tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76055934924252967622024-03-13T13:00:23.111-04:00Cracked SpinesBook Reviews, Summaries and Random Literary RamblingsShelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-79811191506079207032018-03-14T15:26:00.002-04:002018-03-14T15:26:13.693-04:00"The Gift is in the Giving" by Bill Arienti<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the spirit of one of the most iconic Christmas stories of all time–<i>The Gift of the Magi</i>–<i>The Gift is in the Giving</i> by Bill Arienti sets out to show that giving a gift is more rewarding than receiving. A collection of stories amassed over years as a firefighter in Quincy, Massachusetts, Arienti captures in this book what's at the root of that feeling so many of us get around the holidays. It explores, in the context of Christmas, the selflessness, sympathy and sacrifice that our public servants gift to us all year round.<br />
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When I picked up this novel, I had the opportunity to meet the author at a book signing in a local shop. Had he not been there, I may not have even glanced at it, like so many other fantastic story collections. However, he looked kind and I wanted to hear his spiel about his new book, so I approached him. He told me all about himself, his work as a firefighter and what drove him to write this collection. I was interested to know about his holiday experiences in the field, so I asked him to sign a copy for me. My husband made me put the book aside so he could put it under the Christmas tree, a practice that is common in my house around the holidays. So, I had to wait.<br />
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A few weeks after Christmas passed, I finally had a chance to sit down with <i>The Gift is in the Giving</i>. I didn't have much time, but I whizzed through the first story in one sitting. I empathized with the two main characters, the author and a woman living in poverty. I think most people could see themselves in both the helper and the helpless. I was eager to hear more of the author's stories.
Next up was a tale about the author getting an opportunity to golf with one of Massachusetts' chosen ones–Bobby Orr. I wondered where this could possibly go and realized just what kind of guy was behind these stories when I found out. I was hooked and zoomed right through the rest of this short collection of short stories. I think you'll be just as eager to turn the page at the end of every story as I was.<br />
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Bill Arienti is a firefighter first. He hasn't spent decades of his life as a professional novelist. He's spent it helping out the people who need it, which makes this book all the more impressive. Arienti has a distinct writing style, and his voice comes through on every page. Every story has a clear message. If you enjoy collections like <i>Chicken Soup for the Soul</i>, you will not be disappointed.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay </b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-28025632534277516592017-11-15T14:10:00.002-05:002018-01-09T13:05:30.820-05:00Novella Review: "Gwendy's Button Box" by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Stephen King has teamed up with another writer once again; this time to bring us a novella-length tale featuring King's favorite antagonist. In <i>Gwendy's Button Box</i>, The Man in Black, Walter o'Dim or whatever moniker you favor has a dark task for a little girl whose insecurities make her the perfect target for an evil wizard. Richard Chizmar, editor, author and founder of Cemetery Dance, is King's wingman for this exploit into the deranged hijinks Flagg gets up to when he's not busy tormenting Roland.<br />
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<i>I'm going to spoil a few little things ahead. No biggies.</i><br />
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<i>Gwendy's Button Box</i> is about a gal named Gwendy who is putting forth a Herculean effort to lose weight by running up heart-attack inducing steps in her hometown when she meets The Man in Black. He's struck by something about her and decides to task her with safeguarding a strange box covered in buttons. Gwendy takes the challenge, little knowing that she's made a deal with the proverbial devil.<br />
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Like any good mysterious magical object, Gwendy's button box offers rewards and consequences. What's different about Gwendy's button box is that she can seemingly avoid the consequences if she is able to resist an almost supernatural urge to push the box's buttons. Soon, the novella becomes a tug of war between a growing young woman and the powers of the peculiar box. At first lacking in immediate threats to get the blood pumping, it isn't long before the sick imaginations of two accomplished writers are put to work.<br />
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Good co-writing makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the reader to tell who is at the wheel in any given section of the book. (I'm currently challenging myself to see where Owen King has taken the lead in <i>Sleeping Beauties</i>. I'm failing.) Whether the writers have done a great job of editing each other, have a solid sense of the work's voice or both, they manage to keep disbelief suspended with a fluid narrative. Chizmar and King do that wonderfully for <i>Gwendy's Button Box</i>. I'm hoping they decide to take on something a bit longer in the future.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay
</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-59570539472381038982017-09-20T11:19:00.000-04:002018-01-09T13:07:22.382-05:00Short Story Review: Massinello Pietro by Ray Bradbury<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<i>Massinello Pietro</i> by <a href="http://www.raybradbury.com/" target="_blank">Ray Bradbury</a> is a short story in his anthology <i>We'll Always Have Paris</i>. It is the first story in the anthology and an odd one. It is all about the importance of a seemingly insane old man who keeps a menagerie of pets in what we can assume is a small apartment of sorts in a very nosy neighborhood.<br />
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Massinello Pietro loves animals, music and dancing. His love for these things is unswayed by complaints from his disgruntled neighbors and even threats from the police. He keeps far too many pets that make a lot of noise. He plays his music at all times of the night, much to the chagrin of the neighborhood. He refuses to stop, no matter how many complaints he gets. His reasoning is that it makes him happy. As the story wears on, the reader comes to realize that he is not so much being inconsiderate of others as he is being considerate of himself. He is tired of the unhappiness that life can bring, so he resolves to suck himself out of the mire of the human condition and make his own conditions.<br />
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Ray Bradbury keeps this story short and simple. He gives the reader an eccentric, likable and pitiable character. He gives us page after page of validation for the complaints of the man's neighbors, but then he gives us validation for the man himself. He also shows us that, in the end, the polite, happy-go-lucky man was actually of value to those who were annoyed by him. In the end, his presence had been normalcy to them. Without him, things are wrong.Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-78955996911023386652017-05-29T13:58:00.000-04:002018-01-09T13:08:22.335-05:00A Review of "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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In 2011, a then-unknown author named Erin Morgenstern published a refreshing fantasy novel called <i>The Night Circus</i>. This Massachusetts-born novelist was rejected by dozens of literary agents before finding her home and sending this strange love story out into the world. I finished it a few weeks ago, and I am still enthralled by world of <i>The Night Circus</i>.<br />
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Morgenstern's creativity shines through on every single page of this book. Sure, the plot doesn't race along, but I was happy to take my time with the bevy of unusual characters she designed and, above all, explore <i>Le Cirque des Rêves</i>–the eponymous night circus. She has a knack for strange romanticism, which limits the characters to some degree (they're all pretty, talented, etc.), but I think you'll be intrigued, even if everything is almost too lovely and magical. <br />
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At the center of our story are two magicians, pitted against each other from childhood, playing a game where neither knows the rules. The game board is <i>Le Cirque des Rêves</i>. As each of their skills grow, so too does the circus. It is filled with magical and mechanical feats, but visitors only know that they are drawn to its wonders. Decked out in black and white with only the rare splash of color, its decor alone is enough to make it stand out. It's a place like Hogwarts. I know it isn't real, but I want to spend my next vacation there.<br />
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There are some books that have such deep characters that you are moved along by them. Some have amazing settings that pull you in. Rare few fantasy novels have both. For me, <i>The Night Circus</i> was all about the setting. A few characters, particularly the twins, captured more than my passing interest, but I was distracted always by descriptions of snow-blanketed tents, gravity-defying cloud mazes, shape-shifting gowns and masterful clockworks. Morgenstern really nailed this place. I kind of hate that it isn't real.<br />
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My final word is fantasy lovers should read this book. Romance lovers will probably like it too, though I think it isn't quite a romance. Take your time. Enjoy the imagery. I know I did.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b><br />Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-60460745722983101912017-01-23T12:38:00.000-05:002018-01-09T13:09:22.447-05:00Let's Review "Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Memoir" by Jenny Lawson<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://thebloggess.com/" target="_blank">Jenny Lawson</a> is a super-popular blogger known as "The Bloggess." Last year, I read and reviewed her second book <i>Furiously Happy</i>. This Christmas, my husband bought me a signed copy of her first book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0065S8R38/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank"><i>Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Memoir</i></a>. It's been a damn rollercoaster, but I finished up <i>Let's Pretend This Never Happened</i> and am happy to say Jenny Lawson is a talented writer who you should be following.<br />
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Lawson is a Texas gal born to a taxidermist and his long-suffering wife. In <i>Let's Pretend This Never Happened</i>, she takes us through some often hilarious and sometimes worrisome misadventures with wild creatures–both alive and in various states of death. I say states of death because dead animals, in Jenny's household, could be dead, disemboweled or reanimated as a cutesy wall or desk ornament. She is both horrified by and okay with the live random bobcats and turkey stalkers as well as large animal corpses hanging out around her house.<br />
