At the Moment: April
mythical current favorites including Till We Have Faces and Twilight Princess
Hey friends! In case you missed it, I've revived an old monthly practice of mine in which I compile a list of some current favorite books, albums, games, etc. I’ve already tweaked how I format and share these lists a little, but here’s last month’s edition, if you haven’t checked it out:
And now, somehow, we find ourselves nearing the end of April already?! Some of the flowers have already died, but the warblers are still arriving. I try to treat the springtime as my true “new year,” so it’s been exciting beginning to work towards some new goals, particularly when it comes to my writing.
As you’ll probably notice in this post (and the previous posts!), I’ve been finding myself heavily inspired by fantasy genres, especially those with mythical atmospheres and elements from nature. The stories I’ve immersed myself in have been beautifully affecting the project I’m focusing on right now (which you can read about here—I’m so excited to share it with you all!):
Reading
Fiction
I don’t remember what even prompted me to do so, but one evening in April, I started flipping through the first pages of C.S Lewis’ Till We Have Faces—a retelling of the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche—and fell in love with this story all over again. The existential crises (but in a clarifying and challenging way…soul-searching ponderings, or something like that, might be a more positive way of putting it?) I experienced after finishing various chapters reminded me of how it’s one of my very favorite novels.
The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing — to reach the Mountain, to find the place where all the beauty came from — my country, the place where I ought to have been born. Do you think it all meant nothing, all the longing? The longing for home? For indeed it now feels not like going, but like going back.” - C.S. Lewis
I’m also a good fifty-or-so pages into Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, which I’m quite enjoying. Although I really can’t tell where this story is going yet (it has some seriously mysterious worldbuilding), the writing itself is beautiful and clicks with me.
Listening
Music
I almost think I listened to too many good albums this month. (And these are good albums spread throughout way too many genres/categories to easily list—I want to write more music-focused posts here, soon.) But for now, I’ll just talk about one of these artists who very much fits the mythical theme of this month’s other favorites!
Aurora Aksnes (known simply as AURORA) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who makes some of the most interesting pop music I’ve ever listened to. Her songs feel very mythical in that they already maintain a fantastical, (sometimes darkly) whimsical sound with an abundance of references to nature. As a Christ-follower (even though her work stems from a different spiritual lens), I’m often struck by how her music expresses a yearning for something eternal, something nondestructive and good beyond the brokenness and evil dwelling in our old earth.
I’ve been loving the album What Happened To The Heart? — especially “Echo of My Shadow,” “To Be Alright,” “Some Type of Skin,” and “A Soul With No King.”
Playing
After discovering the immense beauty of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, I decided I’d like to eventually play all of the Legend of Zelda games. I only played those two along with just the beginning of Ocarina of Time (1998) on my old 3DS years and years ago. But I found an old copy of Twilight Princess (2006) last month and am a few hours into the game, now.
As I’d been told, this story is a wholly different experience from BotW/TotK—even if it’s in the same franchise with some of the same characters, it’s part of an entirely different genre. Twilight Princess has an atmosphere overwhelmed with melancholy and hauntingly beautiful themes. (Even after being warned, the darkness in this game still kind of shocked me! It’s a story about light prevailing over the dark, and yet…that darkness is deep.)
A year ago, I never would’ve thought I’d put video games in the same category as books, poems, and music as inspiration for my storytelling. But just like I’ve found—as long as you don’t let it become a time sink—there are plenty of games with beautifully told stories that could be just the kind of rest and “play” you need to refill your creative well!
What have you been reading, listening to, watching, or playing this spring? Join the conversation by letting me know in a comment below!
Zelda is an elite fandom!
It’s so good to see you share the ways that you are refilling your creative well! It’s so essential to any kind of creative work.
I recently saw a review of Piranesi, which intrigued me! I just put it on my list, so it’s funny that you’re reading it!