What’s a piece of media (book, movie, song) that changed how you see the world?

Today, we met our grandson and his lovely girlfriend at one of our old haunts, Drunken Monkey, a hip, foodie coffee house with some Orlando’s first and oldest place with vegan options and alt-flour baked goods, as well as wonderful soups and paninis, tea, smoothies, etc.  Now there are so many more right in the heart of Colonialtown and the Milk District, but it never fails to delight, reminding me of Trastavere in Italy.  It’s near a Barnes and Noble, and I lived close here even as an adolescent so I’ve visited many times in my 49 years in this area.  Im a big supporter of locally owned shops, but I am an even bigger fan of books, in general, so we stopped in to take a peek. 

The magazine section had been one of my favorites because magazines are like mindless scrolling on Instagram–eye candy.  Rows and rows of printed glossy goodness to browse and maybe take home…

And journals and paper books of all kinds, cookbooks, teen fiction, myths, kids books, language books, and a huge wall dedicated to religion’s Big Three.  There were records, and games, and puzzles, and Legos…lots of Legos.

I used to take our kids here on Fridays to pick out a book, get a cookie from the café, pet the pets next door waiting adoption (even took a cat home).  I did spend more than I should have in the early 2010s, but not today.  I thought I never had seen a book I didn’t want.  Tolkien?  Yup, we have 5 different editions of The Hobbit.  Homer? Yup, I have at least 5 translations and a notebook from college with three of the books (chapters) in Greek.  All the classics, still calling me.  You want me. You NEED me.  Buy me. 

Even with a teacher discount, there wasn’t a book under $9.99, and most were $30.00.  The magazines were in that range, too.  It was kind of nostalgic, this experience.  Books and music shaped me as a reader, mother, teacher, adulting before the advent of computer and social media.  Kant called it Weltanschauung. 

Books are beautiful.  I think, as with music and song, why not write one’s own?