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Jenny Lawson has about as many health problems as an inbred show dog. That's not to say that she's inbred, though she is from Texas. (Come on. Low-hanging fruit!) You can't help but feel sorry for her as she navigates her way through rare disorders, mental illnesses and even rheumatoid arthritis. If she ever gets a break, it's probably going to need an x-ray.<br />
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Somehow, in spite of the wacky family, or maybe because of it, Jenny Lawson is able to pull through an eating disorder, failed pregnancies, being a human pincushion to have a baby, a marriage with some kind of financial professional, being a mother, having OCD and even vultures trying to eat her zombie dog. Her memoirs show that sometimes strong stuff is made of chipped and cracked glass. They prove that even women without pajama sets can make friends with other women. They make you feel like trying harder because if Jenny Lawson can have a popular blog, bestsellers and a driver's license, you can definitely get off your ass and take that cooking class.<br />
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Now, all I want to do is praise Lawson's bravery in baring her soul for the world to see, even if she does exaggerate. However, I would be remiss if I didn't warn you that this <i>Let's Pretend This Never Happened</i> goes a million miles a minute, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I can't even imagine what it looked like before an editor got his hands on it. You have to work hard to keep up, but that's okay. It's worth charging through the author's thought process to get to the tales of laughter and woe that lie beneath.<br />
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<i><b><span style="color: #990000;">Shelly Barclay</span></b></i>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-16737579996390379622016-12-21T13:48:00.000-05:002018-01-09T13:11:27.750-05:00Book Review: "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" by Fannie Flagg<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Years ago, I watched the movie <i>Fried Green Tomatoes</i> for the first time. More than a stereotypical chick flick, this movie was funny, energetic and wholesome while tackling heavy topics. It's always been one of my favorites, yet I somehow never knew it was adapted from a novel. I learned that a few weeks ago when my sister asked me if I wanted to borrow <i>Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe</i> by <a href="http://fannieflaggbooks.com/" target="_blank">Fannie Flagg</a> from her before she dug into it. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and here I am.<br />
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At its core, <i>Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe</i> is about a woman named Idgie and her family. Idgie's sister-in-law narrates some of the story while telling tales of her life to her friend in the nursing home. However, there is much more to it than the core tale. While jumping around from the past to the future and back again at odd points, this book encompasses a lot of folks, all Southern and all just a little countrified.<br />
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In contrast to Idgie's adventurous and daring spirit, there is Evelyn Couch–a modern housewife struggling through menopause and a crippling lack of confidence. Her friend Ninny is a bit like Idgie and encourages Evelyn to be herself and find help for her health issues. While Ninny often narrates some of the story of her friends and family's history, the book also slips into third-person, so the reader can get a glimpse of events Ninny didn't see, from murders to elephant marches. Also intertwined with these stories are fictional clippings from local newspapers involving characters and settings. I wasn't expecting that, and they proved to be quite funny at times.<br />
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Idgie is the soul of the novel and her soul mate is a woman named Ruth. I was a little surprised at how casually Fannie Flagg handled the fact that Ruth and Idgie were obviously gay. People around them knew it and this is Depression-era Alabama. I'm not entirely sure if people in that time and place would have been as accepting of such a relationship as the characters in the novel are or if Flagg wanted to leave that kind of bigotry out of the novel. In any event, it doesn't seem out of place.<br />
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There are a number of black characters in <i>Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe</i>. Some are staff and all are friends of the central cast of characters. Bigotry and racial violence is handled extensively and I think tastefully. From the shame of being thought an Uncle Tom to the added difficulties of being black, homeless and hungry during the Depression, readers get what feels like an inside look into life before Civil Rights. It feels genuine and thoughtful at every step.<br />
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Homelessness, alcoholism, spousal abuse, disability and loss are all interwoven into this otherwise uplifting novel. Love, affection, unconditional friendship and humor all appear to counterbalance these difficult, but relevant issues. For me, humor is what came through the most. A few tall tales, a parking lot run-in and some good food jokes all made <i>Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe</i> a happy, inspiring novel that is well worth the attention it, and its silver screen counterpart, has garnered over the years.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b><br />Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-37148670082968830042016-12-05T16:21:00.002-05:002018-01-09T13:12:35.271-05:00The 39 Clues: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545060435/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0545060435&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=c86275aa616b41ed36213eafaa110c66" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0545060435&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0545060435" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><i>The Sword Thief</i> by <a href="http://peterlerangis.com/" target="_blank">Peter Lerangis</a> is book three in the children's book series, <i>The 39 Clues</i>. It is the first of <i>The 39 Clues</i> books to feature prolonged "alliances" between the protagonists–Amy and Dan Cahill–and their flawed family members. It is also the first book to hint at a future romance between Amy Cahill and her spoiled cousin, Ian Kabra. (They are very distant cousins.)<br />
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Peter Lerangis follows the tradition of the first two <i>39 Clues</i> books by having Amy and Dan Cahill antagonized persistently by their competition in the race for the 39 Clues. All of the previous characters have cameos, but the readers learn more about Ian Kabra and Alistair Oh. Natalie Kabra is also featured prominently in the book, but Peter has nothing to add to her vapid character. Alistair and Ian, on the other hand, become more multi-faceted and intriguing (for 8 and 12-year olds).<br />
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<i>The Sword Thief</i> by Peter Lerangis takes the search for the 39 Clues to Japan and Korea. The ancestor behind the third clue is a gold-crazy warrior by the name of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi is a former ruler of Japan and samurai warrior. He is probably best known for his restriction of weapons in the country. He ordered the 1588 Sword Hunt, which stripped the peasants of their swords. He also ruled that only samurai could carry weapons. He is the first of the ancestors pointing the way in <i>The 39 Clues</i> series to be a dubious historical character. It is a welcome change after the revered historical characters leading the way in books one and two.<br />
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As with the previous two <i>The 39 Clues </i>books, <i>The Sword Thief</i> adheres to the series' way of teaching young minds history while occupying them with trivial sibling rivalry, cool music, game and hobby references and, above all, adventure. Peter Lerangis and his predecessors could be the same writers as far as their miniature readers are concerned. The flow of the series is flawless, though doubtless easily rendered consistent given the simple context of the novels. Nonetheless, there is obviously some research involved in writing a <i>The 39 Clues</i> books.<br />
<i><br />The Sword Thief</i> by Peter Lerangis is a likable novel overall. He targets his audience well (like his predecessors) and has obviously left people wanting more, in a good way. The series is up to its tenth installment at the time this article was written. Peter Lerangis has been back since his first installment. He authored <i>The Viper's Nest</i>, which is book seven in <i>The 39 Clues</i> series.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-7135544936061256402016-10-12T14:20:00.001-04:002018-01-09T13:13:45.798-05:00Book Review: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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It took me longer than expected, but I have finally finished
<i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</i>. I'm having mixed feelings about the whole
thing. I know there are Potterheads among us who hate at least the print
version of the play, and I know that there are those who insist its faults lie
in its <i>being</i> a play. The latter believe seeing it in person resolves those
flaws. I fall somewhat in the middle.</div>
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I'm not going to speak to the story line at all in this
review because the book is still fairly new. Also, I think you can say a lot
about <i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</i> without giving away the plot, so I'll
do that. Suffice to say that you'll see heroes and antagonists old and new.</div>
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I was off to a rough start with <i>Harry Potter and the Cursed
Child</i>. I found the dialogue off-putting, to say the least. Old characters
lacked the charm they possessed in the novels. New characters had stilted and
even corny lines. I've had people tell me "That's because it's a
play!" This isn't the first play I've read. The dialogue was not appealing
to me. Worse, I didn't get caught up enough in the plot to make up for it.</div>
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Now, I told you I was somewhere in the middle in terms of my
enjoyment of <i>Harry Potter and the Cursed Child</i>. I began to enjoy it more
somewhere around the third act. Some of the dialogue got a little more
compelling, the action was a bit more convincing, and the old characters
weren't as stupendously out of character. I did enjoy reading the play from
this point on, though it still had its shortcomings. I've yet to see how it
translates to the stage, so I'll reserve judgment on the final product.</div>
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While, as I said, I found Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
enjoyable to a certain degree, I wasn't moved by it. In the novels, I was at
times in tears. I laughed out loud. I grew to love the characters. None
of that was happening with this play, and I'm afraid it had nothing to do with
the lack of prose that comes with the format. I've enough imagination to fill
in the blanks. I just wasn't swept away enough to laugh, cry or anything close.
