Treasure Island

If I haven't lost my mind I sure do a good impersonation of it!...

Once again I was at the used book store. I go there often but have gotten quite a bit better about bringing home too many books..at times even none!!! (raise the flag!)  But sometimes I wonder why I go there when I have way more then enough books at home.  I will admit, this time it was an excuse to get out of the apartment, and nothing more.

So, yesterday while at the used book store my hand touched this small (6 1/2 X 4 1/2 inches) book titled "Treasure Island".. I have to say what flashed through my mind was not this small text book but the movie which has been made several times over many years.

The first one I ever saw was the one starring Wallace Berry and Jackie Cooper....  both were excellent in their portrayals.

 Wallace Beery... Long John Silver

 Jackie Cooper... Jim Hawkins

But the one I remember most was the 1950 Version starring Robert Newton and Bobby Driscoll.  (Newton went on to reprise the role for a television series)

And so when I picked this book up I heard  Robert Newton's voice, "eh, young  'awkins".. 

I think his voice stuck with me even more then Beery's voice (though both are very distinct!) only because I had a number of years hearing Newton's voice on the television as a Treasure Island series. 

And I said to myself, " Too many years of seeing the movie... do I need this book?" 

I answered "no" and then, after noticing the books was for "school" I proceeded to carefully open the book anyway.

The first thing I saw sold me.. there was a photo of the author Robert Louis  Stevenson.

(closer view)

The next page had this preface on it... which I found very interesting..and is dated 1909.

...along with the publication date ...

And then after a few other pages about this book being for school I turned a page and there was this map.........and on the following page the story began......

Well.. what can I tell you?  As I explored the store more I must have found 5 more versions of the book... some for very young people and some not... still I held on to this tiny book, and as you suspect it came home with me.   I mean really... 1.00  .. I can't even get a cup of coffee for that anymore!

Thank you Kelly!

When Kelly came to visit me she gave me a gift !  It was a gift card from Books-a-Million ..(I can't imagine why she would think of a gift like that! *snort)  I went and looked around the store .Generally I find some "bargain books" to get but nothing appealed to me..so I looked in the rest of the store. (bad mistake lol)

I came across this authorized Biography of Roald Dahl, called Storyteller.  Most will remember him from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or maybe  James and the Giant Peach (both of which I read to my kids when they were young).

What I remember most though is that for some time he was married to the actress Patricia Neal.  I knew he was with her when she had a nearly fatal stroke and with his guidance she came out of it much better than they thought she would.  Then unfortunately they split up.

Anyway I had to add a few dollars to the gift card but this was what I finally got with it.. so THANK YOU KELLY!!! 

I know I won't get to it for a bit yet as I am only half way through Name of the Wind, which is over 600 pgs, and I have Wise Man's Fear waiting, both for OUaT. I have a few Bio's that I am getting antsy to read. 

...and so.. my TBR pile grows yet again!

Seeing as it's Easter 'n' all....

Since it's the Easter Holiday for many people I thought I'd share this photo of Charlton Heston when he portrayed Moses. (I put the photo on Facebook but thought it deserved to be here also. The movie was on last night)

I saw and (barely) met Mr. Heston at an autograph show when I lived out in California. 

The shows were held at a Holiday Inn not far from Universal Studios. Anyway, at the time I was regularly helping Jonathan Harris (Lost in Space) and so when I learned Mr. Heston would be there signing I was a little down that I wouldn't be able to stand in his horrendous line to obtain his autograph.  I did go and ask the people helping him if he would sign a photo if I sent it to him and they told me he would and gave me his managers address to send it to. As you can see, indeed, he did sign it for me!

A funny thing happened at the Holiday Inn where the show was.  I was outside in back of the hotel going to another area where dealers sold memorabilia .  Out of the corner of my eye I caught a movement and looked across the pool only to see Mr Heston walking there.. and well.. I have to admit this... it looked as if he was walking on the pool water!..heh..When the time came I had no choice of the many photo's of him but to get this one !  And my first memory of seeing him will always remain that of Charlton Heston walking on water!

