It's a Fringe world

You all know by now that I have fallen in love with a tv show called Fringe. What you may not have figured out is exactly how deep this love affair has become for me. I bought the soundtrack to the first season last week and have listened to it every day since. That's how much this show has become part of my life! I have to laugh a little. I've been obsessed with books, I've read books that I've ended up dreaming of, I've carried books with me through all the stages of my life, and there are characters who are almost as real to me as people are. I do not recall any tv show affecting me like this, no matter how much I enjoyed it. Something about Fringe, about the story it is telling about Olivia, Peter, and Walter, has captured me completely. I think I am beginning to understand those Star Wars and Star Trek fans who used to have every single thing ever brought out. I'm not saying I would buy every single thing, but I'd like a Peter doll, and an Olivia one. Gee, a tiny Walter's Lab would be fun!

What I mean to say is, I keep meaning to write more often on here, but I'm usually thinking about previous episodes, upcoming ones, searching for reviews, talking to my new Fringe fan friends I've met. I don't know if there is an official word for us yet, but I've fallen into that rabbit hole that is an obsession with a cultural event. It's kind of fun, and kind of scary. It's not like I'm a teenager!

The good news is, I have not left behind my passion for books - there is nothing on this planet that could do that. I have been reading, though not to any level that will have me finishing 100 books this year. I have ordered The Cipher Garden again, and then I threw in The Arsenic Labyrinth so I could keep reading the series as soon as it arrives. Also, I found a copy of Nemesis finally - Harry! Harry Hole! I'm coming! I even found myself telling one of my co-workers yesterday all about Harry and falling in love with him. Now she wants to read The Redbreast too. So books are my constant, still, and always. Fringe has just moved up very high on my list of passions.

One thing I do like about Fringe is that books turn up every once in a while. Markham's books is a used bookstore Peter frequents, that the owner can usually come up with anything in books they are looking for. I'd like to work in Markham's book store. It is the way the best bookstores are, crowded with books, shelves, and Markham is funny. I'm sure he'd let me work there for a while. Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll (one of his earliest works) even gets a mention in the episode "Ability' in the first season. I've read Land of Laughs! It was over 20 years ago, so I don't remember everything, but I remember crying at the end of it. Which is pretty much what Fringe has had me doing ever since Olivia discovered that Peter is from the alternate universe. For anyone looking for a good fantasy author and book to read for Carl's OUaT3, Land of Laughs or most books by Jonathan Carroll are a good bet. So how can I not love this show? Never mind that Land of Laughs is about a reality that changes according to what the townspeople think should happen, so it's about - alternate realities. Fringe is layered with symbolism like that, so I end up looking for more clues.....speaking of layering symbolism, Peter is the one who knows the real worth of Land of Laughs. How can I not like a hero who likes books? And a show that pays attention to details like this?

I think after my very difficult year last year, Fringe has come along to awaken me to all that is still possible to dream about and wonder about, for me, in life. Along with Mary Oliver, and Dido (thanks to Susan and Lee, who introduced me, I'm playing the music of Dido every day), there are new things in my life as I view this new terrain I'm on, living with a chronic disease. I'm still coming to terms with what that means for me, and how it's changed my life. Mary Oliver is reminding me of my love of poetry and nature, and why I wrote it in the first place and what I love about the world. Dido is reminding me how much I love music and need to hear it much more regularly than I had been for some time. Fringe is reminding me of how much I love layered writing, mythic arcs and story telling over several seasons with characters that I adore. Horror, mystery, science and science fiction, family drama, life-changing events that reverbrate up and down the years, and strong characters who are completely believable - Fringe has this in spades, and I can't get enough.

I've only recently come to the realization that I am picking up the pieces after the explosions and drama of last year. I know I'm fortunate, and that I could be in a much worse place if some of the tests had come back positive. The best news (other than that I just have diabetes and nothing else is wrong) is that I had my first writing idea in over a year, earlier this week. So I know I'm heading back to where I want to be, and I'm grateful that the leaves are coming out on the trees, and the spring birds have come back and fill the world with their songs, and that there is room and time for new passions in my life.

I am keeping this blog. I do love it and am proud of what I have written about books and life over the past two and a half years. I am especially thrilled to have met of all of you who share my love of books and reading. Some of you have become special to me, becoming my friends as well. I think I've been taking a break without being aware of it, for the past few months. So if you don't mind, I think more posts about Fringe will be creeping in, because after 6 months with this show, it's become part of my life, and I have to talk about it. This isn't just a blog about books any more, though they will still make up the huge bulk of it. I hope you'll still enjoy coming here. I will still keep the same blog title, because that really is my philosophy in life. Now, if only Markham's bookstore really did exist......