tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3417522363570065092024-03-18T18:25:41.432-04:00The Once Lost WandererJosephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.comBlogger710125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-56971101766305894002024-03-18T18:09:00.000-04:002024-03-18T18:09:54.321-04:00The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (novel #227)<p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHc1uwHmUSNj9pR-F-A7eyfXPc0BXc2InUrFDlta2B83EUtaD66ukKlgs-2LUOYoI5UuHZPEcG4N2fmgJqnNuprxg3sH0O5Sa9KTZimaELFu2iD0FWZFzXQHfsjJ76IGaKSrmN8K1__ESZtvOgdV_DrP-pjm2rf4xdl51Cc-KnmAKiBTVFnGrHdKx7dY/s465/clan%20of%20the%20cave%20bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHc1uwHmUSNj9pR-F-A7eyfXPc0BXc2InUrFDlta2B83EUtaD66ukKlgs-2LUOYoI5UuHZPEcG4N2fmgJqnNuprxg3sH0O5Sa9KTZimaELFu2iD0FWZFzXQHfsjJ76IGaKSrmN8K1__ESZtvOgdV_DrP-pjm2rf4xdl51Cc-KnmAKiBTVFnGrHdKx7dY/s320/clan%20of%20the%20cave%20bear.jpg" width="219" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">…her
people were newcomers to their land – but since they arrived things had been
changing. They seemed to bring change with them.<br /></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>Clan
of the Cave Bear</i> is a novel set in prehistoric times on the north coast of what
is now the Black Sea. It follows the lives of the Cave Bear clan and the
introduction into the Clan of an orphaned female child of the “others.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
Cave Bear are likely Neanderthals, and the Others are Cro-Magnon, though the
author makes no such distinction in the context. This is the first in Auel’s six-book
<i>Earth’s Children</i> series.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">The
story opens when the child Ayla is left homeless and orphaned by a severe earthquake.
She wanders aimlessly and is attacked by a cave lion. She survives by
sheltering in a crevice too narrow for the predator to reach her. She is near
death from exposure, loss of blood, and starvation when the Clan finds her.
They are indifferent and sure to leave her until the aged medicine woman, who has
some status, gives aid and is allowed to carry the child with them as they search
for a new cave. They were also left homeless by the earthquake.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Most
of the clan are indifferent, and some are hostile to the strange child, but
Ayla has two allies. The medicine woman Iza, and her brother Creb who also has
special status as the shaman or mog-ur. Creb convinces the tribal leader, Brun,
that Ayla is lucky and should be allowed to remain with them. Over time,
she is accepted by most, even loved and admired by some, but she always has one
fearsome enemy, Broud, heir apparent leader. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Creb
is not only mog-ur, he is The Mog-ur, the most revered mog-ur amongst all Cave
Bear tribes. He senses that Ayla’s coming portends upheaval.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">As
Mog-ur sat alone on the open plain watching the last of the torches sputter and
die, he thought of the strange girl Iza had found and his uneasiness grew until
it became a physical discomfort. Her kind had been met before, but only
recently in his concept of reckoning, and not many of the chance meetings had
been pleasant. Where they had come from was a mystery – her people were
newcomers to their land – but since they arrived things had been changing. They
seemed to bring change with them.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Of course, he isn’t wrong.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
was a fascinating and enjoyable read. I empathized with Ayla immediately. I’m confident
that was Auel’s intent, Ayla being the more “modern” human. Just as Creb sensed
change, the reader senses the process of natural selection at work on the cusp
of a change in human history. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
rating: 4 out of 5 stars</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIaw4KJwvtMiIBsaOrIBxy0g9EpsAtUpLJk7KlrfEjA8A8kDIKEsoQzleouhCbNqXXEEDx3UJlHEjdmz0eviurXb3ghnC7jUZ2IzdBEhQk4ffgaf3vzdxlrTOrLJBwgehkYNWehNpOUwvCCZFvKCM2nSRw9z7ur3T8IQWi5GdEzn65xyOYX7YwFWnhpI/s146/4%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUIaw4KJwvtMiIBsaOrIBxy0g9EpsAtUpLJk7KlrfEjA8A8kDIKEsoQzleouhCbNqXXEEDx3UJlHEjdmz0eviurXb3ghnC7jUZ2IzdBEhQk4ffgaf3vzdxlrTOrLJBwgehkYNWehNpOUwvCCZFvKCM2nSRw9z7ur3T8IQWi5GdEzn65xyOYX7YwFWnhpI/s1600/4%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
novel satisfies the “NFL Team” category (title must contain the name of an NFL
team) in the <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2024/02/whats-in-name-2024-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2024 challenge</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-8516550919177258012024-03-10T15:03:00.000-04:002024-03-10T15:03:14.594-04:00The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare<p><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The Winter’s
Tale is a comedy by William Shakespeare, written in the early seventeenth century.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Or is it a
tragedy?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It could be
either. It is one of my least favorites, primarily due to this ambiguity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Leontes, King
of Sicilia, is hosting his childhood friend Polixenes, now the King of Bohemia,
for some nine months. When Polixenes declares he must return to his realm,
Leontes tries to dissuade him but fails. He sends his queen, Hermione, who
persuades Polixenes to extend his visit. The queen’s success evokes suspicion in
Leontes, which in turn produces tragic consequences. But by the fourth act, in
true Bardic fashion, a series of comic capers set all things right.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Excepting the
dead prince.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Meh, For me, it
mostly didn’t work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I probably
missed them, but I didn’t notice any of Shakespeare’s aphorisms that have
become part of our current vernacular. Though there is one delightful stage
direction…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Exit, pursued
by a bear</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That didn’t
turn out well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The title doesn’t
say much either. It is taken from one character stating…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: x-large;">A sad tale’s
best for winter: I have one of sprites and goblins.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-91900867639536717272024-03-05T15:53:00.003-05:002024-03-05T15:59:44.424-05:00Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_5FjyvNnlA_rF2lffTuZRJkk1tZtB3yCD3jIXEGjvTt_UiqqR7Z1CSYop2XjkHxpPwIZNWqgrsOuj5atXHASDWyMIjdGJZMp4fJzwzGUX5TpeW_6YrLvRKbfpQhheEeG7BOH7yt3gyinda34R28eUNbid7MsfH0yFm0NtBJu9-WHOgApxZxHU_YNgF8/s500/cinema%20speculation.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_5FjyvNnlA_rF2lffTuZRJkk1tZtB3yCD3jIXEGjvTt_UiqqR7Z1CSYop2XjkHxpPwIZNWqgrsOuj5atXHASDWyMIjdGJZMp4fJzwzGUX5TpeW_6YrLvRKbfpQhheEeG7BOH7yt3gyinda34R28eUNbid7MsfH0yFm0NtBJu9-WHOgApxZxHU_YNgF8/s320/cinema%20speculation.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>One of the blessings
of being a reader is that people give you books as gifts. Or is that a curse? My
“to be read” list is literally over 2,000 titles, and the gifts are often not
something I would pick up on my own. <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><i>Cinema
Speculation</i> is such a book: a gift from a friend and not in my normal wheelhouse.
But it is a blessing because it is sometimes good to get out of one’s comfort
zone.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><i>Cinema
Speculation</i> is Quentin Tarantino’s examination of a select group of movies from
the 1970s. At first, I thought they were his favorite films from the era and
his adolescence, but while some are probably among his favorites, others are
not. I think they represent films that were formative for the future Oscar
winner and that represent, in his speculation, a new era in Hollywood filmmaking.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Some are Oscar
winners (<i>Bullitt, Deliverance, Taxi Driver</i>), others obscure (<i>The Outfit</i>). Some are
iconic (<i>Dirty Harry</i>), others all but forgotten (<i>Sisters, Hardcore</i>). Some I’ve
seen, others I’ve not, but with one exception, I now want to.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">I’m not a film
buff (reader after all), and I feared this book would be quite esoteric. But it’s
pretty accessible. Tarantino does drop a lot of names I’m unfamiliar with, and
he refers to many other films for comparison, often films I’m not familiar with.
Still, it was a pretty easy read. He does a good job of speculating what made a
film work or fail – almost always a combination of screenwriting, casting,
acting, and directing. Things that, for me, a casual filmgoer, are largely
transparent and not something I give a lot of thought to. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">For example,
after discussing Martin Scorsese’s gritty masterpiece <i>Taxi Driver</i>, Tarantino
speculates on what the film would have been had Brian De Palma directed it. In
Scorsese’s version, the cabbie is perceived as a bit of a nut but also a
sympathetic hero. Tarantino speculates that in De Palma’s version, he would
have been more of a deranged killer. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Tarantino
brings out many points I’ve never considered, like <i>Taxi Driver </i>was a thematic
remake of John Ford’s <i>The Searchers</i>. I see it now.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Well, there’s
much more: lots of anecdotes about changes in actors, screenwriters, and
directors and how they changed a film. Or how a movie almost wasn’t made and
how and by whom it was rescued. Again, this is mostly stuff I’d never thought
of before, and much of it insider stuff I couldn’t know unless someone like
Tarantino writes about it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">A very thought-provoking
read. Warning: this shouldn’t shock anyone, but Tarantino drops the F-bomb…A
LOT. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">And as the
friend who gifted this to me said in his inscription, it…”will also make you
want to rewatch these 70s classics.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Indeed!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-45435495773665811742024-02-21T14:51:00.000-05:002024-02-21T14:51:01.071-05:00The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (novel #226)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhQ66xYxrcsb1B9ZwxWEYiv16l9zqnpWJroSV_fCLgdgkdP0gfyTy_rphEGX8Sps-A4HJKloHuthumm25atRsf12NExlUE1sHx7-GdB39zojTO6iDpRmCK6v8AQjjkU3JZDu0c1IX3kfy22gHzYJXHvjkc4TGtRxC2tbanpTkZiE7XCAL3e3r70lrDxw/s2409/screwtape%20letters,%20the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2409" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhQ66xYxrcsb1B9ZwxWEYiv16l9zqnpWJroSV_fCLgdgkdP0gfyTy_rphEGX8Sps-A4HJKloHuthumm25atRsf12NExlUE1sHx7-GdB39zojTO6iDpRmCK6v8AQjjkU3JZDu0c1IX3kfy22gHzYJXHvjkc4TGtRxC2tbanpTkZiE7XCAL3e3r70lrDxw/s320/screwtape%20letters,%20the.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>The
Screwtape Letters</i> with <i>Screwtape Proposes a Toast<br /></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><i>The
Screwtape Letters</i> is an epistolary novel: a series of letters from Screwtape,
a senior demon, as he mentors and advises his nephew, junior tempter Wormwood.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
is commonly referred to as a Christian allegory or apologetic, but I don’t
agree with either designation. I don’t believe Lewis was describing something
unreal to explain something real. I believe he was describing something quite
real, with fictional characters, that occurs very nearly as he describes it.
