(no subject)

[spryng]

I just found out that one of my favorite authors passed away over the weekend. Brian Jacques died of a heart attack on the 5th. The article says he was 71, which is hard to believe considering he had another book in the works and still seemed pretty darn vibrant. I loved the series growing up - it wasn't just about rabbits and mice and feasting (although there was plenty of that). It was oftentimes horribly dark and depressing, with beloved characters being killed off, something you didn't get too much of in supposedly "children's" books. Inevitably the good guys always won, but I won't begrudge that this series.

I stopped reading them not because they were childish and I had grown out of them, but because they were fairly formulaic. Still, it is a wonderful series (although today I am wary to re-read them, lest I destroy my younger self's impression of them). I hope the series is still around years to come, so I can foist it on the younger generations. Rest well, Jacques.


Day 18 - Your beliefs
This seems a bit apropos. I don't have much in the way of beliefs, since I base much of my understanding of life and experiences on science and observation. But those things still left to the fancy, those things still unpinned, well. I believe that there is good in everyone, but that that good may be on their own terms and by their own definitions. I believe that there is beauty in everything, but that sometimes the beauty is hard to find or obscured. I believe that life is not all peaches and roses, but that it's not awful, rather that it's quite a bit of circumstance, luck, and outlook. And - this may be my christian upbringing coming through - I believe that pain is necessary to fully enjoy and understand life. Granted, there are always extremes.

Comments

[mockturtlesoup.livejournal.com]

I re-read a few of them a couple years ago and they held up! Well, the riddles weren't as exciting, but I too was scared at first, that they would disappoint.

71 isnt that old for an author. he certainly had a few books left in him.

sad day.

[spryng.livejournal.com]

Good to know! His latest is coming out in May, so I think I'll go ahead and put that on my list to read.

[pennywhistle.livejournal.com]

My sister was a huge Brian Jacques fan...I never actually read any of his stories :-( Maybe I should add them to my list.

[spryng.livejournal.com]

Definitely - especially the first few. If I ever drop by my parent's house, I could bring a few back for you.

[mockturtlesoup.livejournal.com]

Ditto on the first few. Those were tops. Like, the first seven. Redwall, Martin the Warrior, Mossflower and Salamandastron are my favorites. Mariel of Redwall and The Bellmaker are good too, as is Mattimeo... really yeah they're fun reads, except when they make you bawl.