finding quotes

I really like finding good quotes.  I think I started ‘collecting’ them, in a sense, while I was in college.  It was the first time in my life where I did a lot of nonfiction reading.  As a naturally fiction-loving reader, this was a bit of a stretch at first; after time, however, I’ve come to love some of my text books as much as my favourite stories.  They remind me of people who I learned with, or of ideas that I can remember wrestling with at a certain point in time.  Most of my favourite nonfiction authors are highly quotable: Eugene-Pete and N.T. Wright among them.

Quotes help to crystallize those moments: focussing our attention on some thought or attitude or comment that moved us or startled us or made us laugh out loud.  Good quotes.

I discovered while reading The Hobbit for my Mythgard class that the Tolkien quote at the top of my blog is actually something Thorin says near the end of the story.  "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world" (Tolkien, The Hobbit).  Since it’s been a while since I’ve actually gotten to the end of the Hobbit (I’ve restarted it twice, I think?  Since first reading it…) I had no idea this was Thorin’s line!  It actually sounded like something Tolkien would say in his day-to-day life (probably was!).

In parting, here’s another great Tolkien excerpt.  This one from The Lord of the Rings:

“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places.
But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now
mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Anyone with a favourite quote out there?  Let’s hear it!

year one

Time truly does fly.

It’s been nearly a year since I began to make blogging a regular practice.  Some months were pretty active, some were clearly not (I haven’t posted anything since December!).  Yet it’s been a really interesting opportunity, and I’m hoping to do more of it this year.

2012 has brought new experiences.  I recently concluded a series on “Reading the Bible Well” for our fellowship’s adult Sunday school class.  It was difficult to get back into the routine of study, preparation and delivery on a weekly basis.  I’m so thankful for the time I had after finishing my undergrad to return to the college and teach for a year—I know I was calmer, and clearer for it.  Many people have expressed their appreciation for the classes.  Thank you for that!  If it made even a small difference in your life, then I can rest easy!  I look forward to doing more someday.  (Also, if anyone is interested in notes, let me know—I’m thinking of posting them on the blog at some point).

I’ve also started an online class for a Masters of Literature program through the Mythgard Institute, an online centre for Tolkien Studies.  The class is focussed on J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis—exploring their friendship, literary theories and novels in tandem.  I’ve already learned so much!  Yet with three weekly sessions, our evenings seem shorter (though fuller, if that makes sense)!  We just finished reading The Hobbit, and are moving on to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Some favourite that I haven’t picked up in awhile.

Thanks for dropping by!  Talk to you soon,

Nik