A Good Photo Day at da Pond

Feeding time for the turtles

Soft-shelled Turtle

 

 

Hmmm, the duck seems a tad "chubby"!

"DeadEye"

 

omg! The little blue Heron...I didn't even realize he had caught a fish!

Little Blue Heron going to the other side of the pond.

Moon Clouds...

Two nights ago was a full moon, and when possible I try taking photo's.  Not real sure why since one full moon looks like another but I did.  There were some clouds going by which made me unable to really get "focused" pictures but I thought it looked pretty neat anyway.... here's the series of pictures I took with the clouds going by.

 

Meeting a Blogger!

I got to meet a fellow blogger, Animewookie!  She comments at my blog and some time ago I discovered that she is from NJ (which is where I was born and raised).  Anyway Kelly and her family were coming to Florida for a vacation and she asked if she could come to meet me.  heh..anyone fool enough to come here to the "old folks home" is more than welcome!

So she came!  And today (April 18th) is when we actually met!

It really is true how great it is to meet new people and make friendships that you never would have been able to had it not been for the Internet.  Yes, I know bad things happen from it too... but good things happen more often.. at least I hope so.

This case was a good thing!  We gabbed like we had known each other for some time, then we looked at stuff on the computer and we looked  at autographs and of course we talked about books!  Kelly even gave me a gift certificate from Books a Million! (like I need books huh Kelly?! lol but thank you, thank you just the same!)  As we discussed some books I remembered I had that huge Sherlock Holmes book I never read and was about to donate and brought it out with a few other hardbacks I was going to donate and as it happened... Kelly went home with all of them! LOL  I think we call this "book bonding" lol..

Later I took her out to the pond so she could feed this one Ibis that has made friends with my son Thom.  I didn't know if he'd eat from her hand but sure enough the Florida Chicken (Ibis) came right to her!

I told her to hold the bread high and he'd fly up to take some and sure enough, that worked too!!

I never thought I'd say I was glad an Ibis was around (piggies that they are) but this time I was glad so that she got to meet a bird from the pond.  We spotted a soft shelled turtle too but unfortunately, not much was around today.

It was great meeting a fellow blogger!  First person I've met from the computer in many a year.  I have met others long ago and everyone I've met has been super nice.

Thanks again for coming !  I totally enjoyed our visit!!!

...the Rest of the Books I Had to Have But Haven't Read Yet....

Having just added 3 more books!... (my bookshelves are sagging!)

I went to the used book store.. *slaps hand, "stop that!"..

As you can see I purchased a hardback copy of Bleak House by Charles Dickens for 1.00.  Then I found The Works of Conan Doyle for 4.00 which was published in 1953..note the double columns of writing...and when I came home Wildthorn was waiting for me from Amazon.. along with the last Harry Potter movie!

...note that the Doyle book is written in Columns! (1953 Edition)

Here's the full TBR list of books I had to have!...(actually the other 10 I wrote about in the other post are on this list too)