</div>
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All of the above being said, I'm so ready for <i>Fantastic
Beasts and Where to Find Them</i>. If this isn't the last of the bunch, I really
hope Rowling is the only writer of canonical Potter texts in the future. </div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-83434627604180187972016-10-02T14:34:00.000-04:002018-01-09T13:15:05.755-05:00Review and Summary: "The Giver" by Lois Lowry<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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What can I possibly say about Lois Lowry's <i>The Giver</i> that hasn't already been said about this award-winning novel? Probably not much. Many a more astute reviewer has rattled on about it in the past decades. Nonetheless, I've set out to tell you about most of the books I read, so I'm going to do that now in the knowledge that you should just stop reading this and go read <i>The Giver</i>. Seriously. <br />
<br />
<i>*Some spoilers </i><br />
<br />
I was born in the 80s and had a developed love of literature by the 90s. Lois Lowry was one of the first writers to hit me square in the feels. She did it with <i>Number the Stars</i>–a kiddo-friendly look at the horrors of the Holocaust. Because I loved that book so much as a kid, I determined to read <i>The Giver</i> long ago, but have only just got around to it. I shouldn't have waited. <br />
<br />
They say there are no original ideas left, but I think there are a few that come close enough or are executed so well that it hardly matters. <i>The Giver</i> is a bit of both. For some reason, I was nostalgic for <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i> and <i>1984</i> when I read it. Neither had parallel stories, but a similar feel definitely permeated all three (only for a brief section in the case of <i>A Wrinkle in Time</i>). That nostalgic feeling was there, but the story was also so individual that I devoured it. <br />
<br />
In a world filled with Sameness, a young man named Jonas is chosen to be the only one among his people with memories of suffering and joy. He is to receive all of the memories of their history by a man he comes to know as The Giver. The Giver labors under the weight of these memories and, while sympathetic with Jonas, is eager to relieve his pain. However, as Jonas learns the truth about his life, he and The Giver must decide if it's time to release their burden. <br />
<br />
<i>The Giver</i> is a short, simple read with complex, thought-provoking themes. Yes, it is categorized as children's literature. It's not. It is a book that people of most age groups can appreciate that happens to be at an easy reading comprehension level. This novel moved me at the age of 33. I've been thinking about it since I completed it last night and will surely remember it fondly for the rest of my life. <br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b><br /> Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-52121498049651654152016-09-12T11:38:00.001-04:002018-01-09T13:16:39.132-05:00Plot Synopsis: "Merrick" by Anne Rice<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<i>Merrick</i> is the seventh book in
<a href="http://www.annerice.com/" target="_blank">Anne Rice</a>’s <i>Vampire Chronicles</i>. In this novel, Rice unites Merrick, a witch of
the Mayfair family, with some of the vampires from the first six novels.
Merrick is also a member of a fictional scholar’s organization called the
Talamasca. She is the third member of the Talamasca to become involved with the
vampires, but she is the first Mayfair to do so. This book is the inevitable
unification of two of Anne’s most popular series.
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<i>Series spoilers ahead.</i></div>
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The former Superior General of
the Talamasca, David Talbot, narrates <i>Merrick</i>. David became a vampire at the
hand of Lestat some years before the telling of this tale. Up until this point,
David lost all contact with his friends in the Talamasca. However, the vampire
Louis asks him (before the novel begins) to reconnect with his old friend
Merrick. Louis wants Merrick to raise the soul of the dead child-vampire
Claudia. </div>
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Louis and Lestat made Claudia in
the first novel of the <i>Vampire Chronicles</i>. She was a tiny child when she became
a vampire. During her life as a vampire, Claudia was morbidly angry at her
fate. She despised Louis and Lestat for making her when she was so young. She
even attempted to murder Lestat in her rage. A gang of vampires that
disapproved of her actions murdered her.</div>
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Louis feels guilty for Claudia’s
fate and wishes to know if she was able to move on or if her soul is in
purgatory. He feels responsible for her hateful nature, and he still loves her.
Readers who are familiar with <i>The Vampire Chronicles</i> may be able to foresee the
outcome of the potential encounter with Claudia long before it happens.</div>
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David meets with Merrick, and
she agrees to perform the spell that is necessary to rouse Claudia. She asks
David to give her a few days to prepare. David then returns to the apartment he
shares with Louis and tells him the news. He later relates the story of
Merrick’s life and her relationship with himself to Louis. </div>
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The story is told from David’s
perspective and you learn a lot about the love he has for Merrick. The
relationship between Merrick and David is adventurous and romantic yet a little
disturbing. David was an old man before he became a vampire and he fell in love
with Merrick when she was a teenager. Despite his age, Merrick loves him in
return and the story of her times with him and in the Talamasca are as
interesting as any other of Rice’s tales.</div>
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After David finishes telling
Louis Merrick’s story, Louis promises him that he will not hurt Merrick. So it
is decided that the plans for reaching Claudia will be carried out. Merrick contacts
them and they proceed to her house for the ritual. The spell is gruesome, but
successful. </div>
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The spirit of Claudia torments and
even stabs Louis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She tells Louis that
he must kill himself to make her happy. Louis becomes sure that he must do this
to appease Claudia. David and Merrick are distraught by Louis’ decision. Attempts
to change his mind are unsuccessful. He plans to kill himself in a few days.</div>
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After three days, David has not
heard from either Merrick or Louis. He is fretful. On the third night, he sits
to write a letter in hopes that Louis will find it. As he is writing, Louis
appears in the apartment. He tells David that he is in love with Merrick and he
can think of nothing but her. </div>
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David pleads with Louis, asking
him to ignore his feelings and not to go to Merrick. David tells Louis that
Merrick is making him feel this way with a spell. This is the truth, but Louis
will not listen. Louis insists on seeing Merrick. David decides to go with him.</div>
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Together they go to Merrick’s
home. She and Louis refuse to allow David to stay. David is heartbroken and
leaves, but not without threatening to kill Louis if anything should happen to
Merrick. The following evening, he awakens to find Merrick a vampire and Louis
seemingly dead in his coffin, which he set out in the sun in an attempt at
suicide.</div>
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Louis is revived when the
slumbering elder vampire Lestat awakens and restores him with his blood. Louis
is reborn stronger than ever. Before it is explained that Louis is not dead you
still get the sense that he can't be dead. </div>
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The foursome receives a letter
after Louis’ revival. It is from the Talamasca. They are demanding that Merrick
be returned to them and that the vampires leave the city. Lestat is furious and
doesn’t want to leave. However, David and Merrick soon convince him not to go
to war with the Talamasca. They all leave the city, but Merrick does not return
to the order.</div>
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Once again, Anne Rice is able to
add a depth and complexity to her characters and plot that is not easily
conveyed in a short synopsis. I think anyone who has enjoyed either the Mayfair
witch novels or the other<i> Vampire Chronicles</i> will enjoy <i>Merrick</i>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay </b></i></span></div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-88317206233270609022016-08-27T20:56:00.002-04:002018-01-09T13:18:03.886-05:00Book Review: Stephen King's "End of Watch" <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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Decades into a prolific and successful career, Stephen King
is still churning out trilogies. His latest follows the post-retirement years
of Detective Bill Hodges. I just finished up <i>End of Watch</i>–the final novel of
the trio. It appears the adventures of this intrepid ex-cop and his
arch-nemesis "The Mercedes Killer" are wrapped up with a neat bow in
this one. While not my favorite of the bunch (I'd be hard pressed to choose
between <i>Mr. Mercedes</i> and <i>Finders Keepers</i>), <i>End of Watch</i> is a fantastic finish
that brings in a lot of the mindeffery for which we know and love the King.
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<i><b>*Some spoilers</b></i></div>
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<i>End of Watch</i> finds Bill (real name Kermit) and his
partner-in-crime-fighting Holly Gibney dealing with Bill's grim diagnosis of
pancreatic cancer and the reappearance of Brady Hartsfield in their lives.
Hartsfield, a serial killer who plowed down dozens of people in the first book
of the trilogy, is a near-vegetable at the local hospital. How is it that Bill
suspects the brain trauma patient in a recent rash of suicides?</div>
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Before <i>End of Watch</i>, King had largely refrained from the
more fantastic aspects of his imagination with this trilogy. We've been given
straight-up everyday evil against a flawed hero in two relatively normal,
though outstandingly written, detective novels. King opened up the floodgates
for the last hurrah, bringing back an old favorite of his–telekinesis. </div>
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Because of the supernatural twist hinted at in <i>Finders
Keepers</i> and delivered in <i>End of Watch</i>, Hodges finds himself in the most
challenging case of his busy retirement. Some might call it an easy way to
bring back a crippled antagonist, but I found Hartsfield too intriguing, too
disgusting to be done away with in a single book. It was fitting to have him
back too see how he would fare against an again weakened Hodges in a second
round. </div>
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I enjoyed the book on a few lazy days swinging in my hammock
this summer. As usual, I was thoroughly entertained by Mr. King and bummed out
when the book inevitably ended. I'll wrap this up by noting how much I loved
King's treatment of the ever-anxious Holly Gibney. I have an anxiety disorder
myself and enjoyed having a hero more on my level. I'm also very happy that
King touched on themes of suicide and then included an encouraging note to
those of us who struggle with those issues to seek help and be patient enough
for the good times to come back. I was truly moved. </div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay</b></i></span> </div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-49740898156997077942016-08-11T11:13:00.002-04:002018-01-09T13:19:07.438-05:00"Speaks the Nightbird" by Robert McCammon: Plot Summary and Review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<i>Speaks the Nightbird</i> by Robert
McCammon is a historical fiction novel about the imprisonment of an accused
witch. It is a suspenseful, mysterious and well-written novel that delves into the
moral issues of deception, greed, law and death. Robert McCammon wrote this
immense novel after taking a hiatus from writing. He obviously came back as
good at his craft as he ever was.</div>
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The story is centered around an
aging magistrate named Isaac Woodward and his young assistant, Matthew Corbett,
who are called to Fount Royal to oversee the trial of an accused witch–Rachel
Howarth. At the start of <i>Speaks the Nightbird</i>, Matthew and Isaac are on their
way to Fount Royal when they stop to stay the night in a shady tavern. They are
robbed and attacked by the tavern’s despicable owners who force them to walk
the rest of the way to Fount Royal. The weather is atrocious and Woodward gets
sick immediately after their arrival.</div>
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In Fount Royal, Corbett and
Woodward realize that most of the people of the town wish to get the trial over
with and execute the witch. Isaac refuses to rush because of his health and his
want of a fair trial. Slowly, they begin to learn all of the accusations aimed
at Rachel. She has been accused of fornicating with the devil, manipulating
residents, murder and various other acts of witchcraft. Matthew doubts her
guilt from the start and begins to doubt it even more after spending a night
with her in prison.</div>
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As <i>Speaks the Nightbird</i>
progresses, the magistrate becomes gravely ill and is put under a lot of
pressure to finish the trial. It eventually becomes clear that he is dying, but
the founder of Fount Royal brings in a doctor to prolong his life to the point
of cruelty, so that he may finish the trial. While the magistrate is sick in
bed, Matthew does some investigating of his own and soon discovers the true
culprit behind these crimes, but by then it is too late. </div>
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The magistrate is forced to find
Rachel guilty. Matthew decides to break Rachel out after realizing he loves her.
