SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS by Arthur Ransome was first published in 1930. My copy was on Kindle, this was because I could not find it as a book. I found the rest of the series but not this first book. I was told that the first book is always the least amount published because publishers are not sure how the book will take off. I have found this in many current series and go crazy trying to find the first book. But back to my review.
This book is set in the summer of 1929. The Swallow and the Amazon are boats that the children vacationing on this lake have named. The Swallows are on holiday with there mother, the youngest child and the nurse. The children are Susan, John, Titty and Roger they imagine themselves as explorers of far away places. There are several islands on this lake and their mother lets them take the Swallow and sail to one of the islands to spend a couple of weeks on the island. The youngest is eight. They have labeled themselves John is Captain, Susan is Second Mate, Titty is Able-bodied Seaman and Roger is simply known as the boy. They are loaded with provisions, such as tents and camping gear. Sent on their way and pretty much left to their own devices. They call everybody not in camp natives, they call a houseboat a pirate ship and they name the islands after places that they would like to explore.
The Amazons are two girls from the Blackwell family. They are related to the man in the houseboat and also call him a pirate. They have done things to his boat, but the Swallows get the blame. The Amazons land on the island and say that it is theirs. So the two boats decide to have a "battle" to see who claims the island. All of this is in good fun.
This is a book that is definitely for children and is full of adventure. I do not think it is something a parent would allow in our current culture. Sending 4 children to be on there own for a couple of weeks, though the mom did visit once and awhile and she had in place a system to make sure they were okay, as the children were required to sail to a farmhouse for mil and eggs. But other then that they were alone on an island with many other boats on the water. This book reminded me of several other books of this era, where children had much more imagination and freedom to do many things without thinking about crazy people trying to hurt them. Good book.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Saturday, August 15, 2015
New Book and review of the book THE ROSIE PROJECT
I have started, a little bit ago, a book that I had trouble finding in either the library or the book store. I can find the sequels to this book but the only place I could find SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS by Arthur Ransome is online. It is a children's tale of 4 children on a summer adventure. I am 53% thru the book according to my Kindle. So far it is a pretty fun book. I will let you know about the book when I finish, hopefully, in the next few days. It is a pretty fast read.
I have also been reading a book called THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion. This is a great book about a man who has Asperger's syndrome, I think, who has been told by several people that he should find a companion or a wife. The book is set in Australia, with some time spent in the States. That he needed to get out and date people. Here is a man who has a routine for everything and is awkward around social situations. I do not have Asperger's but I definitely can relate to awkward around social situation. I had many a day growing up when my mom would tell me to think before I spoke. Usually, because I would repeat something she would say to the person she said it about, so I was always in trouble. I also have a hard time in crowds, trying to be part of different conversations. But it seems that our character Dr. Tillman, had ways to deal with this problem.
Anyway, he decides that maybe he should find the perfect wife, so he makes a questionnaire that he will have women either fill out or answer when on a date. He tries it on women at speed dating site, telling them that he was going to ask a set a questions then they could talk about what ever they wanted, this did not go over so well and they ended up starring at each other. Some of his criteria he just used his eyes to figure out, like a woman's BMI, or how late they are when they are going to an event.
While this is happening he has a friend Gene who is married, but is sleeping with woman from all over the world. He has a map that he puts a pin into when he has met that goal. He tells Tillman that they he and his wife have an open marriage. They are Tillman's best friends and Claudia is the person that Tillman likes to discuss his ideas about everything. This is true especially since he started the WIFE PROJECT. Gene fixes him up with someone who does not fit the parameters of the WIFE PROJECT, her name is Rosie. She has no idea that she is meeting a man trying to find a wife and Tillman automatically rules her out when she arrives late for a date, part of his rules on being timely to an event.
They become friends and set about on a different project, the FATHER PROJECT. Lots of projects in this book, lots of changes in the characters as they maneuver through these projects. A really good book.
Publishing Information: published in 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers LTD. It was first published in Australia by The Text Publishing Company.
I have also been reading a book called THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion. This is a great book about a man who has Asperger's syndrome, I think, who has been told by several people that he should find a companion or a wife. The book is set in Australia, with some time spent in the States. That he needed to get out and date people. Here is a man who has a routine for everything and is awkward around social situations. I do not have Asperger's but I definitely can relate to awkward around social situation. I had many a day growing up when my mom would tell me to think before I spoke. Usually, because I would repeat something she would say to the person she said it about, so I was always in trouble. I also have a hard time in crowds, trying to be part of different conversations. But it seems that our character Dr. Tillman, had ways to deal with this problem.
Anyway, he decides that maybe he should find the perfect wife, so he makes a questionnaire that he will have women either fill out or answer when on a date. He tries it on women at speed dating site, telling them that he was going to ask a set a questions then they could talk about what ever they wanted, this did not go over so well and they ended up starring at each other. Some of his criteria he just used his eyes to figure out, like a woman's BMI, or how late they are when they are going to an event.
While this is happening he has a friend Gene who is married, but is sleeping with woman from all over the world. He has a map that he puts a pin into when he has met that goal. He tells Tillman that they he and his wife have an open marriage. They are Tillman's best friends and Claudia is the person that Tillman likes to discuss his ideas about everything. This is true especially since he started the WIFE PROJECT. Gene fixes him up with someone who does not fit the parameters of the WIFE PROJECT, her name is Rosie. She has no idea that she is meeting a man trying to find a wife and Tillman automatically rules her out when she arrives late for a date, part of his rules on being timely to an event.
