“It was May-time in England. The last breath of a long winter had blown its final farewell across the hills,—the last frost had melted from the broad, low-lying fields, relaxing its iron grip from the clods of rich, red-brown earth which, now, soft and broken, were sprouting thick with the young corn's tender green.” I … Continue reading Review of God’s Good Man: A Simple Love Story, by Marie Corelli
Tag: old books
Sam’s Mission: A Story of Jubilee Year, by Beatrice Marshall
This lovely little children’s book published in 1892 is set in Long Leatham, England, at the time of Jubilee Day, celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. Sam is a young boy about eight or nine years old who one day goes to church and hears a traveling missionary say that … Continue reading Sam’s Mission: A Story of Jubilee Year, by Beatrice Marshall
The Real Diary of a Real Boy by Henry A. Shute
As previously posted, I love diaries, and I found many diaries online, including Mark Twain’s “discoveries” of Adam’s Diary and Eve’s Diary. Then I looked at an actual diary from 1771, written by Anna Green Winslow of Boston, noticing that, in many respects, what was important to this 12-year-old girl in the 18th century is … Continue reading The Real Diary of a Real Boy by Henry A. Shute
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston School Girl of 1771
In previous posts, I wrote about my absolute joy in reading Extracts from Adam’s Diary and Eve’s Diary. Reading (and even re-reading) some parts of these made me laugh almost to exhaustion. Other parts were serious and surprisingly tender compared to the other books I’ve read by Mark Twain. At Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) I also … Continue reading Diary of Anna Green Winslow, a Boston School Girl of 1771
Eve and her Pet Brontosaurus
As I mentioned in my previous post, I love diaries, and at Project Gutenberg I found many diaries available to read, listen to and download to my Kindle. The first one I read was Excerpts from Adam’s Diary, supposedly written by Adam. This book by the American humorist Mark Twain was published in 1904. Well, … Continue reading Eve and her Pet Brontosaurus
Diaries from Hundreds—even Thousands—of Years Ago
I love diaries, and have written in various forms of journals since I was about 10 years old. I enjoy reading them almost as much as writing them, and find reliving first hand experiences (yes, even my own) fascinating, educational and often humorous and inspiring. At Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org) I found many diaries available … Continue reading Diaries from Hundreds—even Thousands—of Years Ago
Review of The Little Hunchback Zia by Frances Hodgson Burnett
“And it came to pass nigh upon nineteen hundred and sixteen years ago” This begins Frances Hodgson Burnett’s little book published in 1916 about a rejected, deformed orphan boy who is sent to beg for the cruel woman who keeps him. One day, hiding in the brush near the road to Bethlehem, he watches a … Continue reading Review of The Little Hunchback Zia by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Fair’s Fair in Calgary
Fair’s Fair is my favorite used book store in Calgary, actually a “chain”, with 5 locations around the city. They are a joy to browse because they are organized, neat, well-lit, clean, well-labelled and full of near-new books (that is, except for their wonderful vintage books!). The staff at all locations are friendly and helpful. … Continue reading Fair’s Fair in Calgary
The Junior Instructor, my First Encyclopedia
The other day I got out two of my favorite books from my childhood, The Junior Instructor, Books 1 and 2. These were originally published in 1916, and the ones my mom gave us as small children were published in 1956. I was looking for some of the children’s prayers I’d learned, and while I … Continue reading The Junior Instructor, my First Encyclopedia
Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 3
Romance, 1887-style! Or…was it 2000-style? In the introduction to the 1915 printing of this book published in 1887, Sylvester Baxter describes the novel as “the ingenious device by which a man of the 19th century is transferred to the end of the 20th”, and notes that in the decade that followed its publication, the world … Continue reading Review of Looking Backward 2000 – 1887, Part 3
Happily Writing 