Current Obsessions (Disguised as Recommendations), Part 4

Now reading: The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis - One of my most vivid memories from elementary school was the day (probably in third grade) that we read an excerpt from Voyage of the Dawn Treader and received a homework assignment to write a limerick. Just a few months after that, I found the book on a bookshelf at my grandparents' house, surrounded by the rest of the series. Unlike most people, who conventionally start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that was my introduction to Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia were among my favorite books when I was growing up, and I continue to re-read them every few years. The last time I did so was when the first movie came out, back in 2005. When the film version of Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released a few months ago, I decided it was past time to read the series again. What I love most about Lewis' books is how he created an entire world yet kept the story simple enough for children to follow along. The same cannot be said about Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is too bogged down in descriptive details to be a good introduction to the fantasy genre. Obviously it's a classic work that I adore, but there's a reason that children are given Narnia first. I also love that bits and pieces of history are offered along the way before the origins and destruction of Narnia are fully explained in the final two books, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. This way, it feels like the reader is exploring Narnia and falling under its magic spell just as much as the Pevensie children or the others.

Now watching: Les Misérables, the 25th Anniversary Concert - If I had had this blog back in October, I would have spent days gushing over this event. Les Misérables is hands-down my favorite musical, and I've kept up with each cast change since May 2009, when I saw it twice in England. I watched most of the concert as youtube clips the day after it took place, then watched it on the big screen when a handful of U.S. movie theaters aired it in November, pre-ordered it on DVD, and watched it on PBS on Sunday. The beauty of this cast is how they cast big names (Nick Jonas, Matt Lucas, Ramin Karimloo) to draw in the crowds and integrated current and recent cast members (including some I saw in London and plan to see this summer) into the supporting roles.

Now listening to: "Who's David" by Busted - Remember how I wrote about the random scene set to the soundtrack of Busted in the middle of Love Story in Harvard? Well, I took that as a sign that I needed to order the CD, so I did. It's a great album filled with catchy British pop, and by far the best song is "Who's David." Also, it's obviously no coincidence that it's one of the songs co-written by Tom Fletcher of McFly, one of my favorite songwriters.