1. 20^th Century Ghosts- tpb- Joe Hill

2. A Bright Particular Star-hb- Michael Coveney

3. A Love Story – George Burns

4. Against All Things Ending-hb- Stephen R Donaldson

5. Alice I have Been-hb- Melanie Benjamin

6. All Creatures Great and Small-pb- James Herriot

7. Amber and Ashes –hb- Margaret Weis

8. Amber and Blood -hb- Margaret Weis

9. Amber and Iron –hb- Margaret Weis

10. American Prince: A Memoir-hb- Tony Curtis

11. Atonement-hb- Ian McEwan

12. Beautiful Creatures hb- Kami Garcia

13. Beyond Uhura-hb- Nichelle Nichols

14. Bing Crosby- hb-Gary Giddins

15. Bleakhouse –hb- Charles Dickens

16. Blessings in Disguise – Alec Guinness

17. Bones of the Dragon-hb- Weis & Hickman

18. Book of Ebenezer Le Page-hb- GB Edwards

19. Bring on the Empty Horses-hb- David Niven

20. Cary Grant: A Celebration of Style- hb-Richard Torregrossa

21. Christmas Chronicles-tpb- Jeff Quinn

22. Clara Bow: Runnin’ Wild _pb- David Stenn

23. David Copperfield –pb- Charles Dickens

24. Dragons: Worlds Afire –pb- RA Salvatore

25. East- tpb- Edith Pattou

26. Elizabeth –hb- J Randy Taraborrelli

27. Faery Tale-hb- Signe Pike

28. Folly-tpb- Laurie R King

29. Great Expectations-hb- charles Dickens

30. Greenwitch –pb- Susan Cooper

31. Grimpow –hb- Raphael Abalos

32. Helen Keller-tpb- Dorothy Herrmann

33. Hemmingway-hb- James R Mellow

34. Her Fearful Symmetry –sb- Audrey Niffenegger

35. Hide and Seek with Angels: A Life of JM Barrie-hb- Lisa Chaney

36. Hood -hb- Stephen R Lawhead

37. I Am Spock –hb- Leonard Nimoy

38. I Am the Messenger –pb- Markus Zusak

39. Ice Land: A Novel-pb- Betsy Tobin

40. In His Majesty’s Service- tpb- Naomi Novik (3 bks in 1)

41. In Search of John Ford     -hb- Joseph McBride

42. In the Cities of Coin and Spice- tpb- Catherynne M Valente

43. In the Garden of Good & Evil-hb- John Berendt

44. Jack: The Great Seducer –hb- Edward Douglas

45. Jarka Ruus -tpb- Terry Brooks

46. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell   –hb- Suzanna Clarke

47. Kate Remembered- A Scott Berg

48. Kept –hb- D J Taylor

49. Keystone:The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennet –hb- Simon Louvish

50. Labyrinth -hb- Kate Mosse

51. Legends –hb- multiple authors edited by Robert Silverberg

52. Legends II –hb- Robert silverberg

53. Little Lord Fauntleroy-hb- Francis Hodgson Burnett

54. Little Women –hb- Louisa May Alcott

55. Madame Bovary-hb- Gustave Flaubert

56. Magnificent Desolation –hb- Buzz Aldrin

57. Middlesex-pb- Jeffrey Eugenides

58. Mina-tpb- Marie Kiraly

59. Misfortune-hb- Wesley Stace

60. Murder on the Orient Express- Agatha Christie

61. Mystic Empire -hb- Tracy Hickman

62. Mystic Quest -hb- Tracy Hickman

63. Mystic Warrior -hb- Tracy Hickman

64. Narnia (all)-tpb- c s Lewis

65. Notes of a Cowardly Lion-hb- John Lahr

66. Oliver Twist –hb – Charles dickens

67. On Folly Beach –pb- Karen White

68. One Womans Search for Enchantment in a Modern World-hb- Signe Pike

69. Oracles of Delphi Keep –hb- Victoria Laurie

70. Over Sea, Under Stone –pb- Susan Cooper

71. Pathway to the Gods-hb- Erich von Daniken

72. Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1-3) pb- Rick Riordan

73. Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood -pb- Eileen Whitfield