He decides to take her to Florida, but on the way he is attacked by a bear and
cared for by natives. During his convalescence, Matthew finds a way to prove
that Rachel is innocent. The rest of <i>Speaks the Nightbird</i> tidies up nicely
thereafter. The magistrate dies, Rachel is exonerated and the guilty are
brought to some form of justice.</div>
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<i>Speaks the Nightbird</i> does get
off to a rather slow start, but the plot picks up momentum in the second part
(it was originally published in two parts). You could say that some of the
loose ends were left hanging for a little too long. There is a lot of suspense
in the novel, but at times it was tedious to keep turning pages only to find
that virtually none of your questions are answered until the last part of the
novel. However, <i>Speaks the Nightbird</i> is a page-turner and an enjoyable novel.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay</b></i></span> </div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-27036679231129832662016-07-16T18:20:00.002-04:002016-07-16T18:20:41.509-04:00Character Analysis of Elizabeth Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane AustenElizabeth Bennet, also known as Lizzy and Eliza, is the main
character of Jane Austen's <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>. She is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Bennet, the younger sister of Jane Bennet and the older sister of Mary,
Catherine and Lydia Bennet. The story revolves around her as she seeks to find
answers to life's difficult questions regarding love, morality, manners,
upbringing, social status and more.<br />
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*Mild spoilers ahead. </div>
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Elizabeth lives with her parents and all of her sisters in
the family home, Longbourn. Her father is a country gentlemen of no great
wealth who enjoys reading and teasing his wife and three youngest daughters.
Her mother is a silly woman who is an unabashed social climber. Elizabeth
appears to love them both, but favors her father, who favors her in return.
Mrs. Bennet seems to resent Lizzy for being less inclined to find a rich
husband then she is to lead a happy life. </div>
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Elizabeth is a headstrong, intelligent, sarcastic and
enjoyable young woman. She is described as enjoying long walks, dancing,
laughing at things that are ridiculous, which typically turns out to be her
younger sisters, mother, Mr. Darcy and her cousin Mr. Collins. She forms rather
strong opinions of people and can be a little harsh in her judgments. However,
she seems to see the error of her ways on many occasions in the novel and
freely admits to it. </div>
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Elizabeth's closest confidantes are her sister Jane and her
best friend Charlotte. She does not confide in her younger sisters at all.
Though she cares for their well being she is often frustrated and embarrassed
by their and her mother's behavior. She is fiercely loyal and protective of
Jane. She seems to love Charlotte, but is rather cruel to her over her choice
of husband (Mr. Collins). The pair remains friends, despite Lizzy's lapse in
understanding. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> focuses on the developing relationship
between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy and Lizzy are very much
alike. Both are proud to a fault and both can be judgmental. In fact, they mark
each other erroneously when they first meet because of this "pride"
and "prejudice." However, as the novel wears on, both become more
forgiving of each other and take the time to get to know one another. </div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-162212264810781002016-06-21T10:23:00.001-04:002016-06-21T11:13:58.325-04:00Three Novels of the Victorian Era<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bram_Stocker_1847-1912.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Bram_Stocker_1847-1912.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bram Stoker</td></tr>
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--></style>The Victorian era was a somewhat gritty and often macabre time for literature. It was also a time when some of the greatest writers produced some of the greatest novels of all time. Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Caroll and many more classic authors were writers of the Victorian era. Here are three examples of the best novels of the era. <br />
<br />
<h4>
<i>The Picture of Dorian Gray</i> by Oscar Wilde, originally published in 1890, revised and republished in 1891 </h4>
<br />
<i>The Picture of Dorian Gray</i> is a supernatural story about the consequences of ego and moral indecency. Near the start of the novel, Dorian Gray, a wealthy and handsome young aristocrat, is given a portrait of himself that was painted by a young artist named Basil Hallward. Soon after, Dorian is stricken with fear at the fact that his good looks will fade with age. He proclaims out loud that he would trade his soul if he could remain as he is in the picture and have the picture take on his less appealing qualities. <br />
<br />
Dorian’s wishes are soon granted and as he goes off to lead an immoral life, his picture begins to take on sinister and evil qualities. Dorian hides it in his attic, where he will not have to see it. Times goes by and Dorian’s picture ages and becomes more and more ugly and terrible. Eventually, Dorian feels guilt at his wicked ways and comes to loathe the picture. He goes into his attic one night with a knife, intending to destroy the picture. His servants find him dead on the floor, with a knife through his heart. The picture had transformed back into that of the beautiful young man and Dorian himself was as he truly was, hideous. <br />
<i><br /></i>
<h4>
<i> Dracula</i> by Bram Stoker (1897) </h4>
<br />
<i>Dracula</i> is one of the most popular horror novels of all time. It is also Bram Stoker’s only truly significant novel. The novel is the story of a group of people’s experience with the dreaded Count Dracula and his seductive minions. Jonathan Harker is the first character to run into Count Dracula, when he arrives at his castle and is taken prisoner. Harker eventually escapes and returns home relatively unscathed and soon marries his sweetheart, Mina. <br />
<br />
The couple is soon living in a nightmare when they join forces with the men who are trying to kill Dracula. They are attempting to track him down when he finds Mina and bites her. She begins gradually turning into a vampire. Harker and a man named Quincy Morris are eventually able to kill Count Dracula and his minions. The death of the Count stops Mina’s transformation and she and Jonathan are able to live a happy life together–a happier ending than most remakes of the tale. <br />
<br />
<h4>
<i>Wuthering Heights</i> by Emily Bronte (1847) </h4>
<br />
<i>Wuthering Heights</i> is the only novel ever published by Emily Bronte, who died at the age of thirty. It is a dark and dreary novel about love, passion and manipulation that is set in a dark and dreary manor on a dark and dreary English moor. The main body of the story revolves around the lives and love of Catherine Earnshaw and an orphan that her father has adopted, named Heathcliff. <br />
<br />
Heathcliff and Catherine fall in love at a very young age, but Heathcliff’s life is rife with disappointment. He is treated cruelly by Catherine’s brother, Hindley and later suffers the indignity of seeing Catherine marry another man. He goes through the rest of his life plotting revenge on Hindley and Catherine’s husband Edgar and is largely successful. However, Heathcliff becomes a cruel man himself, especially after Catherine dies in childbirth. At the end of his life, Heathcliff is filled with grief and often talks to the ghost of Catherine. <br />
<br />
There are many, many more novels from the Victorian era that are worth reading. There is simply not enough room here to list them all. If you are looking for further reading from this era, anything published between 1837 and 1901 is considered Victorian. And you will be sure to find some literary gems among books of this time period.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay </b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-16747263404072524282016-05-30T10:54:00.001-04:002016-05-30T10:54:15.085-04:00Best Novels With Travel As A Theme<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn_1885-FrontispieceGray.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Adventures_of_Huckleberry_Finn_1885-FrontispieceGray.png" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 1885 frontispiece<br />for <i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i></td></tr>
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<br />
Travel is a common theme in classic and modern novels; there are countless books in which the characters take a journey. These novels are popular for many reasons, but most of all because they are exciting. Many people daydream about going on adventures or trips to far off places, but can’t in their everyday lives. Travel novels make this fantasy possible for readers, even if it is only in their minds. Here are some the most fantastic and adventurous novels with a travel theme ever written. <br /><i><br /> *Spoilers . . . maybe </i><br /><br /> <b><i>Around the World in Eighty Days</i> by Jules Verne </b><br /><br /> <i>Around the World in Eighty Days</i> is the story Phileas Fogg–a man who bets his peers at a gentleman’s club that he can make it (you guessed it) around the world in eighty days. This was in the time before making it around the world in two or three days was feasible, so try your best to imagine how exciting this would have been for a reader who couldn't hop on a passenger jet on a whim. <br /><br /> Phileas Fogg collects his new servant, Passepartout, and sets off on a whirlwind adventure around the globe. Along the way, he encounters the law, elephants, damsels in distress and even bloodthirsty American Indians. After retrieving his damsel and bringing her with him, picking up the messes that his servant makes, avoiding a lawman and fighting a tribe of American Indians, Fogg makes it back to London just in time to win his bet with a few more snafus to make the ending a Jules Verne classic. <br /><br /> <b><i>The Time Machine</i> by H.G. Wells </b><br /><br /> <i>The Time Machine</i> is an interesting tale that is not your conventional travel novel. It is the story of a man, referred to only as the “time traveler,” who is telling a story to a group of men. The story is that of his inventing a time machine and traveling back and forth in time. The novel is narrated by one of the men who listened as the time traveler told his unbelievable tale. <br /><br /> The time traveler used his machine and found himself in the year 802,701 AD. He finds that man has evolved into two subspecies, the Eloi, who are a childlike and peaceful race, and the Morlocks, who are pale, apelike creatures who live underground and hunt the Eloi for food. He tells the men about his time there and how he managed to escape the Morlocks and travel 30 million years into the future before returning home. After he finishes his tale, he leaves again in his time machine and never returns. <br /><br /> <b><i>The Lord of the Rings</i> by J.R.R. Tolkien</b> <br /><br /> Sure, <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> takes place in a completely fictional place, but who cares? It's the ultimate hiking novel. A bunch of guys (well, a wizard, some humans, a few hobbits, an elf and a dwarf) band together to hike across a continent to climb the most treacherous volcano in the land. Yeah, there's more to it than that, but there is no doubt that there is a lot of travel going on in this classic fantasy novel. <br /><i><br /> The Lord of the Rings</i> centers on Frodo, a hobbit who has inherited a ring of power that possesses some serious dark powers. Gandalf, a wizard who likes to hang out and smoke with the hobbits, tells Frodo the ring is bad, and that he must bring it to the elves. Frodo takes his gardener Sam and the two leave home on foot. They bump into Merry and Pippin, two more hobbits, and they are all on their way. Soon, they are set upon by evil ring wraiths. They meet a man who knows of their plight and helps them deliver the ring to the elves. The elves are having none of that, so a fellowship is formed. It consists of the Gimli, Gandalf, Boromir, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Aragorn. They all go on a hike together. Only two make it to the volcano. <br /><br /> <b><i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> by Mark Twain</b> <br /><br /> <i>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> is the tale of the eponymous boy and a runaway slave named Jim. The two find each other after Huck runs away from his abusive father and Jim runs away from a woman who mentions selling him to an abusive owner. At the time, it was illegal to help a fugitive slave, but Huck likes Jim and isn't much for rules, so the two set off on an adventure together that leads them to con men, elaborate schemes and ultimately a reunion with Huck's best friend Tom Sawyer. This is a must-read for kids. <br /><br /> There are so many travel books out there. I know these are really tailored toward my tastes, but if you're into "woman finds herself on trip across Europe" kind of books, there are plenty of those at the library. No matter what your tastes, pick up a book and go on an adventure whenever you want. Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-73647135744540590662016-05-09T16:17:00.002-04:002018-01-09T13:20:21.093-05:00Book Review: "11/22/63" by Stephen King<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1451627297/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1451627297&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=665dfa964a228584859d97b283c50608" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1451627297&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1451627297" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> The cover of <i>11/22/63</i> is enough to draw in a huge readership. You have the name of the literal and figurative king of horror. History buffs will recognize the eponymous date that U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot and killed by an assassin, presumably Lee Harvey Oswald. I don't know about you, but I was easily sucked in.<br />
<br />
On first glance, I was curious if this was another of <a href="http://stephenking.com/" target="_blank">Stephen King</a>'s forays into non-fiction. There is no denying that the man is fixated on an earlier, simpler America. Perhaps it was time for him to write facts about the times that inspired him. Was <i>11//22/6</i> something else like Richard Preston's <i>The Hot Zone</i>–a non-fiction book told like a novel? Was Stephen King combining fact and fiction? It turned out to be the latter.<br />
<br />
King has obviously waded through a mountain of research to complete <i>11/22/63</i> and, as far as this history buff can tell, he never grievously deviates from the facts as we know them. In fact, he digs right into the gritty little details. One cannot help noticing that King seems to enjoy these details–the gritty story of the bad guy. He always has. <br />
<br />
I will try to give away practically nothing about this book because I want you to read it. So, I will have to be cryptic. Yes, this book delves deeply into the assassination of President Kennedy, but more the events leading up to it. The central characters in the book are not historical figures. They are the usual fictitious small town, likeable, flawed characters you find in King's novels. They are in quite an unusual situation. The past and the present intertwine with love, loss and a struggle against the supernatural. There is also a brilliant nod to <i>It</i> in <i>11/22/63</i>. If you are a fan, you cannot miss it.<br />
<br />
When I first started reading, I thought that I was going to spend the whole time wanting to skip ahead to the moment King provoked us with. He certainly did not need this topic to sell books, so my only explanation is that he knew we would be itching to find out what happens in Dealey Plaza in Stephen King's imagination. However, to my surprise, I did not skip forward once. I wanted more to know how he got there than what happened once he did. I knew King was not going to do something crazy like change history . . . or was he? You will have to find out. <br />
<br />
Update: The book was made into a very good miniseries. Check that out too, if you can. Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-75045119496927045012016-04-27T10:22:00.001-04:002018-01-09T13:21:27.043-05:00Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0545663261/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0545663261&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=451e0a486c7110d4f2bc9ae12228aa83" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0545663261&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0545663261" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /> <i>Mockingjay</i> by Suzanne Collins is the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. In it, Suzanne Collins pushes the boundaries of young adult fiction. Like other YA novels before it, such as <i>The Chocolate War</i> by Robert Cormier or <i>Lord of the Flies</i> by William Golding, it explores themes of violence among child and young adult characters. Some parents might be opposed to these themes in their kids' literature. I'm not.<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>Spoilers ahead. </i><br />
<br />
<i>Mockingjay</i> reintroduces us to the protagonist of the series–Katniss Everdeen. Rebels have rescued her and taken her to their underground bunker. They did not rescue her friend Peeta. This makes Katniss resentful of the rebels with whom she is now working. Katniss has been mistrusting and angry throughout the series, but she is now distrustful of the rebels too.<br />
<br />
Rebel leaders want Everdeen to be the symbol of their rebellion–a propaganda tool that inspires fighters. Their methods are similar to those used by the enemy, which sheds light on the story's true moral conundrum. When both sides are killing for what they want, how can you tell which side is the right side? If you cannot gain freedom from murderous leaders without violence, how do you stop the violence once you have won? This is not a new concept in literature.<br />
<br />
The plot of <i>Mockingjay</i> is not surprising. The first two books set it up, but that doesn't make it less entertaining. They way the characters come to the realization that they may be trading one dictator for another, and the way they deal with it, keeps the plot moving. The morals are deeper, and the protagonists more colorful than those in most current YA fiction. I think Collins put herself near the top of the genre with this series. Let's hope she has more books to offer.<br />
<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b><br /> Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-52245610882317074892016-04-08T13:52:00.000-04:002016-06-21T19:06:10.825-04:00Biography of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/J._K._Rowling_2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/J._K._Rowling_2010.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">J.K. Rowling reading to children<br />
at the White House<br />
Photo by Daniel Ogren</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/jk-rowling-biography/" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling</a> is the unprecedentedly successful author of the seven books in the Harry Potter series. Since the publication of her first novel, <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone</i>, the popularity of her books has steadily increased. All of the books in the Harry Potter series were made into insanely popular films. There will even be a film made of a short side novel and a Rowling has written a play to go along with the franchise.<br />
<br />
J.K. Rowling was born Joanne Rowling on July 31, 1965. She later added Katherine to her name so that she could have another initial for her pen name. She was born on the outskirts of Bristol, England and is the eldest of two daughters. Her parents moved Joanne and her younger sister Di to Winterbourne when Rowling was four. There, she met a young boy and a young girl whose last name she came to like. Their last name was Potter. The Rowling family moved one more time, when Joanne was nine, to Tutshill. The family was living here when her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Joanne was fifteen at the time.<br />
<br />
J.K. Rowling attended a few grade schools and then went on to attend Wyedean Comprehensive. After her high school graduation she enrolled in the University of Exeter, where she studied French. During Rowling’s time in college she was able to spend a year in France as part of her studies.<br />
<br />
J.K. Rowling’s mother died shortly after Christmas in 1990. In 1991, when she was 26, J.K Rowling moved to Portugal and began teaching English. There she met and married Jorges Arentes. The couple had a daughter, whom they named Jessica. The couple separated three years after their wedding and Rowling took her daughter with her to Edinburgh, where they could be close to Di. Rowling had been working on <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone</i> for a few years by then and it was at this point that she set to finishing the novel in earnest.<br />
<br />
After J.K. Rowling finished the first Harry Potter novel, it sold to Bloomsbury for only $4,000. Eventually Scholastic Press purchased the American rights to the novel. With the money from the sale, Rowling was able to quit her job and become a full-time writer.<br />
<br />
J.K Rowling is now a millionaire and one of the most famous authors of our time. She married Neil Murray on December 26, 2006 and they are still happily married. She had two more children with her husband. Their names are David and MacKenzie.<br />
<br />Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-82740207117128398702016-03-21T16:52:00.000-04:002018-01-09T13:22:29.721-05:00Book Review and Summary: "Taltos" by Anne Rice<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345404319/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345404319&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=8e2ea880b90f4a7fb2ec4d3de9b6a50c" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0345404319&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to <br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0345404319" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
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Anne Rice’s novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos</i> is centered on a family of
witches and a near extinct race of human-like beings, called the Taltos. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos</i> is the final installment of the
Mayfair witch trilogy. This novel successfully wraps up the two previous novels
while introducing new characters and a fresh plot. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos</i> can be read as a stand-alone novel, but readers who have
read <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching Hour</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lasher</i> will have a better understanding
of it.</div>
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The Taltos are a race of giants
that reach their full size within a few hours of birth. They are nearly
extinct, but two witches that mate and have the right genetics may produce a
