Elijah David

We're officially into the autumn season and October (and Inktober*) has begun. That means our household is in for our annual spooky/Halloween/autumn movie marathon. One of our favorites to bring out this time of year is M. Night Shyamalan's The Village . It's been at least a year, if not several, since I last watched this one but it still makes me happy as both a consumer and creator of stories. However, it's not perfect, so I want to talk about what I (still) love and what doesn't quite work for me after all these years. Love: Ivy and Lucius These two are the heart of this movie (along with Ivy's father), and they are a demonstration of Shyamalan's ability to craft strong characters beset by extraordinary circumstances. Ivy is brave, but still experiences almost crippling fear. Lucius is passionate, but has trouble expressing that passion. Their story unfolds slowly but elegantly, and the climax of emotion and wit that is "the porch scene"...

In the words of the indomitable Samwise Gamgee, "Well, I'm back." Sorry for the unexpected absence of the last couple months. I experienced an unexpected career change earlier this year and while the transition has been fairly smooth, I haven't had a lot of blogging in me. I've told myself to just take the plunge and get back to it, but it took Mirriam's awesome autumn tag to finally get me back here. So without further ado, the Autumn Tag: Favorite Autumn Activity Walking. I love walking in the autumn when the air is crisp and smells of woodsmoke and dead leaves and the promise of adventure. There's a certain kind of wanderlust that appears in autumn that isn't always about reaching faraway lands but sometimes just about getting 'round the corner. Favorite Autumn Music The Harry Potter soundtracks, the Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack, the Lord of the Rings  film soundtracks Spooky or Cozy Autumn Both? Probably more cozy than...

September brings autumn with it, and though that may not be official for another three weeks, I want to jump-start the season with a run down of some favorite books to read in the fall. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Aside from the fact that this book begins in the fall, it just has such an autumnal feel to me throughout. It has forests and traveling and longing for both home and adventure, which encapsulates the spirit of the season for me. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury I'll try not to overload this list with Halloween-ish stories, but Something Wicked is such an autumn-infused story. Will's father even calls the carnival's denizens "The Autumn People". Bradbury and this book may be partly responsible for my own love of autumn. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis Really, Narnia in general can feel autumnal, but The Horse and His Boy  is the most autumnal, with its arid atmosphere and the Hermit of the South...