Oh, I doubt there are physical letters exchanged between demons, but I believe
the methods of deceit, confusion, despair, and temptation they use are very
similar to what takes place in the unseen spiritual realm. Neither does Lewis
seem to be making a defense of Christianity. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Further,
I don’t think of this as a novel even, at least not in intent. I think it is more
of an instructional warning of the intents and wiles of the demonic hordes. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
don’t feel adequate to synopsize beyond one central point: Screwtape does not
take much satisfaction when Wormwood gets his ‘patient’ to merely sin. The
senior demon is more concerned with getting humans to disbelieve.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Excepts,
all the words of Screwtape to Wormwood:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Do
remember you are there to fuddle him [the patient]. From the way some of you
young fiends talk, anyone would suppose it was our job to <i>teach</i>!</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Keep
his mind off the plain antithesis between True and False.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Jargon,
not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. Don’t waste
time trying to make him think that materialism is <i>true</i>! Make him think it is
strong, or stark, or courageous – that it is the philosophy of the future. That’s
the sort of thing he cares about.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">It
does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is
to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no
better than cards if cards can do the trick.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Let
him have the feeling that he starts each day as the lawful possessor of
twenty-four hours.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">Looking
round your patient’s new friends I find that the best point of attack would be
the borderline between theology and politics.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">We
thus distract men’s minds from who He [Jesus] is, and what He did. We first
make Him solely a teacher, and then conceal the very substantial agreement
between His teachings and those of all other great moral teachers.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">…you
soon have merely a leader acclaimed by a partisan, and finally a distinguished
character approved by a judicious historian. </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">…the
strongest and most beautiful of the vices – Spiritual Pride.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">What
we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind
I call ‘Christianity and’. You know – Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity
and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New Order, Christianity and Faith
Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism,
Christianity and Spelling Reform.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: times;">So
inveterate is their appetite for Heaven that our best method, at this stage, of
attaching them to earth is to make them believe that earth can be turned into
Heaven at some future date by politics or eugenics or ‘science’ or psychology,
or what not.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">END
Excerpts</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I’ve
wanted to read this for years. It was fascinating. Lewis said of it…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: large;">Though
I had never written anything more easily, I never wrote with less enjoyment.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
can understand that. He dedicates it to his friend J. R. R. Tolkien. The
version I read includes the addendum <i>Screwtape Proposes a Toast</i>, added years after
the initial publication.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
rating: 4 out of 5 stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0qZ8SIZN8PTKvyYt_IGo5xHklw-AUtjvKsszgJrRQQibm3thYPkShZoKA9077yT2j-NZpJAxHLSdpnc1J4rqlEEWN6yyka6UdX7vkMyGsf1a0-23S6Jg_gOqVYElOPoDg_T6oRMLuTc1vQRwi7ylRoW41mLlP50zFS13vgZfZ-kvVQuOwn1WqeH46hs/s146/4%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU0qZ8SIZN8PTKvyYt_IGo5xHklw-AUtjvKsszgJrRQQibm3thYPkShZoKA9077yT2j-NZpJAxHLSdpnc1J4rqlEEWN6yyka6UdX7vkMyGsf1a0-23S6Jg_gOqVYElOPoDg_T6oRMLuTc1vQRwi7ylRoW41mLlP50zFS13vgZfZ-kvVQuOwn1WqeH46hs/s1600/4%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">This
novel satisfies the “Double Letters” category (title must contain double
letters) in the <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2024/02/whats-in-name-2024-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2024 challenge</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>.<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-80891655924681635572024-02-18T15:59:00.001-05:002024-02-18T16:00:46.569-05:00Foxe's Christian Martyrs of the World<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXVL-cZ_ZvWx8koP4mtJUpcZfVv2IBHqhvVRZiEkSzeWffIyDJLSfLnYvN4TTBxr-ZOiz4vENbZkOlCY3BfmWGukH8mZEh8GVfBnEmxiGoEl5CuuyJg09eSrURWV-zi2UJM4JFjVMcjklt7Eg9Fjakc41sdGWnuCk945rxLnr4qXjKMTc3g-mgxag-o8/s475/foxe's%20book%20of%20martyrs.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiXVL-cZ_ZvWx8koP4mtJUpcZfVv2IBHqhvVRZiEkSzeWffIyDJLSfLnYvN4TTBxr-ZOiz4vENbZkOlCY3BfmWGukH8mZEh8GVfBnEmxiGoEl5CuuyJg09eSrURWV-zi2UJM4JFjVMcjklt7Eg9Fjakc41sdGWnuCk945rxLnr4qXjKMTc3g-mgxag-o8/s320/foxe's%20book%20of%20martyrs.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">or...Foxe's Book of Martyrs<br /></span><p></p><p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">It
is a grim read, though I’m glad to have read it. It may not be completely
reliable in every detail, though the names of the Martyrs and their fates are generally
accepted.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Foxe
records four primary points of dispute between the reformers and the Roman
Church. The reformers:</span></p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Denied
the value of pilgrimages</span></li><li>
<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Refused
to worship the saints</span></li><li>
<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Insisted
on reading Scripture for themselves</span></li><li>
<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Denied
the physical body of Christ was present in sacramental bread</span></li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">For
these points, hundreds were put to death.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">Foxe’s
treatment of the chief perpetrators, Queen Mary [1553-1558] and Edmund Bonner
Bishop of London is certainly fair.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">According
to Foxe…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>No
other king or queen of England spilled as much blood in a time of peace as
Queen Mary did in four years through her hanging, beheading, burning, and imprisonment
of good Christian Englishmen.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">The
Martyrs remind me of something the writer of Hebrews [probably the Apostle
Paul] wrote about Old Testament Martyrs:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><span>Of
whom the word was not worthy.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 14pt;">.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-39443211202488758152024-02-13T14:01:00.001-05:002024-02-13T14:01:11.368-05:00Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens (novel #225)<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWqFyQRLVaQkLaKsC5FxoGZZvA-5oEf9V609a3nXS-hNcxf4BrYBi3nQn8Z4jXQOH7X4m3RIBOTfoZvGr2dVPhKJ_vKZI__PileHxePUJrnc_-7NNcx-j2E_hvR-zf5uQYcCS2p6J8n3YjLPb_e3fYAcLqHeA3-OqPzxJ4rpcOTdkXtoF60Dcg3_ixSM/s475/martin%20chuzzlewit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="310" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixWqFyQRLVaQkLaKsC5FxoGZZvA-5oEf9V609a3nXS-hNcxf4BrYBi3nQn8Z4jXQOH7X4m3RIBOTfoZvGr2dVPhKJ_vKZI__PileHxePUJrnc_-7NNcx-j2E_hvR-zf5uQYcCS2p6J8n3YjLPb_e3fYAcLqHeA3-OqPzxJ4rpcOTdkXtoF60Dcg3_ixSM/s320/martin%20chuzzlewit.jpg" width="209" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;">Oh,
late-remembered, much-forgotten, mouthing, braggart duty, always owed, and
seldom paid in any other coin than punishment and wrath, when will mankind
begin to know thee!</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">~ narrative from Martin Chuzzlewit</span>
<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
I near the end of Dickens’ works and read some of his lesser-known stories, it
is not surprising that they are not up to his usual standard. This is by
far my least favorite. I almost feel unfaithful to a favorite author to give it
only 2 ½ stars. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">It
is pretty standard fare in some respects: there is a pompous hypocrite, several
misers, an orphan, though not the typical Dickens orphan, a rich uncle, and
comical secondary characters, including one who prides himself on being jolly
no matter the circumstances.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">So
why did I dislike it? I’m not sure. Maybe I’m getting too familiar with Dickens’
formula, but I don’t think that’s it. Maybe I was offended by his unflattering
treatment of the United States, but I hope that isn’t it. (More on that in a
minute.) Nor do I think it was Dickens’ notoriously slow start and long
character development, which seemed even slower and longer than usual. But I
don’t know. Maybe it was a little of all of those. I never really empathized with
anyone, though Dickens’ hallmark justice was still satisfying in the end.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">My
Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 Stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvJk9LgYHg32whI09CxW11RltThfe_OtLcIGN8oz3sdaMqqPwZ0ZFfxYwYNS2D7JWaRQPVJA-ynVzzaSQ4UCNP8VW2hXZwXITnepyTXLAjXliwY8NSEjoZENGHL60WKiTN3rDfXgSCJc6NHM88AYSBy8kys_m5ajuMWwzwwVDnYvp_pXUsinCSZwt9zI/s146/2.5%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwvJk9LgYHg32whI09CxW11RltThfe_OtLcIGN8oz3sdaMqqPwZ0ZFfxYwYNS2D7JWaRQPVJA-ynVzzaSQ4UCNP8VW2hXZwXITnepyTXLAjXliwY8NSEjoZENGHL60WKiTN3rDfXgSCJc6NHM88AYSBy8kys_m5ajuMWwzwwVDnYvp_pXUsinCSZwt9zI/s1600/2.5%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">As
far as I know, this is the only Dickens novel partially set in the United
States. Young Martin Chuzzlewit sets out for America with a faithful companion
to earn his fortune. With one solitary exception, he is met with nothing but
frauds, cheats, yokels, and bigots. It was not well received in the United
States…shocking! Dickens added a preface first and then a postscript to the
preface defending himself. He wrote:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">The
American portion of this story is in no other respect a caricature than as it
is an exhibition, for the most part (Mr Bevan excepted), of a ludicrous side,
<i>only</i>, of the American character…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">He
doesn’t mention that he had recently visited America in an unsuccessful attempt
to get American publishers to honor international copyrights. So, his disdain
is not without cause, but he is not without the duplicity and hypocrisy that he
is so expert in lampooning in others. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">I
still love the bloke, great writer, but this is not his best work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Oh
and…I found this marvelously ironic. With his famous sarcasm in the narrative
he quips of British parliamentarians…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 14pt;">…it
is the custom to use as many words as possible, and express nothing whatever.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Quite
apropos when ole CD uses such a prudent economy of words himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Maybe
I was a little annoyed by his treatment of the U.S.A. ;)<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></p><sup>.</sup><p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-64281868539317187702024-02-05T11:27:00.004-05:002024-03-18T18:16:31.350-04:00What's in a Name 2024 Challenge<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">This is my fourth time taking the What’s in a Name Challenge,
