I was all "WHOA!" But girlfriend was sleeping, so was outwardly all, "...whoa."

A River Runs Through It, with Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt. Yes, it's a pretty slow movie, but that doesn't mean it isn't very engaging. Some of the Montana vistas are so beautifully shot they're heartwarming, and the narration and even some of the dialogue is simply downright poetic, if not profound. Come to think of it, the family narrative is something of a parallel to the Prodigal Son story I'd been struggling to understand today. Anyhoo, it's also interesting in kind of a secondary way in subtly being a nice period piece, of early 20th century rural life.
-"Each one of here today will at one time in our lives look upon a loved one who is in need and ask the same question: We are willing help, Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or, more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them - we can love completely without complete understanding."

Elantris, by Brian Sanderson. At first, I was kind of leary, as it seemed overly simple writing. Then, when themes of self-development and self-reliance picked up, I thought, hm, this would be good for teens or such to read. Then, I realized how complex and, yes, even exciting the politics in the novel had gotten (exciting politics, well played, mr. author). There are a couple turns near the end that were pretty jarring, like going from Harry Potter to Hostel in the space of a page, but then the ending was one last-minute save, heroic action, and plot twist after another. Like the multiple endings of Return of the King, but you don't want them to stop, because they're crazy awesome. And there's a fun index of pretty runes that are central to the story, bonus.

Wow, Mavia seems right up there with Boudicca.

Somewhat nsfw snazzy ink

Hmm, brings whole new angle to gender-switched behavior patterns

Tee, a children's book version of the origin of Spawn!