Anyway, my last Five Year Journal question asked Who are you in love with?
This question excites me because there are quite a few people in the world I have fallen in love with, but it is not often that I get asked to talk or write about them.
- Sir Terry Pratchett
- Prof. Brian Cox
- Neil Gaiman
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Aldous Huxley
- Stephen Fry
- Oscar Wilde
- Hypatia (of Alexandria)
and most recently
- John Green
These people stimulate neurological pathways in my mind that have long been darkened by the drudgery of 'real life'. I used to think a lot. I used to have the time to think. Nowadays I'm lucky if I remember to eat lunch. True story.
I'll go through each of them and try to explain why they mean so much to me, and how they have changed my outlook on certain things.
Sir Terry Pratchett
If you haven't heard of Terry Pratchett, or the Discworld series, I highly, strongly, desperately recommend it... it will change your life. Okay, it might not change your life, but I can guarantee that you will enjoy some aspect of it on a level you were unaware you could enjoy books on. Don't take my word for it, go borrow one, or buy one, or read one online, or download an audiobook. Whatever. Just get on it.
To sum them up; the Discworld novels take place on a flat world, on the backs of four elephants, who stand on the back of a giant turtle who flies through the never-ending universe. Not sold? The Discworld novels are a satirical take on the human condition; Pratchett pulls no punches when it comes to parodying the nuances and foibles of society as a whole, and he does it in such a way that it leaves you hanging on every word, scrambling to reach the asterisk when you see a footnote at the bottom of a page, and utterly exhausted once you've finished... It's probably better to give you an example, because my descriptive nonsense will never do it justice...
This is a conversation between Death (in capitals), and his granddaughter (!!) Susan.
Brandon Sanderson sums it up far better than I have done, in my inane rambling...
Terry Pratchett made me realise that a book can have everything. It can be a work of pure fantasy, but can make you think honestly and deeply about the world you live in, while at the same time forging firm emotional connections to characters and making you wet yourself laughing. And it is possible for the author to do all of this exceptionally well. Not often; but it can be done. I love him.
Prof. Brian Cox
Where do I begin. This man. This man. What a dream boat. No seriously. He is the nerd equivalent of like...I don't know, some popular male celebrity. (Brad Pitt? George Clooney? I'm not up with what the hip kids are into these days).
Read that. Now read it again. Now tell me you wouldn't be seduced by that. Honestly. If you haven't seen any of 'The Wonders' series (BBC), give it a go. This guy is the logical successor to David Attenborough. He's that good. He makes me think so deeply about things I feel like my brain is full of twinkling fairy lights.
More later today, or maybe tomorrow. We'll see what happens.
Love, me x
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