hosted by <a href="https://carolinabooknook.wordpress.com/2023/12/28/whats-in-a-name-2024-sign-up/">Carolina Book Nook</a></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvnS7RBP41CE3UI1E3GHM0NIwp6Pi5UQUn3RN8cOn2srOBE1WQW63CTFPe0VIyPNCbzHZGRThurZncGzEhtkiwvNojfjGU8Y2ON3J-RzkwLGVKLL5Wl8FweRo8rx_mn_djNK2KMMrZe15jfYz1xNdOslGrluV-YH4VLJIE20EEBsHFpKqxRx4egLzYU4/s1024/wian-24.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIvnS7RBP41CE3UI1E3GHM0NIwp6Pi5UQUn3RN8cOn2srOBE1WQW63CTFPe0VIyPNCbzHZGRThurZncGzEhtkiwvNojfjGU8Y2ON3J-RzkwLGVKLL5Wl8FweRo8rx_mn_djNK2KMMrZe15jfYz1xNdOslGrluV-YH4VLJIE20EEBsHFpKqxRx4egLzYU4/w374-h374/wian-24.webp" width="374" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The title of the books must contain or refer to one of
the following categories:</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Double Letters</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">NFL Team</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Natural Disaster</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Virtue</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Shape</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Footwear</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">My choices for these categories:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Double Letters</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-screwtape-letters-by-cs-lewis-novel.html">The Screwtape Letters</a></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">C. S. Lewis</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">NFL Team</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-clan-of-cave-bear-by-jean-m-auel.html">The Clan of the Cave Bear</a></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Jean M. Auel</span><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Natural Disaster</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">A Fire Upon the Deep</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Vernor Vinge</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Virtue</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Age of Innocence</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Edith Wharton</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Shape</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Hangover Square: A Tale of Darkest
Earl’s Court</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Patrick Hamilton</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Footwear</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Pippi Longstocking</span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Astrid Lindgren</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="font-size: medium;">. <br /></span></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-79912736572979240832023-12-31T07:29:00.002-05:002023-12-31T07:29:54.654-05:002023 Reading Year in Review<p style="text-align: left;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Henny Penny",serif; font-size: 72pt;">2023</span><span style="font-size: 72pt;"></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1</style></p><p class="MsoNormal">I read 21 individual works: 11 novels/novellas; one Sherlock
Holmes short story; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>one Shakespearean
comedy; one biography; three other works of non-fiction; three Christmas reads;
and The Bible: 1 Corinthians thru The Revelation.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Novels:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/dombey-and-son-by-charles-dickens-novel.html">Dombey and Son</a> by Charles Dickens</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/daphnis-and-chloe-by-longus-novel-215.html">Daphnis and Chloe</a> by Longus</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/american-gods-by-neil-gaiman-novel-216.html">American Gods</a> by Neil Gaiman</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-road-by-cormac-mccarthy-novel-217.html">The Road</a> by Cormac McCarthy</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-last-of-mohicans-by-james-fenimore.html">The Last of the Mohicans</a> by James Fenimore Cooper</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/07/foucaults-pendulum-by-umberto-eco-novel.html">Foucault's Pendulum</a> by Umberto Eco</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-member-of-wedding-by-carson.html">The Member of the Wedding</a> by Carson McCullers</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/08/killing-floor-by-lee-child-novel-221.html">Killing Floor</a> (Jack Reacher series #1) by Lee Child</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/08/never-let-me-go-by-kazuo-ishiguro-novel.html">Never Let Me Go</a> by Kazuo Ishiguro</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/10/a-connecticut-yankee-in-king-arthurs.html">A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court</a> by Mark Twain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/11/zuleika-dobson-by-max-beerbohm-novel-224.html">Zuleika Dobson</a> by Max Beerbohm</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Sherlock Holmes short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-adventure-of-engineers-thumb.html">The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Shakespeare Comedy:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-taming-of-shrew-by-william.html">The Taming of the Shrew</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Biography:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/05/james-madison-biography-by-ralph-ketcham.html">James Madison: A Biography</a> by Ralph Ketcham</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Non-Fiction:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thru the Bible: Volume 5 by J. Vernon McGee</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/doing-life-with-your-adult-children-by.html">Doing Life with Your Adult Children</a> by Jim Burns</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-abolition-of-man-by-c-s-lewis.html">The Abolition of Man</a> by C. S. Lewis</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Christmas reads:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-literary-christmas-2023.html">A Letter from Santa</a> by Mark Twain</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Christmas Bells, a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I completed two <span style="color: #999999; font-size: large;">Reading Challenges:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-2023-challenge.html">What’s in a Name? 2023</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-literary-christmas-2023.html">A Literary Christmas 2023</a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And finally, I read 2 books for The Classics Club, thus
completing Round III, and I read another 5 for Round IV.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-60211258562953784132023-12-26T14:34:00.002-05:002024-02-13T11:07:30.395-05:00Christmas Tales 2023<p><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Magi honored the
Christ child with three gifts.</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In honor of the magi, I read three Christmas tales each
December. My Christmas reads are also part of A Literary Christmas – sponsored
by <a href="http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-literary-christmas-2023-begins-link.html">In the Bookcase </a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGphphEkZCMj2HYCgsayKFd5Ip9C4B_bv4Qd9xYb41oUArQXl25foDBHVOoL1wcOLUw-vxuecXQkn3Iuqt1l9mx0BeA6RnrRPLY0P1oU6amoU2KQn9W1fVrh5V2LPU29VO5ZQRTjcnSYrl1KM3nuaxQXayL4pCB1ATppPAff0jYgMhmstr1gBevWCyl8/s500/a-literary-christmas-banner-dec-31.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="500" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGphphEkZCMj2HYCgsayKFd5Ip9C4B_bv4Qd9xYb41oUArQXl25foDBHVOoL1wcOLUw-vxuecXQkn3Iuqt1l9mx0BeA6RnrRPLY0P1oU6amoU2KQn9W1fVrh5V2LPU29VO5ZQRTjcnSYrl1KM3nuaxQXayL4pCB1ATppPAff0jYgMhmstr1gBevWCyl8/w538-h214/a-literary-christmas-banner-dec-31.JPG" width="538" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><br /> </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">A Letter from Santa
Claus </span></i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">by Mark Twain</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">A letter Twain wrote to his three-year-old daughter
Suzie. Writing as Santa he explains that he got her and her sister’s letters and that he would
fulfill all he could. He directs Suzie to take certain actions, to which he
will respond, all to keep the fantasy of Santa alive for his daughter. It is of
course very sweet, with a bit of Twain’s humor coming out in Santa. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Tailor of Gloucester
</span></i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">by Beatrix Potter</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">As you would expect from the creator of Peter Rabbit, this
is a sweet tale with anthropomorphized animals, kindly but sometimes inept
humans, and a happy ending. The only surprise was the eventual peace and
cooperation between the tailor’s cat, Simpkin, and the mice. It is beautifully
illustrated by Potter.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Christmas Bells </span></i><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">A poem, which is now the carol we know as <i>I Heard the
Bells on Christmas Day</i>. It is one of my favorite carols, though it is
absolutely essential to sing the final two stanzas (as opposed to the practice
of picking a couple stanzas at random). Some hymn books do not include all seven
stanzas, but I believe they always include the final two, and as I say, you
cannot omit those two. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Wadsworth wrote it as the American Civil War raged. It is his lament that there was no peace on
earth. I think we can relate. He was near despair, and then…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Then pealed the
bells more loud and deep:</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“God is not Dead;
nor doth he sleep!</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Wrong shall
fail,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Right prevail</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">With peace on Earth,
good-will to men!”</span></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Satisfy",serif; font-size: 24pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Merry Christmas</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">~ The
Wanderer</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">May
you be blessed with</span><span style="font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">the
spirit of the season, which is Peace,</span><span style="font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">the
gladness of the season, which is Hope, </span><span style="font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">and
the heart of the season, which is Love</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Apple Chancery"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 18pt;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-15274173982709914172023-12-22T13:41:00.001-05:002023-12-22T13:41:17.855-05:00A Literary Christmas 2023<p><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Brought
to you by <a href="http://inthebookcase.blogspot.com/">In the Bookcase</a></span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9xwKJMdOL2zgIELNBGZPJ1pbew5PxDMxprcjzHILRzQ8CnLAWxpmj_DdTSlz0J6uPrmK4kaWJczhb3pVkwUXzddNEnQzYrqpyuEDLYjmRH6wrzY1-YdXVu5QsB0zxjJQszGi3MMe3Bl8cCRIo7QBTKT3NmBhMPPPExM5w4RD_wa-QsbhcPngRpeDqv8/s500/a-literary-christmas-banner-dec-31.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="500" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw9xwKJMdOL2zgIELNBGZPJ1pbew5PxDMxprcjzHILRzQ8CnLAWxpmj_DdTSlz0J6uPrmK4kaWJczhb3pVkwUXzddNEnQzYrqpyuEDLYjmRH6wrzY1-YdXVu5QsB0zxjJQszGi3MMe3Bl8cCRIo7QBTKT3NmBhMPPPExM5w4RD_wa-QsbhcPngRpeDqv8/w549-h219/a-literary-christmas-banner-dec-31.JPG" width="549" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Rules are simple – pick
your Christmas reads for 2023, write a blog post about them, and link back to
In the Bookcase. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">I honor of the Magi, who
brought the Christ child three gifts, I read three Christmas tales each
December. This year I will be reading:</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> <br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">A Letter
from Santa Claus</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">by Mark Twain</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Christmas
Bells</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">by Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">(now more commonly known