74. Pickwick Papers-hb- Charles Dickens

75. Pillars of the Earth-pb Ken Follett

76. Remarkable Creatures-hb- Tracy Chevalier

77. Robin Willians – Andy Dougan

78. Scarlet (king Raven Trilogy, bk 2) –hb- Stephen R Lawhead

79. Secret of the Dragon –hb- Margaret weis

80. Seven Percent Solution-hb-Nicholas Meyer

81. Silver on the Tree –pb- Susan Cooper

82. Space-hb- James A Michener

83. Star Trek Memories-hb- William Shatner

84. Stephen Frye in America -hb- Stephen Frye

85. Straken -tpb- Terry Brooks

86. Tale of Two Cities-hb- Charles Dickens

87. Tanequil -tpb- Terry Brooks

88. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes –hb- Conan Doyle

89. The Anatomy of Ghosts -hb- Andrew Taylor

90. The Anatomy of Ghosts-hb- Andrew Taylor

91. The Black Jewels: Tilogy --pb- Anne Bishop

92. The Bone Magician –hb- F E Higgins

93. The Book of Ebenezer Le Page -hb- E G Edwards

94. The Book Thief-pb-Mark Zusak

95. The Bronte Myth- hb- Lucasta Miller

96. The Childrens Book –hb- A.S Byatt

97. The Crimson Petal-hb- Richard Torregrossa

98. The Dark is Rising –pb- Susan Cooper

99. The Diamond Throne –hb- David Eddings

100. The Druid of Shannara-hb- Terry Brooks

101. The Egg and I –hb- Betty MacDonald

102. The Elf Queen of Shannara-hb- Terry Brooks

103. The Forest-hb- Edward Rutherfurd

104. The Grey King –pb- Susan Cooper

105. The Grimm Legacy-hb- Polly Shulman

106. The Hound of Rowan –hb- Henry H Neff

107. The Incomparable Rex –hb- Patrick Garland

108. The Keep- pb - Jennifer Egan

109. The King’s General-sb- Daphne DuMaurier

110. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow & Other Tales-hb- Washington Irving

111. The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia-hb- Laura Miller

112. The Magicians and Mrs Quent -hb- Galen M Beckett

113. The Mammoth Book of Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories-hb- Richard Dalby

114. The Merchant Prince-hb- Armin Shimerman, Michael Scott

115. The Moonstone-pb- Wilke Collins

116. The Name of the Wind   -hb- Patrick Rothfuss

117. The Orphans Tales –tpb- Catherynne M Valente

118. The Ragman’s Son-hb- Kirk Douglas

119. The Return of Sherlock Holmes –hb- Conan Doyle

120. The Ruby Knight –hb- David Eddings

121. The Sapphire Rose –hb- David Eddings

122. The Scarlet Letter-hb- Nathaniel Hawthorne

123. The Scions of Shannara-hb- Terry Brooks

124. The Second Siege –hb- Henry H Neff

125. The Small House at Allington-hb- Anthony Trollope

126. The Spell of Mary Stewart-hb- Mary Stewart

127. The Star Machine-hb- Jeanine Basinger

128. The Talismans of Shannara-hb- Terry Brooks

129. The Terror –hb- dan simmons

130. The Three Musketeers-hb- Alexandre Dumas

131. The way of the Wizard-pb- John Joseph Adams

132. The Winter Sea-hb- Susanna Kearsley

133. The Wise Man’s Fear-hb-Patrick Rothfuss

134. The Works of A. Conan Doyle –hb- Conan Doyle

135. Too Far from Home –hb- Chris Jones

136. Tuck –hb- Stephen R Lawhead

137. Walt Disney- tpb- Neal Gabler

138. Watership Down-pb- Richard Adams

139. We Seven -pb- the Astronauts

140. Welcome to the World Little Girl-hb- Fannie Flagg

141. Where Have I Been-hb- Sid Ceasar

142. Wildthorn -hb- Jane Eagland

 

Ok I think I've covered it all now...

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

Well here's a movie I watched that fits for OUaT...

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows...  actually, it would almost fit RIP more ! lol.. this was a dark, dark, dark, movie!  Plenty of action and, as per the title... even death! (*que the twilight theme*)

I didn't get to see this in the movie theater so I was glad when it arrived in the mail from good ol' Amazon.

I wondered, since I read the books so long ago if I'd know what was going on, and surprisingly I had no problem following it.  I did miss Dumbledor and there was almost no Hagrid or Snape and no Maggie Smith at all  .  Wow.. I am pouting even now!

..this 2 parter is more about the 3 kids, all of them constantly in deep deep trouble as they run trying to figure out how they can find and eliminate the Horcruxes...

Along the way there's fast adventure, and tender moments intermittent.  Good and bad.  Happy and Sad... it's all in this movie and when it ends you KNOW that "there's more to come"!

