Tag: The Echo of Old Books

Star Wars Chat Pack: What if you had psychometry?

Welcome to Day 23 of my NaBloPoMo Challenge, in which I randomly pick a card from the Star Wars Chat Pack.

Today’s question is: Some Jedi can sense the history of an object when they touch it. If you had this ability, what item would you want to pick up and learn about?

I think this Force ability–called psychometry–is quite interesting, and seems rare. Jedi like Quinlan Vos and Cal Kestis have this ability, and can often sense feelings and/or see events linked to an object. Ahsoka, however, did this in her show with shards of the map to find out what happened to Sabine. I don’t recall her ever doing that before, so maybe it’s something that can be learned.

Ahsoka with the broken map.

Anyway, what would I want to touch and learn about?

I can’t really think of anything in particular in my life or in the world in general, unless they’re mysterious historical objects. Historians or archeologists would love this ability–they can get information on just about anything they discover, without having to guess or piece together what it’s all about. Picking up artifacts, touching buildings (The Shroud of Turin? The Pyramids? etc). Mystery solved! That would be pretty cool. Or detectives trying to solve a crime, although the legality of such insights would be up for debate.

Unlock the mysteries…

I recently read a book called “The Echo of Old Books,” in which the protagonist has psychometry, but only with books. She’s a used bookseller, naturally, and sometimes can get intense feelings from certain books. Joy, sadness, anger, whatever, of the person who last read that book. The point being that books can absorb these intense emotions, that some people are so attached to certain books that they leave an imprint behind on them. I think that’s a cool idea. I’d want images, too, though. Maybe it’s a little creepy, lol, but it would be neat to know who loved a particular book and why, how they felt about it, what part it played in their life. As a book lover, I feel like books are living things, breathing with not only the characters and the stories inside the covers, but also with the people who read them.

Good book.

The only other thing I can think of is maybe something that belonged to a grandparent or an ancestor, and I could get a sense of their life. Memories, emotions, whether they were happy or fulfilled. We rarely know a lot about our forebears beyond our parents, at least in my case. It would be like an added tool in your genealogy research, bringing the facts you unearth to life. A window into their lives.

Old photos, coins, jewelry, or keepsakes of an ancestor would be great objects to learn about your family history.

Anyway, that’s what I’d get out of this particular Force power. What about you? What would you want to pick up and learn about? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Entertainment Update For August

Hello friends! I’ve been busy with reading, as usual, and looking forward to a few upcoming shows. Here’s the deets:

Rise of the Red Blade. This is the latest Star Wars canon novel, by Delilah S. Dawson, and it is a great read. It chronicles Jedi Padawan Iskat Akaris during her time at the Jedi Temple, and the events that influenced her turn to the dark side and led to her becoming an Inquisitor. Iskat is the only one of her species in the Temple, and she feels out of place most of the time. She had caused an accident that injured another Padawan; she’s not very good at meditating, and she discovers at the Battle of Geonosis what she’s truly good at: killing. When she tries to discover more about her species and/or family, she gets the distinct feeling that the Masters are hiding something (they are). We spend about two thirds of the book with Iskat as a Jedi, and only the last third as an Inquisitor; this is the story of her lead-up to turning, voluntarily, to the dark side. And Dawson does a fantastic job of it, making Iskat a sympathetic character, while not shying away from her violent, dark side tendencies and her misguided choices.

Last of the Jedi book 2: Dark Warning. My continuation of the junior novel series that features Obi-Wan Kenobi and Ferus Olin. Obi-Wan discovers that an Inquisitor (and I find the Inquisitors in Legends rather lame, lol) is investigating something at Polis Massa, where Padme gave birth to Luke and Leia, so he goes there to protect that secret. Ferus must go to Ilum to find a surviving Jedi and while he’s at it, find a crystal for a new lightsaber. They also discover a livable asteroid in a cosmic storm that Ferus wants to turn into a refuge for any surviving Jedi. This idea of a safe haven for Jedi survivors reminds me of Tanalorr in the Jedi: Survivor game, which is a haven for the Hidden Path. I love how Star Wars canon is frequently borrowing ideas from Legends.

The Fallen Star Reread. With Phase 3 beginning in the fall, I thought I’d reread the last adult book of Phase 1, as Phase 3 will return to these characters after a trip back in time in Phase 2 with new characters. The Fallen Star tells how the Nihil, specifically its leader, Marchion Ro, orchestrated the destruction of the Jedi space station, Starlight Beacon, ending the phase at a very low point for the Jedi. I’m eager to see where these characters are and how they’ll respond to the Eye of the Nihil in this last phase. (There will be a book of High Republic short stories, Tales of Light and Life, coming out on September 5th, that will be a sort of preview of Phase 3, and I’ll be reading that, as well).

The Echo of Old Books. This is the latest book we’re reading in the book club I’m part of. It begins with Ashlyn in 1984, who has psychometry, the ability to sense emotions from objects, primarily books (I only knew the word from Star Wars as a rare Force ability, lol–like Quinlan Vos, Cal Kestis, and Karr from the book Force Collector). She owns a used book shop, and finds a self-published book from which she feels intense emotions. She begins to read it, and finds it’s a memoir-like tragic love story between a Brit and a New York socialite in 1941,written by the Brit, Hemi. She’s intrigued, but it gets more interesting as she find another self-published book written by the socialite, Belle, as a written answer to his book. Ashlyn becomes determined (and perhaps a bit obsessed) to find out who these people actually were and how their story ends. A kind of tragic love story literary mystery sort of thing, with psychometry thrown in. An interesting and absorbing read.

Countdown to Ahsoka. Of course, I’m hyped about Ahsoka, which premieres next week on August 23rd. I haven’t done a lot of prep, as in rewatching Rebels in its entirety (I’ve already watched it through 2 or 3 times in the last few years), but I have cherry-picked a few episodes and arcs the past few weeks. Namely, the finales of the four seasons, as well as the Twilight of the Apprentice arc and the Lost Commanders arc. It’s all great, though. Can’t wait to see these characters in live action! Seeing Thrawn will be cool, but I’m most interested in Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, the two dark force users with orange lightsabers. Bring it on!

Loki Season 2 Trailer. I am soooo excited for this! I’ve been waiting two long years for season two of Loki, and it will finally be here on October 6th. I’ll admit, I haven’t been as faithful to Marvel lately, just catching the movies that interest me (Dr. Strange 2, Thor 4, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3) and skipping a lot of the shows (Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Secret Invasion). But I will ALWAYS be here for Loki, lol. Can’t wait to see what shenanigans Loki gets into with Mobius and Sylvie in this multiverse madness.

Are you looking forward to Ahsoka and Loki? What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!