The Code of the Woosters(book).

I received this book for Christmas and it was very interesting
and it has a great plot.

I suggest you should read it it you have not already.                                       
It does use some bad words in it, but not many.
the synopsis is below.

TO a man who would barter his butler for an Jl oviform chocolate pot on three scroll feet, it would be but a short step to trade his chef— supreme artist though he be—for an eighteenth-century cow-creamer. That at least was Aunt Dahlia's view when she heard that her husband was proposing to cede Anatole to Sir Watkyn Bassett in exchange for the coveted cow-creamer. The only thing for it was to leg it hot-foot for Totleigh Towers, the Bassett residence, and pinch it from off the sideboard. Anatole must be saved at all costs ! When she arrived Bertie Wooster was already at Totleigh, pouring oil on the troubled waters of a lovers' breach between Madeline Bassett and Gussie Fink-Noitle. And all might have been well but for the presence of a small leather notebook and for the absence of a large policeman's helmet. As it was, Bertram became involved in an imbroglio that tested the Wooster soul as it had seldom been tested before, and even Jeeves, his head as ever bulging with brains, was put to it to find an adequate solution.

 


 It is also a book that will keep you laughing and also keep you in suspense.                                                                                                                                                            

Good and Evil Are Not Equals

Good and Evil Are not Equals is a post written by David Mathis, a writer for the Desiring God Blog and this is where is got the post from.

It's a great post about Tolkien's Hobbit and the Lord of the Ring.

If you don't follow or read the Desiring God Blog, then i suggest that you follow it.

It's has a lot of great posts and resources.

 

 Don’t give Peter Jackson all the credit. He wasn’t the first to desire an adult version of J.R.R. Tolkien’s children’s story The Hobbit. According to author and scholar Colin Duriez, it was actually Tolkien himself who initially had the vision.
 Tolkien wrote The Hobbit for children in the early 1930s. It wasn’t until the mid 1950s that he published its trilogy sequel for adults, The Lord of the Rings. Adults were so drawn to Tolkien’s work that late in life, he dreamed of re-writing The Hobbit for adults, drawing in the darker tone from his later stories. Yet he died in 1973 with the dream yet unfulfilled.
Now enter Peter Jackson, who is doing for the big screen what Tolkien never was able to do in writing.

Great Themes Deep Within Tolkien

Whether you’ve already battled the crowds to see The Desolation of Smaug, or are waiting till the theaters thin out, or are simply a fan of Tolkien’s books, we want to enhance your Christian experience of the story. We solicited help from Duriez and author Devin Brown to point us to the Christian themes deep within Tolkien.
Which is precisely what Tolkien would have us do. As much as any writer, he carefully crafted his tales for the profound spiritual effect they would have on the reader. He means for us to be deeply affected. He means for his story, set in a “secondary world” called Middle Earth, to give us a certain experience, a kind of deep joy and satisfaction, that draws from the “primary world” in which we live.

The King's Shadow(book).

This king's shadow is a book written by Elizabeth Alder.
It is set in the time of the battle of Hastings, and it is appropriate for all ages.
It's a great book.

Synopsis:
Evyn, a young Welsh serf, has dreamed all his life of becoming
a storyteller. Blessed with a beautiful voice, he loves holding
an audience captive with his words, reciting verses that
have been passed down from generation to generation.
But in a cruel twist of fate, Evyn
and his father suffer a brutal attack
by a group of murderous ruffians.
Evyn's tongue is cut off, and his
father is killed. Because his is
orphaned and unable to speak, most assume Evyn is
destined to a life of slavery. But Evyn is resilient and
teaches himself to read and write.
Having mastered these skills, he is
 appointed  the personal companion
to Earl Harold of Wessex, who later
becomes the King of England.
The two travel the countryside together, forming a close father-son bond.
Evyn chronicles  all their exiting journeys, which culminate at the Battle of Hastings,
where the future of the country is decided.

 Hope you all enjoy.

Tora! Tora! Tora!(movie)

In remembrance of the attack on pearl harbor last Saturday, i want to share
a movie with you all.
It's a movie that describes the attack on pearl harbor.
It's a good movie, and I suggest you watch it if you have not already.
Here is the trailer.

                                           

Carol of the Bells.

Since it's the Christmas season, i decided to post a Christmas song.
This is Carol of the Bells, and it is done by a boys singing group called libera.
They are an amazing group who have done some really beautiful pieces, and I want to show you this one.