They become friends and set about on a different project, the FATHER PROJECT. Lots of projects in this book, lots of changes in the characters as they maneuver through these projects. A really good book.
Publishing Information: published in 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers LTD. It was first published in Australia by The Text Publishing Company.
Friday, August 14, 2015
Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo
I have finally finished THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexander Dumas. Mid-book I had to return my library copy and download it onto my Kindle, it cost .99 so not a bad deal. I love this book, it fit so well into my Sunday School lesson for adults. It was a good thing I finished before the lesson. We were studying about God and prayers being answered in God's time and that our prayers will always be there no matter where we are in life. So how does this tie into the book.
This book is about a young man who returns home excited to be marrying a young Catalan girl. He is youthful and happy and he is about to be promoted. Now there are several people who are just a little bit envious of Edmond Dantes. There is Danglers who wants the coveted position of Captain on the vessel, the captain has died at sea, but before he died he put Dantes in charge. Morrel the owner of the boat wants to keep Dantes on as Captain. Then we have Frederic who is the cousin to Mercedes. Mercedes is the love of Edmond's life. Frederic is also in love with Mercedes and would love to get rid of Edmond, but Mercedes says that if anything happens to Edmond she would die. Next in line is Caderousse, he is jealous of Edmond and his father and would love to extract all their money if he could figure out where they kept it. In other words he is a thief. The three of them meet for drinks while Edmond is meeting with Mercedes. They get Caderousse drunk and Frederic and Danglers draft a note saying that Edmond is a Bonapartist and is carrying a letter for the cause. Danglers then throws the letter away knowing full well that Frederic is so jealous he would do anything to get rid of Edmond. Frederic sends the letter to a man Villefort, who is in charge of the region, Villefort has aspirations of becoming the confident to the King, so he brings in Dantes. He asks Dantes if he has the letter, which Dantes then pulls out of his pocket. Villefort acting nice and assuring Dantes that all will be straightened out throws him in prison and essentially tells them to keep him incarcerated for life.
This is a great beginning for the book and it gets better as we continue into Dantes life in prison. Now this parts get a little long and I knew he would escape but I almost got bored at this part. In actuality this is a great writing device because Dantes himself was getting down and was resigning himself to be in jail forever, when he hears a scratching on the wall. Eventually, he meets the Abbe. They figure out an escape plan. The Abbe tells him of a great fortune on the Island of Monte Cristo. At first Dante does not believe him and then he realizes that the Abbe is not the madman that the guards believe he is.
Now we know an escape happens and the riches discovered, the rest of the book is full of twists and turns as Dantes in many disguises seeks revenge on the very people who put him in prison. He finds his father has dies and Merceded ha done the unthinkable and married Frederic. Frederic and Dangler are in Paris and wealthy. Caderousse is married and owns an Inn. Villefort is also in Paris and has a new wife. All of them, except Caderousse, have children that are at the age where they can marry. Dantes uses the vices of each person to extract his revenge.
This is a great book. It is also a long book, over 1000 pages. Once you get into the revenge part it moves really fast. Lots of good character development and interesting connections between all the characters.
This book is about a young man who returns home excited to be marrying a young Catalan girl. He is youthful and happy and he is about to be promoted. Now there are several people who are just a little bit envious of Edmond Dantes. There is Danglers who wants the coveted position of Captain on the vessel, the captain has died at sea, but before he died he put Dantes in charge. Morrel the owner of the boat wants to keep Dantes on as Captain. Then we have Frederic who is the cousin to Mercedes. Mercedes is the love of Edmond's life. Frederic is also in love with Mercedes and would love to get rid of Edmond, but Mercedes says that if anything happens to Edmond she would die. Next in line is Caderousse, he is jealous of Edmond and his father and would love to extract all their money if he could figure out where they kept it. In other words he is a thief. The three of them meet for drinks while Edmond is meeting with Mercedes. They get Caderousse drunk and Frederic and Danglers draft a note saying that Edmond is a Bonapartist and is carrying a letter for the cause. Danglers then throws the letter away knowing full well that Frederic is so jealous he would do anything to get rid of Edmond. Frederic sends the letter to a man Villefort, who is in charge of the region, Villefort has aspirations of becoming the confident to the King, so he brings in Dantes. He asks Dantes if he has the letter, which Dantes then pulls out of his pocket. Villefort acting nice and assuring Dantes that all will be straightened out throws him in prison and essentially tells them to keep him incarcerated for life.
This is a great beginning for the book and it gets better as we continue into Dantes life in prison. Now this parts get a little long and I knew he would escape but I almost got bored at this part. In actuality this is a great writing device because Dantes himself was getting down and was resigning himself to be in jail forever, when he hears a scratching on the wall. Eventually, he meets the Abbe. They figure out an escape plan. The Abbe tells him of a great fortune on the Island of Monte Cristo. At first Dante does not believe him and then he realizes that the Abbe is not the madman that the guards believe he is.
Now we know an escape happens and the riches discovered, the rest of the book is full of twists and turns as Dantes in many disguises seeks revenge on the very people who put him in prison. He finds his father has dies and Merceded ha done the unthinkable and married Frederic. Frederic and Dangler are in Paris and wealthy. Caderousse is married and owns an Inn. Villefort is also in Paris and has a new wife. All of them, except Caderousse, have children that are at the age where they can marry. Dantes uses the vices of each person to extract his revenge.
This is a great book. It is also a long book, over 1000 pages. Once you get into the revenge part it moves really fast. Lots of good character development and interesting connections between all the characters.
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