as I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day)</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The Tailor
of Gloucester</span></i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> by Beatrix Potter</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Yellowtail", serif;">Have a Blessed Christmas</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Yellowtail", serif;">The Wanderer</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Yellowtail", serif;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Yellowtail", serif;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"></span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-11098507750624598982023-11-26T14:04:00.000-05:002023-11-26T14:04:11.367-05:00Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm (novel #224)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsjp1Z7Vi0CgxHpF5d9MxUb5PpRQ1Dwhjo2P-fQD1jRxxXeq9J1B_sbGszUTAWFHREPQlzFTMQTuJnq15XsMu_lEun9NjLKNIeobEGC9Qq4M5-7iKtekh_2655ptQP8wZ8Iw-RzibOVJ8XH95ezFntvAJsmNZo3bmPtHZ3bg0-0dB4lxq9HmYcbAfdMM/s400/zuleika%20dobson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="257" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsjp1Z7Vi0CgxHpF5d9MxUb5PpRQ1Dwhjo2P-fQD1jRxxXeq9J1B_sbGszUTAWFHREPQlzFTMQTuJnq15XsMu_lEun9NjLKNIeobEGC9Qq4M5-7iKtekh_2655ptQP8wZ8Iw-RzibOVJ8XH95ezFntvAJsmNZo3bmPtHZ3bg0-0dB4lxq9HmYcbAfdMM/s320/zuleika%20dobson.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Zuleika Dobson, Or an Oxford Love Story by Max Beerbohm<br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Death cancels all
engagements. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">~ the Duke of Dorsett to Zuleika</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This will be
brief; I didn’t like this novel. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I am attempting
to follow John Updike’s first rule of literary criticism: “Try to understand
what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he
did not attempt.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">In Beerbohm’s own
words, he did not see this work as a novel but rather "the work of a
leisurely essayist amusing himself with a narrative idea.” Hopefully, he
succeeded in that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The title
character, who, though “not strictly beautiful” held universal allure over the
heart and mind of any young man she met, looks forward to visiting her grandfather
at Oxford…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">…for it was
youth’s homage that she loved best – this city of youths was a toy after her
own heart.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">She’s an
instant sensation, literally a femme fatale, inspiring thoughts of suicide to scores
of Oxford undergraduates, each of whom despairs of life if their love is not
reciprocated.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">That’s really
about it. It’s a farce. I found the characters utterly unbelievable, ridiculous,
or contemptuous in Zuleika’s case. Hopefully, Beerbohm achieved his purpose and
amused himself. My score below is not a criticism, merely a measure of my
enjoyment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My Rating: 2 ½ out
of 5 Stars</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhji5PLMqNId_M9bjgdTb4qnL90x7nsoRUj7W8O21l3GUNWdO1hjI1uJ1Fv84Yibit3qWTsA0ULTnGt9M02e40MbfRb-tGCQBUVKc4WC9g-5a_IwtBfUqY5BLYUl86m6uclXGq2CIVkVHWOXJiK6SJDDdF_aGp67ES3CUWctZSDaexIpkMD78CBAisO44w/s146/2.5%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhji5PLMqNId_M9bjgdTb4qnL90x7nsoRUj7W8O21l3GUNWdO1hjI1uJ1Fv84Yibit3qWTsA0ULTnGt9M02e40MbfRb-tGCQBUVKc4WC9g-5a_IwtBfUqY5BLYUl86m6uclXGq2CIVkVHWOXJiK6SJDDdF_aGp67ES3CUWctZSDaexIpkMD78CBAisO44w/s1600/2.5%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This novel
satisfies the title beginning with Q, X, or Z category in the <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-2023-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2023 Challenge</a>, and with it, I’ve completed the challenge.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-49524487883999207502023-10-10T20:14:00.001-04:002023-10-10T20:14:32.325-04:00A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (novel #223)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeWCkl2LdTUGKktx4O8VdYvwPu3rN7cKFJbTdtVR2mhblUcvDjRNvVdzRW6qMK3K8DFhBxuMXwy_gw-lP4j0lLR0ODcHus6LUnIA488grbvCr78gV7vfpm5cTzADzkydW9WUaTb5rzm1cOxa2c0SjPH3qHQaad4U3z8VeonS87_eH0TU0dNlExb454Dc/s450/connecticut%20yankee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="274" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxeWCkl2LdTUGKktx4O8VdYvwPu3rN7cKFJbTdtVR2mhblUcvDjRNvVdzRW6qMK3K8DFhBxuMXwy_gw-lP4j0lLR0ODcHus6LUnIA488grbvCr78gV7vfpm5cTzADzkydW9WUaTb5rzm1cOxa2c0SjPH3qHQaad4U3z8VeonS87_eH0TU0dNlExb454Dc/s320/connecticut%20yankee.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here I was, a
giant among pigmies, a man among children, a master intelligence among
intellectual moles: by all rational measurement the one and only actually great
man in that whole British world…</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><i>A Connecticut
Yankee in King Arthur’s Court</i> was originally titled <i>A Yankee in King Arthur’s
Court</i>. It is a fantasy satire, and I would also say Sci-Fi since it
involves time travel. The eponymous narrator, mechanical engineer Hank Morgan,
is transported from 1879 Connecticut to sixth-century England due to a heavy
blow to his head.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It takes Hank a
while to get his bearings and realize what has happened to him. He is quickly
arrested and sentenced to death, but he uses his superior knowledge of science
and history to convince Arthur and company that he is a powerful wizard. Merlin
challenges him, but Hank always manages to outsmart the charlatan wizard.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Hank embraces
his reputation, earns a position of authority in Arthur’s government, and sets
out to improve the nation of “intellectual moles” he finds himself among. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">…to banish
oppression from this land and restore to all its people their stolen rights and
manhood without disobliging anybody.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">His aspirations
are not merely scientific. Hank intends to end what, to his 19th-century mind, were
outdated societal norms of serfdom, aristocracy, monarchy, judicial system, and
the Catholic Church.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I was very
happy. Things were working steadily toward a secretly longed-for point. You
see, I had two schemes in my head which were the vastest of all my projects.
The one was to overthrow the Catholic Church and set up the Protestant faith on
its ruins – not as an Established Church, but a go-as-you-please one; and the
other project was to get a decree issued by and by, commanding that upon
Arthur’s death unlimited suffrage should be introduced, and given to men and
women alike – at any rate to all men, wise or unwise, and to all mothers who at
middle age should be found to know nearly as much as their sons at twenty-one.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As one would
expect from Twain, there are moments of subtle and sublime humor. In much of
the book, Hank and Arthur are traveling the realm incognito, and Hank, on
several occasions, has great difficulty in coaching the king on how to act as a
simple peasant.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">The King looked
puzzled – he wasn’t a very heavy weight intellectually. His head was an
hour-glass; it could stow an idea, but it had to do it a grain at a time, not
the whole idea at once.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Meanwhile,
there is intrigue in King Arthur’s Court and treachery. There is a great
contest between Hank and his few minions against the entrenched traditions of
Knight Errantry, with a bit of pot-stirring by Merlin. I’ll spare the spoiler of
how it ends. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Overall, I was
disappointed. I’ve loved everything that I’ve read by Twain and wanted to read
this for decades. I expected hilarious dialogue and farcical circumstances but
found only a few bits to snicker at. But it wasn’t merely the doom of high
expectations. I felt that Hank, and by proxy Twain, held humanity in contempt.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">But finally it
occurred to me all of a sudden that these animals didn’t reason; that they
never put this and that together…</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, there are
times when one would like to hang the whole human race and finish the farce.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">And yeah, there
are <i>times</i> when I feel that way, but in this novel, that seems to be the
prevalent theme. Not a fan. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Still, it was a
read I needed to check off the list. I’m glad I read it, glad I’m done.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My Rating: 3 ½ out
of 5 Stars</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84R_Rjx0huVsVB6sIIrhp-HnLPWsBs1U5HdB4HInIX-zhtF9sDFrUXOy8DK9JQF5eZtMWK5f157tGEyKCwFiMVi06jtjD81Xk3ijfESBgujgwZl_xZ3IIOr3HhLQn89JIB0BT6ee9YJiro4SzQB1BsVnO2k7oHRA9yYMvlLFZJGcZ1IhC9Yk7P0pYZd8/s146/3.5%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84R_Rjx0huVsVB6sIIrhp-HnLPWsBs1U5HdB4HInIX-zhtF9sDFrUXOy8DK9JQF5eZtMWK5f157tGEyKCwFiMVi06jtjD81Xk3ijfESBgujgwZl_xZ3IIOr3HhLQn89JIB0BT6ee9YJiro4SzQB1BsVnO2k7oHRA9yYMvlLFZJGcZ1IhC9Yk7P0pYZd8/s1600/3.5%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This novel
satisfies the Chess Piece category in the <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-2023-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2023 Challenge</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-53389928592722574872023-09-05T13:51:00.001-04:002023-09-05T13:51:51.480-04:00This week in the mitten: My Precious<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;">True story: I was out in the boat a week or so ago, in shallow water,
when something on the bottom caught my eye. Partially buried in the sand and
silt I could see a shiny, metallic, ring-like object. I wish I’d thought of
taking a picture so you could see how it looked, but I was too
excited at the time. My heart was racing as I reached out to claim the long
forgotten and perhaps even...precious prize.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This is what I got. Long forgotten at least. It's been
decades since these were a thing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlthTmUehmRVCD0SkPuhxUWWDp-GlmkZUwTRoX4njNuaMzrJYta3AHv_q7Yd46M4aLJymUM-0LFGiNEBIBNlgu4DlL0f7Ihu6j-WT49TWrg8aCNxbgWSG8n-Ti2Pxv13bsOmyy3QVNZ36jE6zMgQarKnR_i9j1x7yaFKTgdR6pKou-EsqJeU1MgwoCUY/s427/ring%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="368" data-original-width="427" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlthTmUehmRVCD0SkPuhxUWWDp-GlmkZUwTRoX4njNuaMzrJYta3AHv_q7Yd46M4aLJymUM-0LFGiNEBIBNlgu4DlL0f7Ihu6j-WT49TWrg8aCNxbgWSG8n-Ti2Pxv13bsOmyy3QVNZ36jE6zMgQarKnR_i9j1x7yaFKTgdR6pKou-EsqJeU1MgwoCUY/s320/ring%20(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Probably better this way. I don't want to start talking to
myself in third person, living in holes, and clearing my throat in a grotesque
manner.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-94527421594855662023-08-18T18:29:00.000-04:002023-08-18T18:29:05.626-04:00Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (novel #222)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVH0x349ccbXxzznHvGiS37X7BjsgNtEJuV_POpFpjrUmMDvGaXDSjSMPAL6IgTmC7ai8WDeeMuV7-BXPsaNWfJ0GKO3QXJCd_x6A173beL8fyjDUzLuGnjcGWI014F-m7UwUYIHl2EP1R100ZdY6EUzuE2LXetbmUqG3xtZGjpgKtxVT3P5KPkL6-zo/s475/never%20let%20me%20go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuVH0x349ccbXxzznHvGiS37X7BjsgNtEJuV_POpFpjrUmMDvGaXDSjSMPAL6IgTmC7ai8WDeeMuV7-BXPsaNWfJ0GKO3QXJCd_x6A173beL8fyjDUzLuGnjcGWI014F-m7UwUYIHl2EP1R100ZdY6EUzuE2LXetbmUqG3xtZGjpgKtxVT3P5KPkL6-zo/s320/never%20let%20me%20go.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking back
now, I can see we were just at that age when we knew a few things about
ourselves – about who we were, how we were different from our guardians, from
the people outside… </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">~ Kathy: first-person narrator</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><i>Never Let Me Go</i>
is the tale of Kathy H. She tells us she is thirty-one years old and a carer.