Taltos. This is unheard of until Rowan gives birth to Lasher at the end of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Witching Hour</i>. Lasher is actually
the ghost of a Taltos that has been haunting the Mayfair’s for centuries and
has managed to possess Rowan’s baby. </div>
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In the following novel, titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lasher</i>, Rowan is forced by her possessed
offspring to produce yet another one of these beings. Birthing the Taltos takes
a toll on Rowan’s health and she becomes very sick by the end of the novel. In
the end, Rowan's husband Michael kills Lasher and Rowan herself kills her other
offspring.</div>
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In the beginning of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos,</i> Rowan is unwilling to speak. She
spends her days at the Mayfair mansion, staring off into space. Rowan
eventually snaps out of it when she discovers that her friend Aaron has been
murdered. Rowan also comes to the realization that her thirteen-year-old
cousin, Mona is pregnant with Michael’s child. This causes the Mayfairs
considerable concern as Michael was the man who fathered Lasher and Mona is
capable of bearing a Taltos.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Rowan decides to take Michael on
a trip to avenge Aaron’s death, not knowing what is to become of Mona and the
baby. The Mayfairs discover that members of Aaron’s scholarly order, the
Talamasca, may have been responsible for his death. Rowan is determined to find
these men<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and bring them to justice. At
the outset of their search, they discover another Taltos by the name of Ashlar.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Until this point it is believed
that the Taltos had been completely wiped out. It turns out that Ashlar has
walked the Earth since before mankind and he knows first-hand<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the history of the Taltos. He joins Rowan and
Michael on their quest. He is convinced that there are only a few members of
the Talamasca involved. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
The trio soon becomes friends
and they are able to restore order in the Talamasca and avenge Aaron’s death.
After the adventure is over, Ashlar decides to tell his new friends the long,
sad story of his life.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
Ashlar tells the story of how
his native land was destroyed by a natural disaster and how his people were
forced to move to colder climes, specifically Europe. Ashlar becomes the leader
and hero of his people. They begin building stone circles and eventually
Stonehenge itself. Some time later the Taltos begin warring with the humans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Taltos are unable to defend themselves and
are forced into hiding. Ashlar remains their leader, and the race is eventually
able to disguise themselves among humans. Ashlar later finds religion and aids
in the slaughter of those Taltos who would not convert to Christianity. He is
tormented by his mistake and cursed by his people. Over time the entire race
appears to be wiped out and Ashlar spends centuries searching for others like
him. He was painfully lonely, but successful at passing for human.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
While Ashlar is in New York
telling this story to Rowan and Michael, Mona gives birth to a female Taltos,
named Morrigan, in New Orleans. Rowan and Michael return home a few days later
and discover what has happened. They decide to keep Morrigan a secret from
Ashlar until she is older. Five days later, Ashlar begins missing his new
friends and decides to stop in for a visit. He sees Morrigan. The two run away
together immediately. Rowan and Michael appear to understand, but Mona is
devastated.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos</i> is far more in depth and intricate than can possibly be
conveyed here. Anne Rice did a magnificent job of constructing the plot and
characters of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Taltos</i>. Once again Anne
leaves her readers wishing that her book was just a little longer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<i><span style="color: #990000;"><b>Shelly Barclay </b></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<br /></div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-10700087784367056412016-03-07T16:03:00.002-05:002016-03-07T16:03:55.222-05:00Marriage in "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Pickering_-_Greatbatch_-_Jane_Austen_-_Pride_and_Prejudice_-_This_is_not_to_be_borne%2C_Miss_Bennet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Pickering_-_Greatbatch_-_Jane_Austen_-_Pride_and_Prejudice_-_This_is_not_to_be_borne%2C_Miss_Bennet.jpg" width="177" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title page of the<br />first illustrated edition<br />of "Pride and Prejudice"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marriage runs rampant in <a href="http://www.janeausten.org/" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>'s "Pride and
Prejudice". It seems to be on every page of the book. There are marriage
arrangements, marriage hopes, bad marriages, good marriages and engagements.
Literally every character is involved in something that pertains to marriage.
Mr. Bennet suffers through his marriage with amusement. Mrs. Bennet obsesses
over getting her daughters married. The youngest Bennet daughters obsess about
getting themselves married as much as their mother does and so on. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>*Spoilers ahead</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The eldest Bennet daughter, Jane, falls in love with Mr.
Bingley in "Pride and Prejudice". He loves her back, but his friends
and family believe an engagement to be a bad idea. Mrs. Bennet wants to see her
eldest daughter married to the rich Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet just
want to see Jane happy. In the end, all turns out well for Jane and she marries
Mr. Bingley. This is a good example of how much marriages of the time were
influenced by opinion. It is also a good example of Ms. Austen's love for happy
endings. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elizabeth doesn't dwell on the idea of marriage much in the
novel. However, she finds herself falling in love with a man that she believes
she has good reason to despise. In classic Jane Austen style, Elizabeth marries
this man, who happens to be rich, and lives happily ever after. This is the
main plot line of the story and it played out so well that the novel has been
popular for nearly 200 years. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elizabeth was proposed to before she married Mr. Darcy by
her cousin Mr. Collins. Elizabeth refused to marry her cousin. He went on to
marry Elizabeth's best friend, which she strongly opposed. However, in the end, it
was a happy match and Elizabeth grew to accept it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Speaking of engagements and cousins, Elizabeth's husband was
engaged to his cousin before he met Elizabeth. Of course, love prevailed (Thank
you, Jane Austen.) and the engagement was broken. Nonetheless, this engagement
gave readers a good example of how marriages among the aristocracy were handled
at the time. Furthermore, it gave us a little intrigue and kept us guessing. .
. kind of. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Elizabeth's youngest sister Lydia also gets married in "Pride
and Prejudice". Her marriage is a shameful one. She ran off with a
disgraced military officer and was only saved from disgrace herself when Mr.
Darcy came to her rescue and forced the officer–Mr. Wickham–to marry her. This
little twist leaves the reader loving Mr. Darcy, hating Mr. Wickham and shaking
their head and Lydia. It also gives us a glimpse of how societal whims played a
huge role in marriages of the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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There are many other marriage issues that are alluded to in "Pride
and Prejudice". There is an attempted engagement with Georgiana by Mr.
Wickham for money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miss Bingley's wish
to marry Mr. Darcy is alluded to. The ill-advised coupling of the elder Bennets
is mentioned, as is the happy coupling of Elizabeth's aunt and uncle. There is
even a small mention that Mary Bennet felt Mr. Collins may be a good match for
her. Marriage is not just a theme in "Pride and Prejudice". It is the
theme. <o:p></o:p></div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-58049843507164118082016-02-23T14:50:00.001-05:002018-01-09T13:23:39.739-05:00"The Cabinet of Curiosities" by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1455582891/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1455582891&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=162a918f90e93e6de702fd7acbd5a908" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1455582891&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1455582891" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" />"The Cabinet of
Curiosities" is the third novel in <a href="http://www.prestonchild.com/" target="_blank">Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child</a>’s
Pendergast series. The series follows an eccentric F.B.I. agent through a
string of strange and mysterious cases that are often solved with his cool use
of intellect and surprising physical ability. This goes for "The Cabinet
of Curiosities" as well. In this novel, Aloysius Pendergast is on the
trail of a serial killer that is more than one hundred and fifty years old. <o:p></o:p>
<br />
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"The Cabinet of
Curiosities" begins with the discovery of 130-year-old charnel pit beneath
the former location of a cabinet of curiosities in Manhattan. The pit contains
the remains of thirty-six murder victims. Agent Pendergast arrives to
investigate on his own and is met with serious opposition, as the site is
slated for construction by a major corporation. He discovers what he can in his
usual cool and precise manner and the reader soon realizes that he knows
something that he is not letting on to those who are helping him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The novel soon delves into the
history of cabinets of curiosities in New York. These were popular and often
macabre displays of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grotesque, odd and
well, curious objects and people. The former owner of one of these cabinets is
soon considered a suspect in the case of the more than a century old charnel
pit. Pendergast and his companions are soon hot on the trail of the killer, who
is surprisingly still alive. They find he is capable, smart and still
murderous.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the investigation continues,
the reader is drawn into the history of a brilliant madman who has been
killing for more than a hundred years in an effort to produce a perfect and deadly
poison. He knew that he could not produce such a thing in one lifetime and was
forced to develop a means to prolong his life. So, Agent Pendergast finds
himself not only investigating the murders from so long ago, but tracking the
killer as he strikes again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">"The Cabinet of Curiosities" is a
well-developed, suspenseful and intriguing novel. Agent Pendergast is his usual
mysterious and intelligent self and Preston and Child take his mysteriousness
to a whole new level in this one. Throughout the novel, you find yourself
wondering what the heck he is up to. You can’t help but turn the page over and
over, trying to discover what he has up his sleeve this time. The criminal in
this novel is also very mysterious and his identity is very surprising.
