The Good Master

Hey People,

Well It's my turn to post again, this time I read The Good Master, by Kate Seredy. It is the story of a boy named Jancsi Nagy who lives on the Hungarian planes. His cousin Kate comes for a visit from Budapest. At first he is not quite sure what to think about his cousin, but they soon become friends and have many wild adventures together. Surprisingly I have only good things to say about this one. I loved it. I thought it was the perfect picture of happiness, love and friendship. It was very enjoyable to see the characters grow and change throughout the story. The book was given a Newberry Honor and I think it really deserves it. The Singing Tree is the Sequel to The Good Master and I can't waite to read it.

Thanks!

$ The Artful D. $

4/5 recommended

Thank You, Jeeves

Hello all,

I finally finished reading "Thank You, Jeeves," by P.G. Wodehouse!!! It started out kind of slowly, and I had difficulty actually making time to sit down and read it. The end was pretty good though, and once I hit chapter 15, things started to get more interesting. I liked it, but I didn't absolutely love it.

It was basically about this guy, named Bertram Wooster, (who was a bit -in my opinion- thoughtless and airheaded - although he really was a likeable fellow.) who has a bad knack for getting into trouble. The story beings with his insisting upon playing a banjolele and he is kicked out of his apartments because he is a nusiance. After releasing his manservant, Jeeves, who also thinks that his banjolele playing is anything but pleasant, he decides to rent a cottage from his friend, Lord "Chuffy". Of course, things go wrong and he gets mixed up in his friend's romance and must seek out the aid of his ingenious and practical servant, Jeeves.

It was definitely a comedy and the humor was classic. I did laugh quite a lot. The ending was very satisfying, and overall, I think I will end up looking for the other "Jeeves and Wooster" books at the library.

My only problem is this: I have heard the Jeeves and Wooster series compared to Sherlock Holmes, but I really couldn't see anything that even closely resembled Sherlock Holmes. Not even the style of writing was similar to Arthur Conan Doyle's. Can anyone clear this up?

Anyway, I think everyone at some point should try this book. You may end up loving it! Thanks for reading!

Lord Anthony Dewhurst

4/5 Recommended

The Old Huntsman

Here is an interesting poem that I found - I thought it was ... well, interesting. I didn't quite get the end. I kind of liked it though. What do you think of it? TD


THE OLD HUNTSMAN


by Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)


HERE'S a keen and grim old huntsman
On a horse as white as snow;
Sometimes he is very swift
And sometimes he is slow.
But he never is at fault,
For he always hunts at view
And he rides without a halt
After you.

The huntsman's name is Death,
His horse's name is Time;
He is coming, he is coming
As I sit and write this rhyme;
He is coming, he is coming,
As you read the rhyme I write;
You can hear the hoof's low drumming
Day and night.

You can hear the distant drumming
As the clock goes tick-a-tack,
And the chiming of the hours
Is the music of his pack.
You may hardly note their growling
Underneath the noonday sun,
But at night you hear them howling
As they run.

And they never check or falter
For they never miss their kill;
Seasons change and systems alter,
But the hunt is running still.
Hark! the evening chime is playing,
O'er the long grey town it peals;
Don't you hear the death-hound baying
At your heels?

Where is there an earth or burrow?
Where a cover left for you?
A year, a week, perhaps to-morrow
Brings the Huntsman's death halloo!
Day by day he gains upon us,
And the most that we can claim
Is that when the hounds are on us
We die game.

And somewhere dwells the Master,
By whom it was decreed;
He sent the savage huntsman,
He bred the snow-white steed.
These hounds which run for ever,
He set them on your track;
He hears you scream, but never
Calls them back.

He does not heed our suing,
We never see his face;
He hunts to our undoing,
We thank him for the chase.
We thank him and we flatter,
We hope -- because we must --
But have we cause? No matter!
Let us trust!

Interesting.......

New Booklist

Hello everyone,
Here is a new list of books that you can choose from to write your posts on. Included are the rest from the last list and some new choices suggested by Lady Arwen and the Dodge. The order will progress in the same way as before, unless otherwise stated. Try to pick the books that you haven't read, so that you will have a fresh opinion and be able to discover new favorites. I will take off the books as we go along.

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Roughing It - Mark Twain
All Creatures Great and Small - James Harriot
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Bronze Bow - Elizabeth G. Speare
Little Britches - Ralf Moody
Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes
Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne
The Spectre Bridegroom - Washington Irving
Shadow Hawk - Andre Norton
Two Gentlemen of Verona - William Shakespeare
North to Freedom - Anne Holm
Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi

That should keep us busy for a while. Thank you for participating in our search for good literature!

Thanks again,

The DC Board

Comedic and Tragic poems

Hey DC folks,
Unfortunately, I've been too busy to seriously read anything, much less a book on the book list, so if you would, please skip my turn. Hopefully next time around I will have read something to post on.
Meanwhile, I have two short poems for you.

How To Tell the Wild Animals
by Carolyn Wells

If ever you should go by chance
To jungles in the East,
And if there should to you advance,
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you are you're dyin'
You'll know it is the Asian Lion.

Or if some time when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.

If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You'll know it is the Leopard.
'Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He'll only lep and lep again.

Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodiles you always may
Tell from Hyenas thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep, they're Crocodiles.

And the second:

Oh Captain! My Captain!
by Walt Whitman

Oh Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won:
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart! The bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

Oh Captain! my Captain! Rise up, and hear the bells;
Rise up -- for you the flag is flung -- for you the bugle trills;
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths -- for you the shores a-crowding;
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain, dear Father! This arm beneath your head,
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are cold and still;
My Father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object done;
Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

The Man Who Was Thursday - Revistited

Hello everyone,

Welcome to our first long termed discussion. Our book is "The Man Who Was Thursday," by G.K. Chesterton.

Ok, here is a summery of the book:

"In a surreal turn of the century London, Gabriel Syme, a poet, is recruited to a secret anti-anarchist taskforce at Scotland Yard. Lucian Gregory, an anacrchist poet, is the only poet in Saffron Park, until he loses his temper in an argument over the purpose of poetry with Gabriel Syme, who takes the opposite view. After some time, the frustrated Gregory finds Syme and leads him to a local anarchist meeting-place to prove that he is a true anarchist. Instead of the anarchist Gregory getting elected, the officer Syme uses his wits and is elected as the local representative to the worldwide Central Council of Anarchists. The Council consists of seven men, each using the name of a day of the week as a code name; Syme is given the name of Thursday. In his efforts to thwart the council's intentions, however, he discovers that five of the other six members are also undercover detectives; each was just as mysteriously employed and assigned to defeat the Council of Days. They all soon find out that they are fighting each other and not real anarchists; such was the mastermind plan of the genius Sunday. In a dizzying and surreal conclusion, the six champions of order and former anarchist ring-leaders chase down the disturbing and whimsical Sunday, the man who calls himself "The Peace of God"."

Ok, now here are some questions that we are to discuss:

1. Who was your favorite character and why?

2. What is the point of the story?

3. Who and what do the characters represent -if any?

4. What is the purpose of the "secret council" and who is Sunday?"

5. What was interesting or engaging about the book?

5. What was not interesting or boring about the book?

6. What is your general opinion of the story, style of writing, characters, themes... etc.?


I can't wait to hear from you! Thanks for participating!

Thanks a million,

The DC Board

"Don't you see we've checkmated each other? [...] I can't tell the police you are an anarchist. You can't tell the anarchists I'm a policeman." ~Gabriel Syme