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❄️It Won't Always Be Winter, According to This Book · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Friday Night Readers.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: Fueled by coffee, we break down the books referenced on Gilmore Girls.
• 0:11
  Our little literary corner of the world helps you understand
• 0:14
  what the characters
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: are talking so fast about and live in a world of books like worry.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like short, read fast.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Before we dive in,
• 0:22
  don't forget to subscribe to our Friday Night Readers
• 0:25
  newsletter community on
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Substack.
• 0:26
  You'll get instant access to a free printable list of 450 plus
• 0:31
  books on Gilmore Girls.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Plus,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: even more Gilmore-inspired content,
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: like our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge,
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: which we've been doing together since 2020.
• 0:40
  Paid members get exclusive extras,
• 0:42
  like our Gilmore Girls-inspired reading journal.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: And our unofficial guide to the books on Gilmore Girls.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Come hang out where the real Gilmore magic happens.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: FridayNightReaders.substack.com Hi, Friday Night Readers.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Today,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I want to share with you that it won't always be winter,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: according to The Lion,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Witch,
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: and the Wardrobe.
• 1:01
  It's always winter,
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  but never Christmas in The Lion,
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  the Witch,
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  and the Wardrobe by C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Here's why hope must remain on our coldest, darkest days.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: This month,
• 1:10
  as we read kids' books from the Gilmore Grass Booklist for our
• 1:12
  Rory Gilmore Reading
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Challenge,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm reviewing my read,
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  SPEAKER_00: The Lion,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Witch,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Wardrobe by C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis.
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  First,
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  let's talk about this fantastical allegory set in a magical
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  land in a time of war.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: In the show notes,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'll leave for you the sub-set post that accompanies this podcast,
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  and in there I have played the trailer from the 2005 movie
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  adaptation of this book.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Lion,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Witch,
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  and the Wardrobe is the first of seven classic children's books
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  in the Chronicles
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  SPEAKER_00: of Narnia series,
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  SPEAKER_00: which have sold a whopping 120 million copies.
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  SPEAKER_00: Set during World War II,
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  SPEAKER_00: four siblings,
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  SPEAKER_00: Peter,
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  SPEAKER_00: Susan,
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  SPEAKER_00: Edmund,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Lucy,
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  SPEAKER_00: are sent to live in a countryside house for their safety.
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  There,
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  Lucy discovers a magical wardrobe that leads to the land of
• 1:55
  Narnia.
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  However,
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  Narnia is ruled by the White Witch,
• 1:58
  who has placed the land under an eternal winter.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: After Edmund betrays his siblings and sides with the Witch,
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  SPEAKER_00: the children meet Aslan,
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  SPEAKER_00: the true ruler of Narnia.
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  To save Edmund and bring peace to Narnia,
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  Aslan faces the question of sacrificing himself.
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  It's a plot so iconic that not only does Rory Gilmore say she
• 2:14
  read it on Gilmore
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  SPEAKER_00: Girls in episode 6.4,
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  SPEAKER_00: But so too does her dad Christopher refer to it in episode 6.10.
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  SPEAKER_00: An atheist who became a Christian, C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis here offers an allahoriful retelling of the story of Jesus Christ.
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  SPEAKER_00: But my takeaways were more seasonal in nature.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's dive into it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Here's why winter symbolism resonates right now.
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  SPEAKER_00: Despite his reliance on Christianity for all of horrible storytelling,
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: the Lion,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Witch,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the Wardrobe resonated most with me for its symbolism,
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  surrounding the darkness of winter and the hope that must live
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  within us throughout
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  SPEAKER_00: it.
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  SPEAKER_00: While I could never get into this book as a child,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm more into fantasy now,
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  SPEAKER_00: and I just loved how it offered a deeper,
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  SPEAKER_00: more meaningful form of escapism,
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  SPEAKER_00: along with real-life lessons about winter,
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  SPEAKER_00: for my seasonal reading.
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  SPEAKER_00: I picked it up just after Christmas,
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  and I haven't been able to get this famous line out of my head
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  since that time.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is winter in Narnia and has been for ever so long.
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  SPEAKER_00: Always winter, but never Christmas.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a feeling many know in the days after Christmas,
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  that festive fury of anticipation reached its peak and reached
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  a crash into reality
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  SPEAKER_00: like a brick wall.
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  SPEAKER_00: Gifts have been opened,
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  SPEAKER_00: treats have been eaten,
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  SPEAKER_00: family and friends have returned home,
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  SPEAKER_00: decorations have been taken down,
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  SPEAKER_00: and everything that just felt magically joyous now feels there.
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  SPEAKER_00: What day is it anyway?
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  SPEAKER_00: It's also a time when winter first starts to feel like always winter,
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  SPEAKER_00: especially here in Philadelphia,
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  SPEAKER_00: where just last weekend,
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  SPEAKER_00: we endured a full day and night of bitterly chilling ice,
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  SPEAKER_00: snow,
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  SPEAKER_00: and wind,
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  SPEAKER_00: bringing life beyond the front door to a halt.
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  Each year,
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  my husband asks me what I want to do for my late January
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  birthday.
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  SPEAKER_00: And each year, I say nothing.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's cold.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's dark.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's bleak.
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  The only thing that sounds good to me right about now is
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  metaphorical hibernation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then we have the state of the world and the array of hardships we are
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  SPEAKER_00: simultaneously experiencing around it,
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  SPEAKER_00: both personal and communal.