Around the World in Eighty Days(book).

 This is a really neat story written by Jules Verne.
It's a great read, and I recommend that you read it if you have not already.


The story starts in London on Tuesday, October 1, 1872. Fogg is a rich English gentleman living in solitude. Despite his wealth, Fogg lives a modest life with habits carried out with mathematical precision. Very little can be said about his social life other than that he is a member of the Reform Club. Having dismissed his former valet, James Foster, for bringing him shaving water at 84 °F (29 °C) instead of 86 °F (30 °C), Fogg hires a Frenchman by the name of Jean Passepartout as a replacement.
At the Reform Club, Fogg gets involved in an argument over an article in The Daily Telegraph stating that with the opening of a new railway section in India, it is now possible to travel around the world in 80 days. He accepts a wager for £20,000 from his fellow club members, which he will receive if he makes it around the world in 80 days. Accompanied by Passepartout, he leaves London by train at 8:45 P.M. on Wednesday, October 2, 1872, and is due back at the Reform Club at the same time 80 days later, Saturday, December 21, 1872.

The itinerary

London, United Kingdom to Suez, Egypt	rail and steamer across the Mediterranean Sea	7 days
Suez to Bombay, India	steamer across the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean	13 days
Bombay to Calcutta, India	rail	3 days
Calcutta to Victoria, Hong Kong	steamer across the South China Sea	13 days
Hong Kong to Yokohama, Japan	steamer across the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean	6 days
Yokohama to San Francisco, United States	steamer across the Pacific Ocean	22 days
San Francisco to New York City, United States	rail	7 days
New York to London	steamer across the Atlantic Ocean and rail	9 days
Total		80 days
Map of the trip

Fogg and Passepartout reach Suez in time. While disembarking in Egypt, they are watched by a Scotland Yard detective named Fix, who has been dispatched from London in search of a bank robber. Because Fogg matches the description of the robber, Fix mistakes Fogg for the criminal. Since he cannot secure a warrant in time, Fix boards the steamer conveying the travellers to Bombay. Fix becomes acquainted with Passepartout without revealing his purpose. Fogg promises the steamer engineer a large reward if he gets them to Bombay early. They dock two days ahead of schedule.
After reaching India they take a train from Bombay (now Mumbai) to Calcutta (Kolkata). Fogg learns that the Daily Telegraph article was wrong—the railroad ends at Kholby and starts again 50 miles further on at Allahabad. Fogg buys an elephant, hires a guide, and starts toward Allahabad.
They come across a procession in which a young Indian woman, Aouda, is led to a sanctuary to be sacrificed by suttee the next day by Brahmins. Since the young woman is drugged with opium and hemp and is obviously not going voluntarily, the travellers decide to rescue her. They follow the procession to the site, where Passepartout takes the place of Aouda's deceased husband on the funeral pyre on which she is to be burned. During the ceremony he rises from the pyre, scaring off the priests, and carries the young woman away. The two days gained earlier are lost, but Fogg shows no regret.
The travellers hasten to catch the train at the next railway station, taking Aouda with them. At Calcutta, they board a steamer going to Hong Kong. Fix has Fogg and Passepartout arrested. They jump bail and Fix follows them to Hong Kong. He shows himself to Passepartout, who is delighted to again meet his travelling companion from the earlier voyage.
In Hong Kong, it turns out that Aouda's distant relative, in whose care they had been planning to leave her, has moved, probably to Holland, so they decide to take her with them to Europe. Still without a warrant, Fix sees Hong Kong as his last chance to arrest Fogg on British soil. Passepartout becomes convinced that Fix is a spy from the Reform Club. Fix confides in Passepartout, who does not believe a word and remains convinced that his master is not a bank robber. To prevent Passepartout from informing his master about the premature departure of their next vessel, Fix gets Passepartout drunk and drugs him in an opium den. Passepartout still manages to catch the steamer to Yokohama, but neglects to inform Fogg.
Fogg discovers that he missed his connection. He searches for a vessel that will take him to Yokohama, finding a pilot boat that takes him and Aouda to Shanghai, where they catch a steamer to Yokohama. In Yokohama, they search for Passepartout, believing that he may have arrived there on the original boat. They find him in a circus, trying to earn the fare for his homeward journey. Reunited, the four board a steamer taking them across the Pacific to San Francisco. Fix promises Passepartout that now, having left British soil, he will no longer try to delay Fogg's journey, but support him in getting back to Britain to minimize the amount of his share of the stolen money that Fogg can spend.
In San Francisco they board a transcontinental train to New York, encountering a number of obstacles along the way: a massive herd of bison crossing the tracks, a failing suspension bridge, and the train being attacked by Sioux warriors. After uncoupling the locomotive from the carriages, Passepartout is kidnapped by the Indians, but Fogg rescues him after American soldiers volunteer to help. They continue by a wind powered sledge to Omaha, where they get a train to New York.
In New York, having missed the sailing of their ship, Fogg starts looking for an alternative to cross the Atlantic Ocean. He finds a steamboat destined for Bordeaux, France. The captain of the boat refuses to take the company to Liverpool, whereupon Fogg consents to be taken to Bordeaux for $2000 (roughly $39,167 today) per passenger. He then bribes the crew to mutiny and make course for Liverpool. Against hurricane winds and going on full steam, the boat runs out of fuel after a few days. Fogg buys the boat from the captain and has the crew burn all the wooden parts to keep up the steam.
The companions arrive at Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland, in time to reach London before the deadline. Once on British soil, Fix produces a warrant and arrests Fogg. A short time later, the misunderstanding is cleared up—the actual robber was caught three days earlier in Edinburgh. However, Fogg has missed the train and returns to London five minutes late, certain he lost the wager.
Fogg apologises to Aouda for bringing her with him, since he now has to live in poverty and cannot support her. Aouda confesses that she loves him and asks him to marry her. He calls for Passepartout to notify the minister. At the minister's, Passepartout learns that he is mistaken in the date, which he takes to be Saturday, December 21, but which is actually Friday, December 20, because the party travelled eastward, gaining a day.