For some reason or another (just don't know) I felt a lot more disconnected to the movie. It just didn't hit me that I was watching old friends in peril .  In this particular case..the book was better. Maybe because I took breaks that it didn't feel as dark as it looked on the screen.

But if you as me will I miss Harry Potter and the whole supporting case once the last movie is released.. the answer will still be yes.

Wonderful characters that we saw grow up in front of our eyes, with the best "supporting cast" in many a year for any movie.  I already miss Dumbledor, and love McGonagall and Hagrid and Snape.  I had the pleasure of meeting Warwick Davis once so I was always happy to see them use in the movie (professor Flitwick/goblin/).  And the guest stars for each movie were always cast well:  re: Gary Oldman as Sirius / David Thewlis as Prof. Lupin/  Brendan Gleeson as Mad-eye Moody... just to name a few.

Does anyone realize that the first Harry Potter movie came out in 2001 ?!! And here we are about to finish them up in 2011.  Amazing. Simply Amazing.

I can't say I was thrilled with the movie, like the others, but I wouldn't have missed it..nor the last part that opens here in July.

I will miss them all.  (especially Rupert Grint, who had the funniest lines in all the movies!  ..."why did it have to be spiders?  Why couldn't it have been, follow the butterflies?"...admit it you're smiling! :o)   )

Tooth & Claw

 Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

Hardcover: 256 pages
ISBN-10: 0765302640

(book 6 for OUaT)

 

From Publishers Weekly

Dragons ritually eat dragons in order to gain strength and power in Walton's enthralling new fantasy (after 2002's The Prize in the Game), set amid a hierarchical society that includes a noble ruling class, an established church, servants and retainers. On the death of the dragon Bon Agornin, his parson son Penn, one of five siblings (two male and three female), declares, "We must now partake of his remains, that we might grow strong with his strength, remembering him always." But Bon's greedy son-in-law, Illustrious Daverak, consumes more than his fair share of the departed dragon, setting off a chain of unexpected and, at times, calamitous events for each sibling. Avan, the younger son, decides to litigate for compensation. One unmarried daughter, on moving in with the married sister and Daverak, discovers a house filled with injustice, while the other unmarried daughter goes off with Penn and falls in love. Full of political intrigue and romance, this provocative read sets the stage for further adventures in a world that, as the author admits in her prefatory note, "owes a lot to Anthony Trollope's Framley Parsonage." FYI: In 2002, Walton received a John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

This book was a gift from my "sis" across the pond, Cath.  I had only heard of the book once when someone else reviewed it, so wasn't sure what to expect of it.

There's good and not so good about it.

I had some difficulty seeing dragons acting as *people*. Not sure why since I like dragons so much, but I did. 

The basic story sounds like typical Victorian life.  Re: coming out in London/ marry only in your own class/ looking down at the poor and not associating with them etc.   In general, it was the everyday life of Victorian "households", but of course it was dragons , and they were given at least "some" dragon behavior, which I won't go into, lest there be no surprises at all.

The beginning of the book was rather slow.  Sort of like, "what did you do today?"... "well, I got up.  Had coffee. Did some shopping. Came home again and put it away".   .. slow.

It did pick up later once you had a bit more of a feel for the characters. I think there was some difficulty giving them personalities and yet keeping them *dragonish*.  But by the end of the story, of course ,you were hoping for a happy ending and yet not sure how it could possibly work out that way.  I'll let the ending be a surprise.

If Jo Walton makes a second book using the same dragon characters, I might read it, but I would hope there could be a faster paced story.

In the Amazon review it mentions that she owes a lot to Anthony Trollope's "Framley Parsonage"... so now I am a bit curious about that book!

Top 10 Books That I Absolutely Had to Have... But Still Haven't Read.

I saw a post named the Top 10 Books that I absolutely had to have , ..but still haven't read, over at Telecommuter Talk. a while back.  I immediately cracked up because I have about 140 of those same sort of books! So I went in search of: 10 books.

