Sunday Supplement #125 (October 1st, 2023)
Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.
Please take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!
Quote of the Week:
“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.”
– Victor Hugo
Book of the Week:
Stardust – Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman’s third novel follows young Tristran Thorn, who will do anything to win the love of cold and beautiful Victoria.
Thorn even promises to fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. However, to do so, he must go across the unexplored lands beyond the wall that is their village’s namesake.
Tristran finds the realm of Faerie beyond the wall, where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.
I featured Stardust, the movie, in Sunday Supplement #31, but the book is well worth checking out for those who enjoyed the movie or love the fantasy genre.
Gaiman is a master storyteller, and even though he is early in his novel career, this Locus Award-nominated novel showcases some of the best of his imagination.
Movie of the Week:
Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies is an adaptation of the Isaac Marion novel about a highly unusual zombie who saves a still-living girl from a zombie attack.
The unusual zombie, R, played by Nicholas Hoult, forms a relationship with Julie, the still-living girl played by Teresa Palmer, which sets in motion events that transform the lifeless world.
Warm Bodies had a budget of $35 million and made around $117 million at the box office. The movie seemed like it came and went, though, because not many people have seen it.
The film is a hilarious but heartwarming story that is able to craft a thought-provoking world and explore what it means to be human.
Levine is probably most known for his film 50/50, but I highly recommend Warm Bodies as I have it high up on my feel-good movie list.
Brainfood of the Week:
What is Love? – Brad Troeger | TED-Ed
The animated TED-Ed video starts by emphasizing how there is no shortage of answers for what love means.
One of the challenges to defining love is comparing it to something else or getting a biased/skewed answer.
The video explains how our environments, experiences, and expectations can influence our experiences of love.
While the video shows how there can be many different interpretations, it emphasizes the necessity for communication and openness for it to grow.
This short video from Troeger is worth checking out for a thought-provoking look at how nuanced love can be.
Closing Spiritual Passage:
“When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.”
– Ethiopian Proverb
When I came across this Ethiopian Proverb, I was struck by the dual nature of the interpretation.
You can view the proverb as meaning love makes difficult things easier to navigate or be reminded that love can obscure reality.
I think both are helpful interpretations. We must remember to view things from a clear perspective, but we can also take strength in action from love.
Ideally, we can see things clearly and act from a place of love.
Find the strength in love, see things clearly, and have a blessed week ahead!