The reader doesn’t know what this means, but it sounds like a good thing, and
Kathy is proud that she’s been a carer for over eleven years, which is apparently
well beyond the norm. Her long tenure is partially due to her being a very good
carer.<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Ishiguro uses
this device throughout. Kathy uses phrases or descriptions of events that don’t
make sense initially, but slowly, the reader infers the meanings and settings.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Most of the novel
is Kathy’s account of her childhood, education, and relationship with her two
best friends, Ruth and Tommy. In their childhood and adolescence, they are at
Hailsham, a boarding school in England. They are clearly a privileged set but
also closely controlled and sequestered. Their teachers, known as guardians, and
the rules at Hailsham are an odd mix. In some ways strictly regimented; in others
strangely permissive. The guardians are never cruel and seldom even harsh, though
they are somewhat aloof.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The school
seems to be preparing the children for some special role in society. When their
training is complete, they become carers. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But carer…is
not the ultimate role. There is another function the reader begins to grasp
with outrage and horror. The children slowly understand their fate by degrees,
like the reader, but unlike the reader, the children calmly accept their future
and even seem to almost look forward to it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thinking back
now, I can see we were just at that age when we knew a few things about
ourselves – about who we were, how we were different from our guardians, from
the people outside – but hadn’t yet understood what any of it meant.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My Rating: 4
out of 5 Stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLNwCnivJzyICrZ50xaHbBZvXVANA_7ZH_1m3XqTWkYepfM8tyefLn_Iw8Nn9Wbl942-_FLW7J5zMGDU9FE7qtL16j6TmKfYGtPm70JHQypWSsWfMkHoyt91V8ZiZcjRg_XAgxJ8IgjAwzNkUB4HJg5RPLf9UdrTRBZYd7tIX_9E0c1hw_xThA13aLmY/s146/4%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZLNwCnivJzyICrZ50xaHbBZvXVANA_7ZH_1m3XqTWkYepfM8tyefLn_Iw8Nn9Wbl942-_FLW7J5zMGDU9FE7qtL16j6TmKfYGtPm70JHQypWSsWfMkHoyt91V8ZiZcjRg_XAgxJ8IgjAwzNkUB4HJg5RPLf9UdrTRBZYd7tIX_9E0c1hw_xThA13aLmY/s1600/4%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div> <br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><i>Never Let Me Go</i>
has to be considered dystopian, though most of the time, it doesn’t feel like
it. It is also Sci-Fi, though it doesn’t feel like that either. It raises some
very relevant bio-medical ethics questions. I say relevant because they could
be applied to different medical ethics today, and I don’t believe it is
impossible that they may become relevant in a precisely similar way. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This novel
satisfies the You or Me category (book with “you” or “me in the title) in the <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-2023-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2023 Challenge</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The title is
taken from the title of a song by real-life singer Judy Bridgewater. Kathy
obtains a cassette tape of Bridgewater that includes the song. It resonates
with Kathy, though she cannot explicitly explain why.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-49485941180549270172023-08-03T13:13:00.001-04:002023-08-03T13:14:28.505-04:00Killing Floor by Lee Child (novel #221)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13zNehnQZjn61AWxAWNQLOzjX9rrVKjJDy3AYfZkrbb6ah_UZvkdzGvBGaBzBKtpbN-lgWd3oB4Y7KHHuEy0AxW7GSQ1jRZG8ejbUV8JrwN7VbQb8812GNTr3rpT1_uPtTjjJiO5lEr_PueOht9b4ge5Lj68N3fFMP01tGGuEzQbp-HRHzfedXBMV0qw/s475/killing%20floor.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="292" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi13zNehnQZjn61AWxAWNQLOzjX9rrVKjJDy3AYfZkrbb6ah_UZvkdzGvBGaBzBKtpbN-lgWd3oB4Y7KHHuEy0AxW7GSQ1jRZG8ejbUV8JrwN7VbQb8812GNTr3rpT1_uPtTjjJiO5lEr_PueOht9b4ge5Lj68N3fFMP01tGGuEzQbp-HRHzfedXBMV0qw/s320/killing%20floor.jpg" width="197" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">I wanted the
open road and a new place every day. I wanted miles to travel and absolutely no
idea where I was going. I wanted to ramble. I had rambling on my mind.</span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> ~ Jack Reacher<br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">By his own
admission, Jack Reacher is a hobo but not a vagrant or a bum. There’s a
difference, and he takes exception. He was recently separated from the U.S.
Army, honorably discharged. He served as a homicide detective. Now he lives on
his severance and wits, has no home, no job, no friends, no family. He travels
when and where the mood strikes him – a hobo.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">He wanders into
a small southern town, finds a diner, orders breakfast, and is quickly arrested
for murder. The local cops are a mixed bag of competence and indifference, not
</span>
<span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">cli</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">ché</span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">d </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">southern bosses. Reacher has a solid alibi that eventually clears
him, but before he beats town, the shocking identity of the murder victim gives
him a personal stake in the case. In a more stereotypical fashion, Reacher, who
is not a public officer or even a private detective, does not concern himself with
due process, just his version of justice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">I liked him and
his justice. The author grabbed my attention immediately and never let up. I
wouldn’t call this a mystery novel, as some do. It was pretty obvious
who the bad guys were, most of them. The suspense was more about the danger to
Reacher and the few allies he made along the way. I'd call it crime/suspense. It was fast-paced, intense,
and had at least one major twist I didn’t see coming.<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">My Rating: 3.5
out of 5 Stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JpvzA8GeMOpST98T393WGmR6sWJE1SYDp9j3eXh-CsyRRNXJ1QM3O0MoULVuE-cTROFkUMmWdIowr7zcB0irxQuFfuzcMJCYySC8L8OMei8YRdCkZXE2JE0-hARgOXduuXgYs8u6hM0YhCxP1knDj4E4Z-TJ0jnBpXVSoDw3r1wLYeHZgt7O2iKXsaE/s146/3.5%20stars.bmp" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JpvzA8GeMOpST98T393WGmR6sWJE1SYDp9j3eXh-CsyRRNXJ1QM3O0MoULVuE-cTROFkUMmWdIowr7zcB0irxQuFfuzcMJCYySC8L8OMei8YRdCkZXE2JE0-hARgOXduuXgYs8u6hM0YhCxP1knDj4E4Z-TJ0jnBpXVSoDw3r1wLYeHZgt7O2iKXsaE/s1600/3.5%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">This novel
satisfies the category: the title mentions one of the Seven Deadly Sins in the
<a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/whats-in-name-2023-challenge.html">What’s in a Name 2023 Challenge</a>.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">Killing Field is
the first in the Jack Reacher series. I’ll probably read more. The title is
from one grisly scene that an officer describes as being like the killing floor
in a beef slaughterhouse.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif">. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordS</style><br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-78758412848579379152023-08-03T11:43:00.000-04:002023-08-03T11:43:21.828-04:00Recap of Novels 211 - 220<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Average rating of novels 211 –
220:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3.8 stars (out of 5)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP5sxoLNV1nVVqexBf5ilGr3mLUKcU9Lnf6uU9UFzgOYLoauDq9mKlTTm9NkqX3UVCcb4RIB-JSQaTuV-WdoyBy5mZJZ_To2N6V85k52mhzg51mD3-snvQAC-eIMUgbFVAwCENQZhwLeb3kiG3_aZJJXYk5ZxaEcwwcO35DTCFLNTEWF8XxDpZ4yzdCs/s795/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-03%20at%2011.32.00%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="466" data-original-width="795" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP5sxoLNV1nVVqexBf5ilGr3mLUKcU9Lnf6uU9UFzgOYLoauDq9mKlTTm9NkqX3UVCcb4RIB-JSQaTuV-WdoyBy5mZJZ_To2N6V85k52mhzg51mD3-snvQAC-eIMUgbFVAwCENQZhwLeb3kiG3_aZJJXYk5ZxaEcwwcO35DTCFLNTEWF8XxDpZ4yzdCs/w544-h320/Screen%20Shot%202023-08-03%20at%2011.32.00%20AM.png" width="544" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">211. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-blue-castle-by-lucy-maude.html">The Blue Castle</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">212. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2022/10/legends-of-fall-by-jim-harrison-novel.html">Legendsof the Fall</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">213. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/dombey-and-son-by-charles-dickens-novel.html">Dombeyand Son</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">214. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2022/12/bang-drum-slowly-by-mark-harris-novel.html">Bangthe Drum Slowly</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">215 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/01/daphnis-and-chloe-by-longus-novel-215.html">Daphnisand Chloe</a><br />
216. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">½<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/american-gods-by-neil-gaiman-novel-216.html">American
Gods</a><br />
217. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/02/the-road-by-cormac-mccarthy-novel-217.html">TheRoad</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">218. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-last-of-mohicans-by-james-fenimore.html">The Last of the Mohicans</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">219. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Gothic";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/07/foucaults-pendulum-by-umberto-eco-novel.html">Foucault’s Pendulum</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Gothic";">220.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "MS Mincho"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">★★★★<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Mincho";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-member-of-wedding-by-carson.html">The Member of the Wedding</a></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Favorite: <i>The Blue Castle</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Least Favorite: <i>Foucault’s
Pendulum</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Best Hero: The Man (unnamed)
from <i>The Road</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Best Heroine: Valancy (Doss) Stirling
from <i>The Blue Castle</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Best Villain: Wednesday from <i>American
Gods</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most interesting/Complex
character: Frankie from <i>The Member of the Wedding</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Best Quotation: </span><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ludlow was not
fool enough to try to order a life already lived…</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> ~ narrative from Legends of
