Weekly Geeks: Saying Goodbye

Over the last nearly three years, the team keeping this blog running has ebbed and flowed. Mostly we've tried to be consistent in posting each Saturday and doing a wrap up each Friday. But, over the last several months not only has our focus as a team struggled, but participation in the weekly assignments has slowed to a trickle. There are those bloggers who come back week in and week out, and sometimes we see some new faces in the links, but overall attendance has sharply declined. So after some discussion, the Weekly Geeks team has decided that it is time to end this event.

I woke up today to the saddening news that Weekly Geeks will be coming to an end. Though I completely understand the reasoning behind the decision, it will, nevertheless , leave a gaping hole in my book blogging life. The sense of community that came along with participation is something that I will greatly miss. Our final assignment is to either share memories of Weekly Geeks creator Dewey, or to re-post a favorite assignment. Since I began blogging after Dewey's passing, I thought I would re-post a Weekly Geek's idea I submitted back in 2009 which the team so thoughtfully used.

So, my fellow Weekly Geeks, your challenge this week is to come up with at least one song-book match. It could remind you of a theme from the book, a specific part of the plot, or even one of the characters (a sort of theme song, if you will). Be sure to include samples of the lyrics and the reason why that song reminds you of that book. If you can provide a link to a recording of the song so that other geeks can hear it that would be great as well. (One good place to look for links is last.fm, there are others, too).

Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars - The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

You only know what I want you to
I know everything you don't want me to
Oh your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine
You think your dreams are the same as mine

Oh I don't love you but I always will
Oh I don't love you but I always will
Oh I don't love you but I always will
I always will

The atmosphere of tortured love found in this song beautifully fits Maugham's classic story of a married couple who put each other through hell. Maugham deals with the complexity and dichotomy of human nature, and The Civil Wars capture that in many of their songs, but especially in this one. See the official music video here.

Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel

I don't know you but I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me and always fool me
And I can't react

And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice
You've made it known

Ray Singleton was never in Livvy Dunne's plans, just as she wasn't in his. Yet even as both of them struggled with grief, loneliness, and shame, they each find themselves slowly falling for the other. To me, this song made famous in the indie film Once reflects the love that is possible in the midst of struggle and heartache and is a perfect compliment to Creel's 2005 novel. See the song here.

White Horse by Taylor Swift - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Say you're sorry
That face of an angel comes out just when you need it to
As I paced back and forth all this time
'Cause I honestly believed in you

Holding on, the days drag on
Stupid girl, I should have known
I should have known

From the very first time I heard this song by Taylor Swift, I've thought of it as Marianne's song. A girl who felt herself in a fairytale wakes up to find that her "prince" has deserted her, and in the end, leaves him behind in favor of a man who genuinely loves and cares for her. If this doesn't sound like Marianne - Willoughby - Col. Brandon, then I don't know what does. Jane Austen's classic story of passion and betrayal is echoed beautifully in this modern song. Listen to it here.