Passepartout hurries to inform Fogg, who reaches the Reform Club just in time to win the wager. Fogg marries Aouda and the journey around the world is complete.

My Hope with Billy Graham

I recently saw a documentary produced on Billy Graham's 95th birthday. Before I explain the documentary I will say a little bit about Billy Graham.

     William Franklin "Billy" Graham Jr. Is a Christian evangelist and pastor. Billy Graham traveled around preaching the news of Jesus Christ. He did this for many years. Which brings us to now. This documentary was produced on Billy Graham's 95th birthday. It was called My Hope.

     My Hope showed the testimonies of Lecrae Moore and Lacey Sterum. It also included short messages by Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) and Billy Graham himself.
     
     You might have recognized the name Lecrae Moore because he is a well known Christian rapper. I found his testimony encouraging. It showed that God can change bad people into Jesus fanatics. I also like Lecrae's music, which shows him going through hardships and overcoming them.

 Here is Lecrae's testimony.

Lacey Sterum's testimony was helpful in seeing someone using they're talents to evangelize and spread God's glory. In the documentary Lacey Sterum sang Mercy Tree. It was something I saw before My Hope. It intrigued me to watch the documentary and see the full testimony. To watch Mercy Tree click here.
I thought the documentary encouraging and think you should watch it too.

Jean Fritz

Jean Guttery Fritz is well known for writing American biography and history. When I started reading Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider my eyes opened and I started to really enjoy historical books. I also like her just as much for her historical fiction. As for her biographies well......I'm not a huge fan of them. To be brutally honest I think they're boring. Though I thought they were the best biographies I've found. So if you happen to like biographies I think you would really appreciate them.

Jean Fritz parents where missionaries to Hankow, China. She lived in China until she was twelve. Growing up she went to a British school where she kept a diary of her life in China. She then went to college and got married to Michael Fritz. They later had a son David and a daughter Andrea.

Her first historical novel was The Cabin Faced West (Published in 1958.) In 1986 she received the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her books. Other titles she has written are: Alexander Hamilton: The Outsider, What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin, Do you want Women to Vote Lizze Stanton, and much much more.

All the titles I've read that Jean Fritz has written have been very appropriate and did not put up any stumbling blocks for me. I have enjoyed Jean Fritz for a long time and I hope you do too!

G.K.Chesterton(biography).

This is a review on the life of a Christian writer who lived in the 19th century.
He is a amazing man who was not afraid to stand up for what was right, and defy the
beliefs that were leading many astray.
Here is the link to the books that he wrote.
One book that I really recommend is the man who was Thursday.
It's a really great book.