the Fall</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. <br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-46789395522216841162023-07-27T15:24:00.000-04:002023-07-27T15:24:18.337-04:00The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers (novel #220)<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqgqUivhjAgUa5PcsXa1WImagHcz0l7hFc_H_Ic8hT5EufoyfT9I2hrkhiH9KChHWYs4GwCVY4DBHB7JFpWFhEt0aZdw7JawiFNukaXsW8GSaxK4PT6yI5aj4wBy_5rjLVsZehrHNzQEX0iyXwDVqpZBv4Q8KruJiHTyFspKBYfMbGYeK9dlE8XU0S1g/s400/member%20of%20the%20wedding,%20the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIqgqUivhjAgUa5PcsXa1WImagHcz0l7hFc_H_Ic8hT5EufoyfT9I2hrkhiH9KChHWYs4GwCVY4DBHB7JFpWFhEt0aZdw7JawiFNukaXsW8GSaxK4PT6yI5aj4wBy_5rjLVsZehrHNzQEX0iyXwDVqpZBv4Q8KruJiHTyFspKBYfMbGYeK9dlE8XU0S1g/s320/member%20of%20the%20wedding,%20the.jpg" width="202" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This was the
summer when Frankie was twelve years old. This was the summer when for a long
time she had not been a member. She belonged to no club and was a member of
nothing in the world.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> ~ opening lines</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The author lets
you know what this novel is about right away. Because that’s it; that’s the
story. Like the only other novel by McCullers I’ve read, this novel is character-driven,
with very little plot. It’s a Southern Gothic, coming-of-age tale.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">This was the summer
when Frankie was sick of being Frankie.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">What adolescent
hasn’t experienced that? Frankie spends most days of the long, hot summer in
the kitchen with the African-American housekeeper Berenice and Frankie’s six-year-old
cousin John Henry. The three spend hours talking about random things or playing
cards. They are halfway through the summer before realizing they are not playing
with a full deck…and that’s the depressing feeling the novel has.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Frankie’s father
is a decent parent and does pretty well for a widower, but he hasn’t a clue
about what is going on in Frankie’s mind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">And though she
tries to explain her “unjoined” condition, Berenice and John Henry can’t really
understand; no one can, so Frankie is not a member of anything.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Until her
brother’s wedding, a day trip away, Frankie determines to join the couple on
their honeymoon and life after that, never to return to her hometown. She even
adopts a new name to be more alliterative with the happy couple. She is now F.
Jasmine. For a day or so, the certainty of this plan makes her content and
happy. The reader worries how hard she will take the blow when the impossible
plan unravels. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><i>The Member of
the Wedding</i> feels like <i>The Heart is a Lonely Hunter</i>, my only other experience
with McCullers. Both novels strike a nearly universal chord: the feeling that
no one understands or the desperate need to make someone understand. The Member
of the Wedding is a beautiful and poignant rendering of that sentiment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My Rating: 4 out
of 5 Stars</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh2r7IqRBKSu-DILV0O6peEJkClwCVzUKe20a7keQxoj28mScuQVNzuG9MgOGbB71hTaheBxaFPJO8fa121PPVSQFs6-WZFR2rLElOKs-r5vYBPWHeX89uRm1FywwiTzAkdaeCPwOlOR2KvSkhuMaHA3BnoWo-_rlkWCTIrQb3LpNTv1Pe2jPZls-whM/s146/4%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFh2r7IqRBKSu-DILV0O6peEJkClwCVzUKe20a7keQxoj28mScuQVNzuG9MgOGbB71hTaheBxaFPJO8fa121PPVSQFs6-WZFR2rLElOKs-r5vYBPWHeX89uRm1FywwiTzAkdaeCPwOlOR2KvSkhuMaHA3BnoWo-_rlkWCTIrQb3LpNTv1Pe2jPZls-whM/s1600/4%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">This novel
satisfies the category “title about a celebration” in the What’s in a Name 2023
Challenge.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><sup>.<br /></sup></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p><style>@font-face
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-59483278942450295092023-07-11T14:46:00.002-04:002023-07-11T14:46:46.269-04:00Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco (novel #219)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25wAbP9Y5dDmQc-KD6cVQUZzpevjVIcjqjPYlRfxsj3i1pE4nPa5rmLY62OLm1Qlkaq609LTgdMAMTiODjohpu_SCmvJvpS2zjlch_TfR-PAvkw9XRoKOuKWglleugDmUIt-v6_blNfKpmWKZQ7h-lpXiozjrAOXlUtIBMWKF_1slE3x5q9HNriEkMeM/s475/foucault's%20pendulum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25wAbP9Y5dDmQc-KD6cVQUZzpevjVIcjqjPYlRfxsj3i1pE4nPa5rmLY62OLm1Qlkaq609LTgdMAMTiODjohpu_SCmvJvpS2zjlch_TfR-PAvkw9XRoKOuKWglleugDmUIt-v6_blNfKpmWKZQ7h-lpXiozjrAOXlUtIBMWKF_1slE3x5q9HNriEkMeM/s320/foucault's%20pendulum.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">(translated from
Italian by William Weaver)<br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">But whatever
the rhythm was, luck rewarded us, because, wanting connections, we found
connections – always, everywhere, and between everything. The world exploded
into a whirling network of kinships, where everything pointed to everything
else, everything explained everything else….</span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">~ narrator Casaubon</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><i>Foucault’s
Pendulum</i> is a satirical novel set in 1970s Italy and Paris. An Italian academic
named Casaubon is the narrator, though probably not entirely reliable. The book
satirizes conspiracy theories and secret societies. It opens with Casaubon
hiding in a Paris museum after closing, anticipating the arrival of a secret
society that he believes has captured his friend and colleague Jacopo Belbo.
While Casaubon waits, he recounts the events that led to this climax. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">You remember so
much while you wait for hours and hours in the darkness.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> ~ Casaubon</span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Casaubon’s
recollections make up the majority of the novel and concern publishing business
interest in secret societies and corresponding research conducted by Casaubon,
Belbo, and another colleague, Diotallevi. Together the three “discover” a plan
to take over the world, though they know it is a farce contrived by forced
connections. The problem is that their work becomes known to some adherents, giving
them renewed conviction and resolve. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">I’ll only
mention one of the many other characters, Casaubon’s lover Lia; she was the
voice of reason and nearly saved him.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">As a satire, I
suppose it is effective. It is a dizzying compendium of occult actors, secret
societies, and conspiracy theorists – the main groups: Knights Templar,
Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Jesuits, and Baconites. There were many more, plus a
few charlatans and madmen thrown in. All complicit and all connected over the
centuries. Foucault’s Pendulum has been called “the thinking man’s Da Vinci
Code.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Well I must be
a dunce. I understand that Eco was satirizing, and he does a good job of explaining
how people get caught up in these things – wanting to find “connections” and
therefore seeing them. But for me, the story was just absurd. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;">There are four
kinds of people in this world: cretins, fools, morons, and lunatics.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> ~ Belbo</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">My Rating: 3 out
of 5 Stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-fMfFrnPJm4YKO0ib1SgFi0dVvmB0bP36SXi5SWObv_fwCpchn6THtEU0Ejx5zlAXYn400bqo5diIxy10WHzxUwupgLgGDfKp3c2wMvp-G1Uky22C8TcgwQoCm5mwTsUSAzsfaTX9NjPdlLglvMneH-KANUFH1Kl2jsxXxR5vupYzvsUa53Lcnzutic/s146/3%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-fMfFrnPJm4YKO0ib1SgFi0dVvmB0bP36SXi5SWObv_fwCpchn6THtEU0Ejx5zlAXYn400bqo5diIxy10WHzxUwupgLgGDfKp3c2wMvp-G1Uky22C8TcgwQoCm5mwTsUSAzsfaTX9NjPdlLglvMneH-KANUFH1Kl2jsxXxR5vupYzvsUa53Lcnzutic/s1600/3%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">The title
refers to an actual pendulum designed by French physicist Leon Foucault. It
demonstrates the Earth’s rotation. In the novel, it is on display at the Musée
des Arts et Métiers, France. It has a role in “the plan”.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">It’s been
nearly three months since I reviewed a novel. I haven’t been slacking, but this
is a long novel, and I wasn’t enjoying it. That always takes me more time. But
more significantly, I’ve been busy. I retired and moved six states away to my
dream retirement home in Michigan. More about that transition <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/05/final-edition-nova-this-week.html">HERE</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">. <br /></span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-5506733858262117212023-05-29T16:56:00.000-04:002023-05-29T16:56:36.983-04:00Final edition - NOVA this Week<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">I was never very faithful with this theme anyway. But that’s not why I’m shutting it down. As I post this, my wife and I have departed the Old Dominion (Virginia) and are in our new home in Michigan. I have retired, and this time REALLY retired. I retired in 2007 after 22 years in United States Air Force, spent a couple years as a Defense Contractor, and the last 13+ as a DoD civilian. Hence really retiring this time. I don’t believe I will have another career, unless perhaps as an author.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">But that’s just sort of a dream.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">Speaking of dreams, all my working years I dreamt of retiring on a private lake, great fishing, quiet country view, a sandy beach for the grandkids, and just a few neighbors. But I sort of thought it was probably just a dream.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="line-height: 17.12px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Back in February this year, we closed on a house on a private lake, with great fishing, beautiful views, a sandy beach, and just a handful of friendly neighbors in Southwest Michigan. God is good!</span><o:p style="font-size: 12pt;"></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAwVGrnwPbOkC77BY1GyQ3ukFCWuAhl1KbeQVyzvr3JAKXYW92UjSijS-47g89_kshOjSgU24qK3lu4kGE8tzPM-vPbwOiIenQ58AXo0OKgzHGl56lRSgQ3OtFRgksMLWGL9lJLRiLM_VNzVy5NHFDxStvU5KjfLxmlgIq35z6rw5YSM1-rJZ_m9Z/s1318/Fawn%20Lake%20beach.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1210" height="557" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAwVGrnwPbOkC77BY1GyQ3ukFCWuAhl1KbeQVyzvr3JAKXYW92UjSijS-47g89_kshOjSgU24qK3lu4kGE8tzPM-vPbwOiIenQ58AXo0OKgzHGl56lRSgQ3OtFRgksMLWGL9lJLRiLM_VNzVy5NHFDxStvU5KjfLxmlgIq35z6rw5YSM1-rJZ_m9Z/w512-h557/Fawn%20Lake%20beach.JPG" width="512" /></a></div><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">Most importantly it’s a 30-minute drive for two of our kids and grandkids, and 2 hours from a third child and family.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">So, no more NOVA (Northern Virginia) this Week. Perhaps I’ll start a new thread…News from the Mitten.