easily as we do someone scratching their nose.
Up ahead there's La-Guin's "Left hand of darkness". Anyone who read this story knows how special it is, how it makes you look at our own world in a different way and understand that people are first and foremost people, and not just women or men.
There are more worlds - such as I haven't been able to penetrate yet, like Oz, or Erna (from "Black sun rising", and such that I haven't connected to so tightly like Fantasia in "The neverending story", but it doesn't mean I don't get so much from them.
What was my point? I can't seem to remember. I don't know if I did, I just think about all these places, and how they affected my life, and I'm grateful for all they gave me - a place to run to, meaningful insights about the world and myself, and a coping way with a lot of bad things.
I won't go into what drew me into the "Alice" books, though the first book was brought home for my brother, not a great reader, and was adopted by me. Years after, I found the books have been translated again, with notes and interpretations I loved reading. Oh, the joy I had finding out all the back-story and the meanings of so many parts I loved!
I, of course, could talk about HP forever if I let myself. I remember not wanting to read the books at start, but when I did... Well, A life-long love was born, and the amount of times these book made me better in innumerable, and the number of times it made me think really hard about things in my life is even more so. There were times it really did, literally, save my life, but I've written about it plenty.
Right next to the HP books stand the Artemis Fowl books. They are really, really funny, and very good. The world of the Fairies in these books is incredibly clever, witty and sarcastic. Right up my alley.
On the shelf right next to the Narnia books stand Tolkin's LotR, a magical trilogy which holds so much in it I haven't even begun to fully unravel. It's incredible, and will always hold a lot of mysteries for me, which will make me go back and read it again, and again, and again, and I'll find better things in it every time I read.
Then we have Gaimen's "Neverwhere", which is the one book among all I've specifies 'till now that I've only read once, but I will again. and the world in this one is indeed "neverwhere".
Lyra's world is one of the most fascinating ones I've ever known, reading His Dark Materials trilogy. The idea of a daemon who is a part of your soul who walks around with you, talks to you and can be an outer expression of yourself for everybody to see is absolutely mind-blowing. In the words of one of the characters "They can't have my center, my Daemon is my center". A voyage I've taken time and time again, and makes me feel light-headed for days each time.
And, right in the end of the bottom left shelf, there's "Howl's moving Castle". Such a sweet story that the world in is one that just accepts magic, weirdness and nuttiness as easily as we do someone scratching their nose.
Up ahead there's La-Guin's "Left hand of darkness". Anyone who read this story knows how special it is, how it makes you look at our own world in a different way and understand that people are first and foremost people, and not just women or men.
There are more worlds - such as I haven't been able to penetrate yet, like Oz, or Erna (from "Black sun rising", and such that I haven't connected to so tightly like Fantasia in "The neverending story", but it doesn't mean I don't get so much from them.
What was my point? I can't seem to remember. I don't know if I did, I just think about all these places, and how they affected my life, and I'm grateful for all they gave me - a place to run to, meaningful insights about the world and myself, and a coping way with a lot of bad things.