However, his charisma and brilliance don’t come close to matching that of Pendergast.</span><!--EndFragment--><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #990000;"><b><i>Shelly Barclay</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-24706784416940261092016-02-12T20:32:00.001-05:002018-01-09T13:24:32.806-05:00Review of "Wool" of the Silo Series by Hugh Howey<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476733953/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476733953&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=8ed818e7aebc8d01812cf3e3ac6eb5c1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1476733953&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to <br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1476733953" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" />
Let me start by saying that it has been a long time since I picked up a book from a writer I've never heard of, that no one suggested to me, and wound up loving it. A few weeks ago, I was trying out Kindle Unlimited in an attempt to get more use out of my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_11?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=paperwhite&sprefix=paper+white%2Caps%2C499" target="_blank">Paperwhite</a>. I sorted by the genres I like and then looked for the most reviewed among them. I saw that "Wool" by <a href="http://www.hughhowey.com/" target="_blank">Hugh Howey</a> was getting a lot of praise. I wasn't sure if it was in itself a series or part of a series, having read that it is made up of five very short "books" itself. I dove in confused, but excited. After a few pages, there wasn't a chance I was putting it down any time soon.<br />
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The first few chapters of "Wool" offer the reader mystery, conflict, relatable characters, tragedy–it's just packed with subplots. Interestingly, Howey is able twist the first threads of his story in such a way that you're not sure what's going to happen, and as soon as you are sure, you're dead wrong. If you haven't got a lot of time to devote to a relatively short set of books, don't pick this up yet. Wait until a vacation, so you can give it the time it deserves.<br />
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Because Hugh Howley is (or was) self-published and even I have been brainwashed into thinking that means sub-par, I have the urge to say something along the lines of "It's pretty good for <a href="http://www.hughhowey.com/my-bias-again/" target="_blank">self-published</a>," but I can't say that. This is pretty good for science fiction in general. It could hold its own on a bookshelf next to Philip K. Dick and Roger Zelazny. In fact, if I had the paperback version, I would put it next to these greats on my own bookshelf. This is a very accomplished novel with great dialogue, a well-paced plot and a detailed world, especially considering it all takes place in what is essentially an underground skyscraper. Half the time, the characters are walking up and down stairs. Somehow, that's not as dull as it sounds.<br />
<br />
I have two more sets of "books" to read in this series before I'm done, so I'm going to end this here and get back to my Kindle. If you have Unlimited/Prime, you can get them all free for your Kindle. If not, you can still buy them pretty cheap. If <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wool-Omnibus-Silo-Hugh-Howey-ebook/dp/B0071XO8RA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1455327010&sr=1-1&keywords=Wool" target="_blank">this series</a> doesn't sound that great to you, go ahead and check out all of his other books, of which there are shockingly many. How did I not hear about this guy before now?<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i><b>Shelly Barclay</b></i></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-9445562221536811192016-02-05T13:28:00.001-05:002018-01-09T13:25:41.723-05:00Book Review and Plot Summary: "Lost Horizon" by James Hilton<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062113720/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0062113720&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=d373e2bdf0c1c0c52e08b33737bd33a4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0062113720&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=0062113720" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" />"Lost Horizon" by
James Hilton is the simple yet compelling story of four strangers who are
kidnapped and brought to the now legendary valley of Shangri-la. The plot of "Lost
Horizon" is laced with adventure, danger, friendships and subtle
deceptions. James Hilton’s novel starts out with a meeting between two friends
concerning one of their mutual friends, Hugh Conway. The story then quickly
develops into an adventure and survival story and moves on to become a tale of
a place where people contemplate the world around them without involving
themselves while living unnaturally long lives. "Lost Horizon" has a
very intriguing open ending that leaves the reader pondering all sorts of
philosophical questions. <o:p></o:p>
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At the start of the main story
of "Lost Horizon", a soldier named Hugh Conway finds himself aboard a
military aircraft with three other passengers, Roberta Brinklow, Henry Barnard
and Charles Mallinson. A short way into their journey they realize that their
plane has been hijacked. The hijacker has been flying the plane since takeoff
and they are now far off course. The man has a gun and is refusing to allow the
passengers to leave the plane, even when he stops for fuel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The reader quickly finds that
the main character, Hugh Conway, is a man who rolls with the punches. The
situation hardly disturbs him and his fellow passengers seem to admire him for
what they view as bravery, Hugh on the other hand considers it laziness.
Mallinson soon reveals himself to be the malcontent of the group, while Barnard
is the adventurous American. Roberta Brinklow is a missionary who seems to be a
very practical woman, even if she is stiflingly religious. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Their plane ride abruptly ends
in Kuen-Lun mountain range in Tibet when their kidnapper lands the plane in the
midst of the mountains. The kidnapper dies soon after the difficult landing
without revealing to them the reason for the kidnapping. They have no food and
are ill-equipped for a jaunt through the snowy mountains of Tibet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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They spend the first night in
the aircraft and wander out into the daylight the following morning to get a
better look at their surroundings. They see a group of men coming toward them
down a mountain slope. When the men reach them, the companions are curious if
they will guide them to food and shelter, the men agree. One of the men speaks
English and they soon learn that these men are Tibetan and Chinese monks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The monks take them on an
arduous climb up a mountain pass. After hours of climbing they reach their
destination, a Tibetan Lamasery in the valley of Shangri-la. The travelers are
quickly fed, bathed and otherwise made comfortable. The travelers are eager to
leave, with the possible exception of Conway. They ask Chang (the
English-speaking monk), if they will be able to procure a guide for the
difficult journey out of the mountains. Chang is very cryptic in his responses.
The only answer he gives is that porters will be arriving sometime soon and
that they might possibly guide them out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Conway quickly begins to like
the lamasery and enjoy the peaceful surroundings of Shangri-la. Roberta begins
to see a need for a missionary of the Christian persuasion in Shangri-la and
she slowly decides to stay. The reader soon discovers that Barnard is a wanted
man, so he is easily persuaded to remain as well. Mallinson however cannot bring
himself to enjoy the lamasery and refuses to stay any longer than he absolutely
has to. This complicates things when Conway befriends the High Lama and learns
that they were kidnapped for the purpose of remaining at Shangri-la. Conway
keeps this secret and befriends the High Lama.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The High Lama begins to tell
Conway the story of his life at Shangri-la. The man claims to have lived for
hundreds of years and tells Conway that he will too if he stays at the lamasery.
It seems that all of the inhabitants of the lamasery have lived well beyond
their years and look much younger than they are. The catch to all of this
is that if any of them go further away than the valley their years will
immediately catch up to them. Even in the valley they must return to the
lamasery after a period of time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shortly after Conway learns all
of this the High Lama dies. It seems to the reader then that Conway has
resigned himself to stay at Shangri-la and live the long and peaceful life of
its inhabitants. Then Conway is confronted by Mallinson who says that he has
arranged for the porters to guide them off of the mountain immediately. The
others have already decided to stay so it is only Mallinson, Conway and a
seemingly young woman from the lamasery. Conway refuses, but when Mallinson
comes back to inform Conway that he can’t leave without him, Conway gives in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At this point the main part of "Lost
Horizon" ends and the reader returns to the meeting of two friends
concerning Conway. This meeting only gives us small bits of information about what may have happened to Conway. It seems one of the friends has
seen Conway and heard his story, but that Conway has disappeared once again.
The friend made several enquiries about Conway, but only came up with
information at a hospital in Tibet. A hospital worker saw Conway shortly after
his descent form the mountain, the worker says that he appeared with an old
woman who died shortly thereafter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This leaves you to wonder what
happened to Mallinson. Also was this old woman the very same woman who was
young before they left the valley? Is it possible that the High Lama was
telling the truth or did Conway lose both of his traveling companions and the
old lady was a good Samaritan who found him? Hilton never explains and you
never find out if Conway returned to Shangri-la, though you get the sense that
he did.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Shangri-la first appeared to the
public in James Hilton’s "Lost Horizon", which was published in the
1930's. Since then, this fictional valley has become synonymous with paradise.