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">Cheers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium; line-height: 17.12px;">The Wanderer<o:p></o:p></span></p><br />Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-87872981110141110852023-05-24T11:35:00.002-04:002023-05-24T11:35:24.699-04:00 James Madison: A Biography by Ralph Ketcham<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is that the United States be cherished and perpetuated</span>. ~ James Madison</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnYCZBfxSXRJu70gAhdhwC9zmMo2FqaIRtVzMBzeDOXOXW-IN5aWNnhD9hikgtCxknP9bU6-65LE25Lrqi6X_3ubSMRv0MmIP7W6bPM8HZBfoSj36qBza8MUkWD4-h7-oi_x9Lke8ZKoZmOtcBObKAEDjLnOtgC82t791OBBj0HmYTAskYUapvUwZ/s413/jm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnYCZBfxSXRJu70gAhdhwC9zmMo2FqaIRtVzMBzeDOXOXW-IN5aWNnhD9hikgtCxknP9bU6-65LE25Lrqi6X_3ubSMRv0MmIP7W6bPM8HZBfoSj36qBza8MUkWD4-h7-oi_x9Lke8ZKoZmOtcBObKAEDjLnOtgC82t791OBBj0HmYTAskYUapvUwZ/s320/jm.jpg" width="232" /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;"> </span></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This is an enlightening read about the 4th President of the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Previously, I had a general perception that Madison, along with James Monroe, merely rode Jefferson’s coat tails, that he had a role in the establishment of the </span>Constitution, and<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> got stuck with the untenable prospect of avoiding war with Great Britain. I was woefully ignorant of this remarkable man.<span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">He was closely aligned with Jefferson, but he was far more than a Jefferson disciple. Indeed his counsel often tempered Jefferson’s impetuousness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Jefferson called Madison his…“pillar of support through life.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">But we might learn more about a man from his foes rather than his friends. John Adams said that Madison</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: georgia;">...acquired more glory, and established more Union, than all his three Predecessors, Washington, Adams and Jefferson put together.</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">And we can learn yet more by what he says about his opponents. Madison had many throughout his career, including some who changed course over the years, but he was always, careful, measured, and respectful when speaking of men like Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Adams, or Benjamin Franklin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">James Madison was a Virginia planter, who rose to prominence in the American Revolution. Physically, he was unimpressive: short, shy, and soft spoken. He had a quiet passion for his young country, and deliberate, unassailable logic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Madison was a close personal advisor to President Washington, Secretary of State under President Jefferson, and of course President of the United States from 1809 – 1817. But these are just roles. His two greatest achievements were the creation of the U.S. Constitution, and his leadership during the War of 1812.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Madison recognized the Articles of Confederation were insufficient for guiding the new nation, and wrote the Virginia Plan which was the model for the U.S. Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">He was the “Father of the Constitution” which is pithy and trite and doesn’t do him justice. With the many competing factions, it is miraculous that the convention ever reached an agreement, and then a second miracle that it was ratified by the states. Madison, more than any other single individual was responsible for both. He wrote<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: georgia;">…we kept steadily in our view…the consolidation of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, felicity, safety, perhaps our national existence…</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">He considered his role in establishing the Constitution his moment of special destiny.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Though, he couldn’t anticipate his presidency and the War of 1812. For decades, the U.S. had struggled to remain neutral in Anglo-French conflicts, but the demands of Great Britain, only slightly more egregious than the demands of France finally made it impossible. The three main complaints from the U.S. perspective were: impressment of U.S. seamen into the British Navy, British naval harassment and seizure of U.S. commercial vessels, and Britain’s Orders of Council. Madison, was plagued by inferior numbers in the army and navy, lack of professional officers, inept and even treacherous cabinet officers, and lack of money to fund the war effort. Yet somehow the U.S. survived with honor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">And you cannot talk about James Madison, without talking about Dolley. Madison married the widow Dolley Payne Todd when he was 43 and she was 26. In the early 19th Century, the President’s success was measured partially by his social standing, where Dolley ensured her husband triumphed. Additionally, she often played hostess for the bachelor President Jefferson, so she was defacto first lady for 16 years. Madison considered her so critical to the nation’s morale, that after the British forces quit the capital, President Madison urged her<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; text-align: left;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-family: georgia;">…for the sake of the city’s morale, you cannot return too soon.</span></span></p></blockquote></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">James Madison once expressed the wish to expire on the Fourth of July, as Jefferson and Adams had. But on June 28, 1836, at the age of 85, he declared he’d had a change of mind, and passed quietly away.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">This biography sometimes necessarily bogs down in the details, but overall an excellent and enlightening read.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">.</span></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-45744973603120334492023-05-06T06:51:00.000-04:002023-05-06T06:51:06.157-04:00 The most exciting two minutes in sports<p>Every year on the first Saturday in May, I take a brief detour from the reading theme of this blog to announce who is going to win the Kentucky Derby.</p><p>The heavy favorite will be the dark brown colt Forte. He’ll probably be about 3:1.</p><p>But my money will be on Jace’s Road who may get as much as 30:1 Pictured here winning the Gun Runner Stakes as a two-year old. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpejKRBdbKuRmor9MUwpl_z6xjlf0FshQc7f3pbREO4b8wnWERnQMbX_7Ne666yek7o3Kq76mKH7cCOM9e0rJZuuk4SBPW64Z_Khvm27xUCbBu3A7xfIkrZHujhFJsesgO3vSz8MOCjr-uNaD6rSwRvvBx_w27zRS9i26YXvyDaR-sjfbDH8SElta/s461/Jace's%20Road.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="328" data-original-width="461" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpejKRBdbKuRmor9MUwpl_z6xjlf0FshQc7f3pbREO4b8wnWERnQMbX_7Ne666yek7o3Kq76mKH7cCOM9e0rJZuuk4SBPW64Z_Khvm27xUCbBu3A7xfIkrZHujhFJsesgO3vSz8MOCjr-uNaD6rSwRvvBx_w27zRS9i26YXvyDaR-sjfbDH8SElta/w385-h274/Jace's%20Road.jpg" width="385" /></a></div><p>The Kentucky Derby is exclusively for three-year olds. Jace’s Road hasn’t really distinguished himself yet in his three-year old campaign, but I feel he could be sitting on a big race. I like him mostly as the son of Quality Road, a favorite of mine, winner of the 2009 Florida Derby. </p><p>But to be honest, the Kentucky Derby is a crap shoot. It’s a cavalry stampede with 20 horses; anything can happen. (a typical thoroughbred stakes race will have 7 – 12 runners) </p><p>Trivia – Thoroughbred is not an adjective like purebred. Thoroughbred is name of the breed.</p><p><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports</span> – unless we are very fortunate and the winner crosses the finish line in a fraction of a second under two minutes. Only three colts have achieved that distinction: Secretariat, Sham - runner-up to Secretariat, and Monarchos.</p><div><br /></div>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-77847683129693461492023-04-30T16:20:00.000-04:002023-04-30T16:20:55.057-04:00The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare <p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The Taming of the Shrew</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> is a comedy by William Shakespeare,
written late sixteenth century.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Like most of Shakespeare’s comedies, there is more than
one story. The title refers to Katharina, the shrew, and the efforts of her
husband, Petruchio, to tame her. The secondary story is about Katharina’s sweet
sister Bianca and her three suitors: Lucentio, Gremio, and Hortensio.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">In one sense, this play does not age well. It’s quite misogynistic.
Petruchio overtly declares…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">She is my goods, my chattels…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">But that was the reality of sixteenth-century Italy. A wife
was not a partner. Her husband was lord and master. It isn’t very believable, at any rate. It’s a preposterous
farce.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Katharina was beautiful and came with a good dowry, but
she was indeed a shrew. Even her father avowed as much. When she briefly
thought Petruchio had left her at the altar, she leaves the room crying, and
her father professes…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Go girl; I cannot blame thee now to weep</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For such an injury would vex a very saint,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Much more a shrew of thy impatient humour.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Petruchio was wealthy in his own right and presumably
could have wooed a more amiable companion. I’m unsure what set his mind on Katharina,
but he was confident he could tame her. I’m not sure what convinced Katharina
to consent either. But they are wed, and Petruchio begins the taming. He
withholds food, decent clothing, sleep, and other wishes until his wife becomes
more dutiful. But at different times, he is unphased and even pleasant in
response to her spite. And it seems to work. Katharina wonders...<br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The more my wrong, the more his spite appears:</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">What, did he marry me to famish me?</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Beggars, that come unto my father’s door,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Upon entreaty have a present alms;</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If not, elsewhere they meet with charity:</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But I, - who never knew how to entreat,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nor never needed that I should entreat, – </span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Am starved for meat, giddy for lack of sleep;</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">With oaths kept waking, and with brawling fed:</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And that which spites me more than all these wants,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He does it under the name of perfect love;…</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Or, from Petruchio’s perspective…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is a way to kill a wife with kindness</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And thus I’ll curb her mad and headstrong humour.</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He that knows better how to tame a shrew,</span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Now let him speak; ‘tis charity to show.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">And then there’s the contesting for sweet Bianca. And
that just gets silly. At least four persons assume someone else’s identity, a
common ploy of Shakespeare, though I wasn’t always certain what the deception
was supposed to accomplish. It works for one in the end, who wins fair Bianca.
