A while back I posted the below as a note on Facebook. Those served as blogs for me a the time until I decided to create my own blog. Now since I have this here I will occasionally regurgitate the "notes" that I have over there here for the enjoyment of those not on Facebook. Here is the first one. It is about a couple of books I read while waiting for "Towers of Midnight" to be delivered to me...
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Well “Towers of Midnight” is out and I’m still awaiting Amazon to deliver my copy. It is frustrating seeing that they sent out some peoples to arrive a couple days before the release while others such as me are still waiting on the dang book and will not have it until a week after release. Oh well…
During the wait between book 12 and book 13 I didn’t read too much – I didn’t have as long a wait as many as I just started the series from book 1 not that long ago and was able to read the first 12 straight through – but I did read a couple books. I wanted something that wasn’t going to take a lot of time such as starting another series so I chose to read a couple of books from my childhood.
The first book I grabbed was “My Side of the Mountain”. I remember this book from when I was a kid (though at first I had it mistaken for another which I can’t remember the name of yet) as a great story about this kid who runs away from home to live in the woods.
Reading it now I can still see where it was a fun read as a kid and think it would be for many kids with any interest in the outdoors. However as a story there isn’t a great deal to it (as would probably be expected for many books of that level).
The story is well done in a diary style of writing that sees the main character leaving home and then learning to live in the woods before finally returning home. During his time he encounters a few people and learns to live off the land using the resources at hand.
Reading it now, it makes everything seem overly simplistic however. There really isn’t any great hardship that he faces. He can’t make fire the first night and finds someone who teaches him, and beyond that he seems to figure everything out easily and plans ahead for everything. From building his home in a tree to the foods he makes to getting and training his pet falcon everything comes pretty easily when considering this isn’t someone trained to live out there in the wild but rather a kid.
Still the book for a younger reader would ignite the imagination of what’s possible and the joys of living in the wild and being a part of nature. For older readers it’s not a bad way to escape back to when you were a kid and anything was possible when there is an afternoon where you don’t have anything else to do, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone over the age of 12 or 14 likely.
The second book that I read in my Wheel of Time wait was “Where the Red Fern Grows”. This was mandatory reading back in grade school and from what I hear still is today. I remember reading it back then but don’t remember a great deal about that nor have I read it since then until now.
I can understand why this is required reading even yet today. It’s a good story with a good plot and a lot of little lessons in it to teach kids while they improve their reading. Even as an adult reading it to pass a little time it was an enjoyable, simple story.
The story has a good story that shows the power and meaning of love, of hard work, and of determination. From the time he decides he wants his dogs he works hard for what he wants, a lesson that so many could learn from. Once he has his dogs the love he shows them shows itself throughout the book in how the dogs act and react in numerous situations. There is a lot about this story to like, beginning to end, and it is an enjoyable read.
This certainly needs to continue to be required reading in grade schools in my opinion though I can certainly see a number of places not allowing that with the numerous references to God and the over the top need to completely remove that from almost every aspect of life to cater to those few that it “insults” somehow, but it should be. I would also recommend it to adults that had a few hours to waste while waiting on something else, such as the next book in a series which hasn’t arrived yet…
**********
Well “Towers of Midnight” is out and I’m still awaiting Amazon to deliver my copy. It is frustrating seeing that they sent out some peoples to arrive a couple days before the release while others such as me are still waiting on the dang book and will not have it until a week after release. Oh well…
During the wait between book 12 and book 13 I didn’t read too much – I didn’t have as long a wait as many as I just started the series from book 1 not that long ago and was able to read the first 12 straight through – but I did read a couple books. I wanted something that wasn’t going to take a lot of time such as starting another series so I chose to read a couple of books from my childhood.
The first book I grabbed was “My Side of the Mountain”. I remember this book from when I was a kid (though at first I had it mistaken for another which I can’t remember the name of yet) as a great story about this kid who runs away from home to live in the woods.
Reading it now I can still see where it was a fun read as a kid and think it would be for many kids with any interest in the outdoors. However as a story there isn’t a great deal to it (as would probably be expected for many books of that level).
The story is well done in a diary style of writing that sees the main character leaving home and then learning to live in the woods before finally returning home. During his time he encounters a few people and learns to live off the land using the resources at hand.
Reading it now, it makes everything seem overly simplistic however. There really isn’t any great hardship that he faces. He can’t make fire the first night and finds someone who teaches him, and beyond that he seems to figure everything out easily and plans ahead for everything. From building his home in a tree to the foods he makes to getting and training his pet falcon everything comes pretty easily when considering this isn’t someone trained to live out there in the wild but rather a kid.
Still the book for a younger reader would ignite the imagination of what’s possible and the joys of living in the wild and being a part of nature. For older readers it’s not a bad way to escape back to when you were a kid and anything was possible when there is an afternoon where you don’t have anything else to do, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone over the age of 12 or 14 likely.
The second book that I read in my Wheel of Time wait was “Where the Red Fern Grows”. This was mandatory reading back in grade school and from what I hear still is today. I remember reading it back then but don’t remember a great deal about that nor have I read it since then until now.
I can understand why this is required reading even yet today. It’s a good story with a good plot and a lot of little lessons in it to teach kids while they improve their reading. Even as an adult reading it to pass a little time it was an enjoyable, simple story.
The story has a good story that shows the power and meaning of love, of hard work, and of determination. From the time he decides he wants his dogs he works hard for what he wants, a lesson that so many could learn from. Once he has his dogs the love he shows them shows itself throughout the book in how the dogs act and react in numerous situations. There is a lot about this story to like, beginning to end, and it is an enjoyable read.
This certainly needs to continue to be required reading in grade schools in my opinion though I can certainly see a number of places not allowing that with the numerous references to God and the over the top need to completely remove that from almost every aspect of life to cater to those few that it “insults” somehow, but it should be. I would also recommend it to adults that had a few hours to waste while waiting on something else, such as the next book in a series which hasn’t arrived yet…
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