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  SPEAKER_00: At times like these,
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  it can be hard to muster up Lorelei Gilmore's whimsical belief
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  that everything
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  SPEAKER_00: feels magical when it snows.
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  SPEAKER_00: Indeed, C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis himself served in the British Army during World War I,
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  SPEAKER_00: where his close friend was killed,
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  SPEAKER_00: and wrote this novel during World War II,
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  SPEAKER_00: shortly after the war.
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  SPEAKER_00: In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S.
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  Lewis's winter symbolizes an omnipresent reason of the mind,
• 4:27
  body,
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  emotions,
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  and spirit.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the root of all despair,
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  SPEAKER_00: fear,
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  SPEAKER_00: and sadness in Narnia,
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  SPEAKER_00: where everything feels,
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  SPEAKER_00: holds as ice,
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  SPEAKER_00: and heart as stone,
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  SPEAKER_00: on finding hope during winter.
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  In The Lion,
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  the Witch,
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  and the Wardrobe,
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  hope is found in Aslan,
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  the Lion.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight.
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  SPEAKER_00: At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more.
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  SPEAKER_00: When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
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  SPEAKER_00: But where do we find such hope on our darkest winter days?
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  SPEAKER_00: For expert advice on this topic,
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  SPEAKER_00: I look to Wintering by Catherine May,
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  SPEAKER_00: a nonfiction book about the winters in our own lives,
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  SPEAKER_00: literal and figurative.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the book,
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  SPEAKER_00: she finds transformative power in these moments,
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  from the realities of sadness to the basic survival need to see
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  like a cyclical,
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  SPEAKER_00: not linear.
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  SPEAKER_00: If nothing else, it's a preservation thing.
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  SPEAKER_00: First, she advocates both acceptance and appropriate action.
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  As adults,
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  we often have to learn to hear the clarity of a call of
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  sadness.
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  SPEAKER_00: That is wintering.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is the active acceptance of sadness.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is the practice of allowing ourselves to feel it as a need.
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  It is the courage to stare down the worst parts of our
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  experience and to commit to
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  SPEAKER_00: healing them the best we can.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wintering is a moment of intuition.
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  SPEAKER_00: Our true needs felt keenly as a knife.
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  SPEAKER_00: Next, she urged us to remember the nature of life.
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  SPEAKER_00: Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but it's crucible.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, I mean not for this to impart toxic positivity.
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  I'm not here to tell you that everything in your life will work
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  out if you just
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  SPEAKER_00: believe hard enough.
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  What I mean by it is that if we don't have any inkling of hope
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  in the depths of our
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  SPEAKER_00: winters,
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  SPEAKER_00: then what do we have left?
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  SPEAKER_00: Today, our feet are firmly planted in the snowy mounds of winter.
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  SPEAKER_00: We accept it.
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  SPEAKER_00: We take healing actions and we hope.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: I envision Aslan, his triumphant roar and the confident sway of his name.
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  Now,
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  before we go,
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  here are a few reading tips for The Lion,
• 6:23
  the Witch,
• 6:23
  and the Wardrobe.
• 6:25
  I listened to the audio version from the library,
• 6:26
  and I thought it was very well produced.
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  SPEAKER_00: And there are several TV, theater, and film adaptations.
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  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I prefer Disney's 2005 film adaptation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And many years ago,
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  SPEAKER_00: I visited a movie exhibit for this particular adaptation,
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  SPEAKER_00: and evidence of it still exists among other fans on the internet.
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  SPEAKER_00: I am linking that in the show notes for you.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: While you read,
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  SPEAKER_00: you should also eat Turkish delight,
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  SPEAKER_00: a soft,
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  SPEAKER_00: chewy,
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  SPEAKER_00: jelly-like candy,
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  SPEAKER_00: which may include nuts like pistachios or walnuts,
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  SPEAKER_00: and powdered sugar or coconut flakes to prevent sticking.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: You may recall that the White Wish used it to tempt Edmund's greed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finally, you can also find interesting reading resources at both the C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis Institute and C.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lewis' website.
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  SPEAKER_00: I also enjoyed the photos and maps on the website and to the wardrobe.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: All of these are linked in the show notes for you.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: By the way,
• 7:12
  I hope you were enjoying this new podcast format that explores
• 7:14
  the books of Gilmore
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: Girls through essays.
• 7:17
  I've got to say,
• 7:17
  a few weeks in now,
• 7:19
  I feel like best doing this type of work.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to Friday Night Readers.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I love having them here in our little corner of the Gilmore Girls world.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you'd like even more feel-good fun,
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: then upgrade to a free or paid email subscription membership at
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: fridaynightreaders.substack.com.
• 7:37
  Paid members get exclusive extras like our Gilmore
• 7:40
  Girls-inspired reading journal
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: and our unofficial guide to the books on Gilmore Girls,
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: broken down by episode.
• 7:46
  You'll also unlock members-only posts like weekly gazettes and
• 7:49
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• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: as well as full community access to our chats.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's the coziest virtual place like Stars Hollow,
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: and your support helps keep this podcast going strong.
• 8:00
  Lastly,
• 8:01
  if you enjoyed today's episode,
• 8:03
  please take a minute to rate and review the show.
• 8:05
  It helps other Gilmore fans find us,
• 8:08
  which helps me provide you with more content like this.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, life's short, read fast.