One of her other suitors gets a different wife, and at the end of the play, the
three new husbands wager on who has the most dutiful wife; of course, Katharina
wins the day.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-69718970273488379522023-04-22T14:40:00.003-04:002023-04-22T14:40:34.773-04:00The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (novel #218)<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHDfIg8QkrdEgblk1k9pg1q74OTzLjmEM4cXIPQWL3lMJxnpAKTomZWwKcx2GLPqOALtVhEasMbwUstJ8y7X1ATDUYS61bBSs-bXW_ykbXClO7Y6DvejA1A8YszV-O8JF3CWyoIvzkEvxzHdYldEM5MBiMlnIyCuLphuPYcjuNHaHPv0q0s-2JlIw/s475/last%20of%20the%20mohicans,%20the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="286" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHDfIg8QkrdEgblk1k9pg1q74OTzLjmEM4cXIPQWL3lMJxnpAKTomZWwKcx2GLPqOALtVhEasMbwUstJ8y7X1ATDUYS61bBSs-bXW_ykbXClO7Y6DvejA1A8YszV-O8JF3CWyoIvzkEvxzHdYldEM5MBiMlnIyCuLphuPYcjuNHaHPv0q0s-2JlIw/s320/last%20of%20the%20mohicans,%20the.jpg" width="193" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>The Last of the Mohicans: A
Narrative of 1757<br /></i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">He was your son, and a
red-skin by nature; and it may be that your blood was nearer – but, if ever I
forget the lad who has so often fou’t at my side in war, and slept at my side
in peace, may He who made us all, whatever may be our color or our gifts, forget
me! The boy has left us for a time; but, Sagamore, you are not alone.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> ~ Hawkeye
to Chingachgook</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This novel is the second in
Cooper’s <i>Leatherstockings Tales</i>: a five-novel series on the exploits of fictional
frontiersman Natty Bumpo, set in present-day central New York, mid-18th to
early 19th Century. Fortunately, Bumpo is seldom called by his given name but
is commonly referred to by various appellations: Pathfinder, Deerslayer, and in
this story, Hawkeye or La Longue Carabine (long rifle) for his amazing skill
with his rifle. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the subtitle suggests, the
book is partially historical fiction, principally about the French and Indian
War.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was in this scene of strife
and bloodshed that the incidents we shall attempt to relate occurred, during
the third year of the war which England and France last waged for the
possession of a country that neither was destined to retain.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If you are familiar with the
1992 film…forget it. It bears little likeness to the novel. I am tempted to
rant against directors and screenwriters who aspire to “improve” classic
literature. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I thought I had read this once
before, but I’d only seen the movie (wish I hadn’t). I have read <i>The Deerslayer</i>
and liked it, but I thought Hawkeye was too good to be true. I found him more
believable in this story, but I was lukewarm for other reasons.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Cooper paints a vivid picture.
He identifies with the British via Hawkeye and his adoptive Mohican father
Chingachgook and brother Uncas. But he was fair and respectful to the French
and their Huron allies. He defends the honor of French Commander Montcalm, who is
believed to have violated terms of a truce after the Battle of William-Henry.
According to Cooper’s narrative, Montcalm was non-complicit in a band of rogue
Hurons who attacked the withdrawing British formation. Neither are the Hurons
portrayed as villains, but merely not obligated to terms that were negotiated without
their consent nor according to their customs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There is an individual Huron,
Magua by name, who is the tale's villain, but Cooper does not paint the entire
Huron Nation with a single broad brush.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Continuing with this idea of
fair treatment, I like how Cooper treated the women. There are two beautiful
young women, daughters of the British General. They are out of their element
but not portrayed as simple, weak, or helpless, and there is no budding romance
between either of them and Hawkeye. ***rolls eyes once more at Hollywood***</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It's very exciting and an easy,
enjoyable read. It gets a bit repetitive…captured, bold escape…captured, bold
escape…etc. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The final chapter is superb
though.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">***SPOILER ALERT***</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The villain dies; a heroine
dies; a hero dies; two fathers mourn; a tribe mourns.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sounds of the battle were
over, and they had fed fat their ancient grudge, and had avenged their recent
quarrel with the Mengwe…</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9XfWcyuOK6_sDFiP8DIfp2NLaOmfjdFTDBM64m75-W7OIAnuw9akEAbTtwAJ8qwUrKnoVvEk3Smdr5Hz74hVUBN4aPjiCy_M5PbqFq21DPmuS32pi9Gas4rL6U3ml_qop1CUkQ30d06p3dfEqCKJpLg2-hZzJm5apRhg53B0BlHe3tJbkZ_V2VNZ/s146/4%20stars.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="27" data-original-width="146" height="27" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9XfWcyuOK6_sDFiP8DIfp2NLaOmfjdFTDBM64m75-W7OIAnuw9akEAbTtwAJ8qwUrKnoVvEk3Smdr5Hz74hVUBN4aPjiCy_M5PbqFq21DPmuS32pi9Gas4rL6U3ml_qop1CUkQ30d06p3dfEqCKJpLg2-hZzJm5apRhg53B0BlHe3tJbkZ_V2VNZ/s1600/4%20stars.bmp" width="146" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I’ve explained, this was my
first time reading <i>The Last of the Mohicans</i>. Works I’ve previously read by
Cooper: <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-oak-openings-by-james-fenimore.html"><i>The Oak Openings</i></a> and <i>The Deerslayer</i>. I must reread <i>The Deerslayer</i> and will
probably read the complete Leatherstocking Tales.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This was my “spin book” for <a href="https://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-classics-club-spin-33.html">The Classics Club Spin #33</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> <br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-86411878545888205312023-03-20T19:06:00.002-04:002023-03-20T19:06:46.607-04:00The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis<p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1VGfwrXWCh7LcOKuWXv2RQDFuAtF5GbA8nukUBv6bo6a2XFzYwNTxlpzLolpDgkbmA7qMTXvvHkRgo5G42BU3Vy-i1Ll-USqq13ErIIPX9ablkQ6GmP1MSBEJ-1kbkVsnvPTnVoDvnJjH5Wb0UC3fcYJJrD7zzLa3jMoXSyVxTf-zZKlqRy2X5iY/s500/abolition%20of%20man,%20the.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1VGfwrXWCh7LcOKuWXv2RQDFuAtF5GbA8nukUBv6bo6a2XFzYwNTxlpzLolpDgkbmA7qMTXvvHkRgo5G42BU3Vy-i1Ll-USqq13ErIIPX9ablkQ6GmP1MSBEJ-1kbkVsnvPTnVoDvnJjH5Wb0UC3fcYJJrD7zzLa3jMoXSyVxTf-zZKlqRy2X5iY/s320/abolition%20of%20man,%20the.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><i>The Abolition of Man: Reflections
on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper
forms of schools</i></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is a challenging book to
review. It is brilliant, profound, and timeless, even though it was published
in 1943.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is nearly prophetic.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is Lewis’ defense of Natural
Law versus Subjectivism and derived from a series of lectures he delivered at
King’s College Newcastle. The lectures directly responded to a contemporary
book espousing subjectivism in education, but I infer Lewis’ lectures and book were also in response to subjectivism as a whole.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a short book but too big
to synopsize into a few paragraphs. It is surprisingly lacking in Christian
ideology. This was Lewis’ expressed intent. He makes a purely logical case, the
conclusion being that when subjectivism has its way…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;">Man’s final conquest has
proved to be the abolition of man.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’ve not read <i>That Hideous
Strength</i> by Lewis, but I understand it to be a fictional rendering of <i>The
Abolition of Man</i>.</span></p>
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{page:WordSection1;}</style> .<br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-341752236357006509.post-49294670124581656482023-03-18T08:48:00.004-04:002023-03-18T08:49:17.289-04:00The Classics Club Spin #33<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT13NDvNERvZwECG6hBdCGyaI3WAoGOHNevgjzVPaCfJcsvl1rQbwjNqL01Pr9vJPcTj6UgGI5_9hc8VZZTOboRTx4IUw2MLCfgNr534mQV-if0Eg3DCv8qtvPQbqPtypFZ1SJCwVdQkvuR_uNun5qBt-mytXBUuHzW3n_y9sX0CoB4gGaZt984jTL/s1159/spin%20image.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="1159" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT13NDvNERvZwECG6hBdCGyaI3WAoGOHNevgjzVPaCfJcsvl1rQbwjNqL01Pr9vJPcTj6UgGI5_9hc8VZZTOboRTx4IUw2MLCfgNr534mQV-if0Eg3DCv8qtvPQbqPtypFZ1SJCwVdQkvuR_uNun5qBt-mytXBUuHzW3n_y9sX0CoB4gGaZt984jTL/w440-h205/spin%20image.JPG" width="440" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">It is time for the </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/13/cc-spin-33/">33rd edition of the Classics Club Spin</a><span style="color: #333333;"> – List 20 books from my CC TBR, by Sunday, March 19. The mods then pick a random number, and I have until April 30 to finish reading my spin book. Presumably, there’s some penalty if I don’t, but I always do, so no worries.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">I like my entire list. It has a couple authors that I really like, but haven’t read in quite some time: McCullers, Cather, Conrad; some new-to-me authors that I’ve been meaning to get to for quite some time: Wilder, Achebe; some other new-to-me that I have no idea what to expect: Beerbohm, Green, Gardner; and then a mix of very familiar to not so familiar authors. I don’t know what to hope for. I’ll just say The Day of the Jackal because the title is intriguing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">1. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">2. Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">3. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">4. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">5. Post Office by Charles Bukowski</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">6. Loving by Henry Green</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">7. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">8. The Magus by John Fowles</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">9. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">10. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">11. The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">12. Grendel by John Gardner</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">13. Things Fall Apart by China Achebe</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">14. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">15. Cool Hand Luke by Don Pearce</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">16. The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">17. O Pioneers! By Willa Cather</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">18. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;">19. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway</span><span style="color: #333333;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: medium;">20. The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><br /></p>Josephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00466108789532345790noreply@blogger.com6