In fact, I’ve met readers who haven’t read "Lost Horizon" and many
believe that Shangri-la is an ancient myth. However, this paradise that is
perceived really doesn’t exist in "Lost Horizon". James Hilton spends
very little time explaining this valley, the novel is more about moderation,
aversion to war and the subtle relationships between human beings than it is
about paradise.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Shelly Barclay</span></i></b></div>
Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-81859545206945625602016-02-02T16:40:00.001-05:002018-01-09T13:26:49.475-05:00Jules Verne's "Around the World in Eighty Days": Plot Summary and Review<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1503215156/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1503215156&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=95b646bccfb42706f27586d83a06d358" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=1503215156&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=1503215156" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" />Jules Verne’s "Around the
World in Eighty Days" is somewhat of a break from his characteristic
style. Unlike "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and "Twenty Thousand Leagues
Under the Sea," there is nothing science fiction about it. "Around the
World in Eighty Days" may be one of the only books in which Jules Verne
does not predict or describe some future technology. However, the adventures
and obstacles seen by the main characters are very typical of Verne’s work.<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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"Around the World in Eighty
Days" begins with a thorough description of the novel’s main character–Phileas Fogg. Fogg is described as being unusually preoccupied with timeliness.
He plans every bit of every day and has, thus far, never deviated from this
schedule as far as anyone can tell. At the point where we meet Fogg he is in
need of a new servant; his last one made the grave mistake of bringing him
shaving water that was eighty-four degrees rather than the specified
eighty-six. At this point the reader does not know what to make of Fogg. He is
a rather eccentric and punctual man. However, we see no evidence that he is
anything but good.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Fogg’s new servant, Jean
Passepartout, arrives at his home at precisely twenty-two minutes after eleven
on the first day of the story. Jean is quite pleased with his master and his
new station, because he wishes to settle down and he has heard that Fogg
rarely, if ever, travels. Fogg tells Passepartout to settle in and then sets
out for his gentleman’s club at the same exact time that he does this every
day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Passepartout has begun settling
in when Fogg, breaking his careful schedule, arrives home hours before he is
expected. Fogg informs Passepartout that they will be going on a trip around
the wold and that they are to be leaving immediately. Fogg has bet his friends
at the club a great deal of money that he can make the journey in eighty days.
Passepartout is flabbergasted, but he follows his master’s lead.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the outset of their adventure, everything goes according to plan. Then, unbeknownst to the pair, Fogg is
mistaken for a bank robber. The man who has mistaken him is a policeman named Fix.
Fix believes that Fogg is covering his escape with a fictional journey. Fix
resolves to arrest him, but he has no warrant and is forced to follow them. The
policeman manages to cause them many holdups throughout the novel, for which he
is attacked once by Passepartout and punched once by Fogg.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While the pair is in India the
train they are riding on runs out of tracks and they are forced to purchase an
elephant and hire a guide. While riding across India, they learn of a woman who
is about to be sacrificed at her husband’s funeral. At this point it becomes
obvious that Fogg is a good man despite his eccentricities, because he decides
that they should rescue the girl. Through a trick of Passepartout’s they are
able to save her and the young woman, Aouda, joins them on their adventure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From here on the journey takes a
number of unexpected turns, Fogg is arrested twice, once with Passepartout,
they are attacked by native Americans, Passepartout joins the circus (kind of)
and Fix arrests Fogg. In the end, the real thief is caught and Fix, who isn’t so
bad, is forced to apologize.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After the arrest, Fogg believes
all is lost because he has been kept past his projected time of arrival. He is
depressed about this when Aouda approaches him and tells him she is in love
with him and that she wants him to marry her. He agrees and sends Passepartout
to get a priest so that they may marry the following day, Sunday. Passepartout
returns with the news that tomorrow is in fact Saturday and that they are still
in time. This was made possible because they gained a day in traveling the
globe to the east.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">All in all, "Around the World in Eighty
Days" is a very good read. It’s a very exciting and adventurous book that
is very fast paced. "Around the World in Eighty Days" is not
difficult to read, Verne gives just enough description and keeps the plot
moving continuously. </span><!--EndFragment--><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Shelly Barclay</span></i></b></span>Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7605593492425296762.post-31472651741096755652016-01-30T19:03:00.002-05:002018-01-09T13:27:51.754-05:00"The Sea Wolf" by Jack London<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/045141585X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=045141585X&linkCode=as2&tag=shellsbloglis-20&linkId=881afbdc6499df343f6399b747a9f4c4" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=045141585X&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=shellsbloglis-20" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click image to<br />see price on Amazon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" hidden="" src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=shellsbloglis-20&l=am2&o=1&a=045141585X" style="border: medium none; display: none !important; margin: 0px;" width="1" />"The Sea Wolf" by
Jack London is the story of a man named Humphrey Van Weyden who has, by a
series of mishaps, been taken aboard a seal hunting vessel called the Ghost. "The
Sea Wolf" is a story of adventure, misfortune, romance and morality. In
essence, "The Sea Wolf" is a story about a well-bred young man
learning to fend for himself in a rough environment, while attempting to
maintain his standards of morality even while living amongst men who disregard
any moral responsibility to all but themselves.<o:p></o:p>
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In the beginning of Jack
London’s novel, "The Sea Wolf", Humphrey is aboard a ferry steamer in
the San Francisco Bay. An accident occurs when the steamer fails to spot
another boat in the fog. The two vessels hit each other and the steamer begins
to sink. Our narrator soon finds himself dumped into the frigid waters of the
San Francisco Bay. He is an inexperienced swimmer and a gentle man, who is
wholly unprepared for the disaster he now faces. He quickly begins to lose his
battle for survival, but he is luckily picked up by the Ghost. He is revived
and cleaned up by some rough sailors aboard the ship, whom he asks to introduce
him to the captain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is at this point in "The
Sea Wolf" that Jack London introduces us to the character for whom the novel
is named. This man is the captain of the Ghost and his name is Wolf Larsen.
Jack London describes the man thoroughly as rugged, somewhat nice to look at,
but terrifying in the extreme. At first, Humphrey does not know what to make of
the man, but senses something about him that he does not like. Nor does he like
that Wolf refuses to turn the boat around and bring Humphrey to California.
Humphrey learns from the captain that they are headed to Japan and that he has
no plans to allow Humphrey to leave the ship.<o:p></o:p></div>
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From this point on "The Sea
Wolf" takes Humphrey through a series of trying events. He has found
himself aboard a ship full of murderous men. However, there are a few that
Humphrey begins to admire. Wolf Larsen also forces Humphrey to do hard labor on
the ship as payment for his safety. The captain mentions that he does this
to teach Humphrey to “stand on his own legs.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Humphrey soon learns that the
captain is an avid reader and that he wishes to discuss the things that he has
read with Humphrey. The pair’s conversations are mostly about morality and the
existence of the human soul. Wolf is adamant that humans do not have souls and
that morality is equal to stupidity. He believes that a man should do whatever
he deems necessary to gain what it is that he wants in the world. Humphrey is
appalled by the captain’s beliefs, and even more by his actions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is through these
conversations that Jack London turns "The Sea Wolf" into a novel that
is immensely more philosophical than your average adventure story. Eventually,
a series of events on board the Ghost cause Humphrey to want to kill Wolf
Larsen. However, the young man’s ideals stop him from following through. Wolf,
on the other hand, displays time and again that he has no qualms about killing
men on a whim. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When a young woman named Maud is
brought onto the Ghost, Wolf begins to display lust for her. Humphrey has
fallen in love with the girl, so Wolf’s advances fuel his hatred for the man.
Humphrey eventually decides to escape with the woman, at great personal risk.
The two then leave the ship on board a small hunting boat. Wolf eventually
catches up with them on an island, but he is alone. His entire crew has
deserted him. He is also sick and dying.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite his illness, Wolf
continues to be aggressive toward Humphrey and even tries to kill him. Our poor
Humphrey still cannot bring himself to kill the man. Instead, he sets about
trying to steal the Ghost so that he and Maud can escape the island. Wolf gets
very sick during this, so Maud and Humphrey do what they feel is right and care
for the man while he is dying. Right up until his last breath, Wolf denies the
existence of a soul and the need for morality. "The Sea Wolf" ends as
Maud and Humphrey declare their love for one another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the end "The Sea
Wolf" is really a story about good triumphing over evil. It is also a
story about the resilience of the human spirit. The narrator of "The Sea
Wolf" was given many opportunities to forsake his feelings and kill the
man who had persecuted him and attempted to murder him. However, Humphrey makes
it through his ordeal with his morality, and his soul, intact, thus proving
that Wolf was wrong. Maybe he was not necessarily right about the existence of
the human soul, but about the fact that you do not need to forsake your
humanity to succeed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;">
<o:p><b><i><span style="color: #990000;">Shelly Barclay</span></i></b> </o:p></div>
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Shelberiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16651021890587906428noreply@blogger.com0