Right. Like I expect to be able to do "just 10" .  If it were that easy I'd only have a tbr pile of 10 lol... ok here we go: (in no particular order and sticking to the rules of 10)

 

  1.  Hide and Seek: the Life of J.M Barrie by Lisa Chaney

  Ever since reading "Neverland" I became more interested in JM Barrie's life.  I hope to get to this soon.. but then I feel this way about all my books in my tbr pile.

  2. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

   This one seems to high on everyone's list. Along with the second book.

   3.Notes of a Cowardly Lion by John Lahr

    I like Biographies of the stars gone by.  I think I can blame that on Simon Louvish for bringing to life many stars and also what life was like when movies were in their infancy.

   4. The Terror by Dan Simmons

  What can I say?  Dan Simmons wrote Drood !  That should say why I'd want to read a second book by him.

   5. Seven Percent Solution by Nicholas Meyer

   Although I have seen the movie with the same name..  I want to read this because I have met Nicholas Meyer, as a director and seen the movies he's directed and read other books by him.. so it's sort, kinda, a "personal connection thing".

   6. The Moonstone by Wilke Collins

   Once again I blame Dan Simmons for writing such a good and interesting book in Drood.

   7. The Childrens Book by A S  Byatt

   What if I said I don't even remember why on this one??? lol

    8- 9-&   10. Hood/ Scarlet & Tuck by Stephen R Lawhead.

   I bought this trilogy when it was first out thinking that when I want a little change that reading books that harbor around Robin Hood couldn't be all bad right?.. right.

Of course you realize I could do this sort of post everyday for 140 books worth right?  I thought so.

Ruth!!!!

My    30 cent plus shipping hard back book of The White Dragon arrived today!!  

So... who didn't hear me scream when the postman came????

First, .. I am very pleased at what I got for the price!!  It's not perfect but it's not horribly bad either!  (I used pledge on the cover and it helped clean it up a bit lol)

I am now the very proud owner of The White Dragon in a hard back version!!!  I dare you to go to ebay or anywhere and try pricing the original trilogy (Dragonflight, DragonQuest, & The White Dragon) and be prepared to have your jaw drop to the floor!

So once I inspected it for myself I took it into the bookcase holding all the other Pern books and introduced it to them.. it is it's future home ya know.

Then My book met my Bookwyrms! 

(they danced with delight)

and lastly... my book met it's namesake, BabyRuth. (no not the candybar!)

I could tell that BabyRuth was impressed!

Ruth just couldn't keep his hands off of the book. (yes, you read that right.. Ruth, the White Dragon is a male, so that makes Jr. a male too!)

As you see I went crazy taking photo's of the book, finding it hard to believe that I actually own this one in hardback!!!   I found a "new" one for 49.99 on amazon and I can't believe I am saying this, but I am really, really tempted. (that's one of the bad, bad things about a charge card!.. and that wouldn't be bad if I had an "income" heh... )  I bookmarked the page with the "new" one ... only one is 49.99 then it jumps up to over 100.00 and even over 200.00!.. maybe now you see why I am so thrilled at my "not so new" copy for a total of 4.30!

I just love Anne McCaffrey's Pern books above all other books!.. I am also cringing to know (unless she cancels) she will be at Dragon Con in Atlanta Ga in September!  She had either a heart attack or stroke a year or so back so I am shocked she is signed to appear there.   Now ask me how much I'd like her autograph on my "hardback"... go ahead, ask!  Well, no don't do that, I might have to answer lol.. or I might have to spend the 49.99 to get a new one for her to sign!!

Sheesh.. nothing wrong with dreamin' is there?!

If someone said, "you can have all three books in hardback or... have Anne McCaffrey sign the one you have, what would I do?"

*hangs head* I'd want the trilogy in hardback! .. but, I'll be totally honest, I have her signature on a paperback  "Dolphins of Pern".. :o)

Ok.. enough gushing...I really need to delete that bookmark to the "new" copy lol...