G.K.Chesterton
Born in Campden Hill in Kensington, London, Chesterton was educated at St Paul's School. He attended the Slade School of Art in order to become an illustrator. The Slade is a department of University College London, where he also took classes in literature, but he did not complete a degree in either subject. In 1896 Chesterton began working for the London publisher Redway, and T. Fisher Unwin, where he remained until 1902. During this period he also undertook his first journalistic work as a freelance art and literary critic. In 1901 he married Frances Blogg, to whom he remained married for the rest of his life. In 1902 the Daily News gave him a weekly opinion column, followed in 1905 by a weekly column in The Illustrated London News, for which he continued to write for the next thirty years.
Chesterton was baptized at the age of one month into the Church of England, though his family themselves were irregularly practising Unitarians. According to Chesterton, as a young man he became fascinated with the occult and, along with his brother Cecil, experimented with Ouija boards.
Chesterton credited his wife Francis with leading him back to Anglicanism, though he began to see Anglicanism as a "pale imitation". He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922.
Chesterton early showed a great interest in and talent for art. He had planned to become an artist and his writing shows a vision that clothed abstract ideas in concrete and memorable images. Even his fiction seemed to be carefully concealed parables. Father Brown is perpetually correcting the incorrect vision of the bewildered folks at the scene of the crime and wandering off at the end with the criminal to exercise his priestly role of recognition and repentance. For example, in the story "The Flying Stars", Father Brown entreats the character Flambeau to give up his life of crime: "There is still youth and honour and humour in you; don't fancy they will last in that trade. Men may keep a sort of level of good, but no man has ever been able to keep on one level of evil. That road goes down and down. The kind man drinks and turns cruel; the frank man kills and lies about it. Many a man I've known started like you to be an honest outlaw, a merry robber of the rich, and ended stamped into slime."
Chesterton was a large man, standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and weighing around 21 stone (130 kg). His girth gave rise to a famous anecdote. During World War I a lady in London asked why he was not "out at the Front"; he replied, "If you go round to the side, you will see that I am." On another occasion he remarked to his friend George Bernard Shaw: "To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England". Shaw retorted, "To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it". P. G. Wodehouse once described a very loud crash as "a sound like Chesterton falling onto a sheet of tin".
Chesterton usually wore a cape and a crumpled hat, with a swordstick in hand, and a cigar hanging out of his mouth. He had a tendency to forget where he was supposed to be going and miss the train that was supposed to take him there. It is reported that on several occasions he sent a telegram to his wife Frances from some distant (and incorrect) location, writing such things as "Am in Market Harborough. Where ought I to be?" to which she would reply, "Home". Because of these instances of absent-mindedness and of Chesterton being extremely clumsy as a child, there has been speculation that Chesterton had undiagnosed developmental coordination disorder.

Chesterton loved to debate, often engaging in friendly public disputes with such men as George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Clarence Darrow. According to his autobiography, he and Shaw played cowboys in a silent movie that was never released.
Chesterton died of congestive heart failure on the morning of 14 June 1936, at his home in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. His last known words were a greeting spoken to his wife. The homily at Chesterton's Requiem Mass in Westminster Cathedral, London, was delivered by Ronald Knox on 27 June 1936. Knox said, "All of this generation has grown up under Chesterton's influence so completely that we do not even know when we are thinking Chesterton." He is buried in Beaconsfield in the Catholic Cemetery. Chesterton's estate was probated at £28,389, approximately equivalent in 2012 terms to £1.3 million.

Telegram sent by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (future Pius XII) on behalf of Pope Pius XI to the people of England following the death of Chesterton.

Near the end of his life he was invested by Pope Pius XI as Knight Commander with Star of the Papal Order of St. Gregory the Great (KC*SG). The Chesterton Society has proposed that he be beatified.

Kathryn Lasky

Kathryn Lasky is mainly a fictional writer. She has written some historical books with the children's historical writer, Jean Fritz. Lasky wrote the best selling series Gaurdians of Gahoole. Gaurdians of Gahoole is a series about an owl kingdom trying to survive. We will write a review on the particular books in time. She also wrote The Wolves of the Beyond series. That is about a wolf who was treated very badly, but later finds enough power to lead a pack of wolves.

I highly recommend Kathryn Lasky. She is a very talented writer. I would warn you though she is not a Christian writer so some of her books mention spirits and an owl saying a curse word. Regarding the curse word it was said in the owl language. This stuff happens rarely in books, and I would still recommend her.

The Christmas Candle(movie).

This movie is based on a book written by Max Lucado.
It looks very good, and is coming to theaters tomorrow.
I can't wait to see it.

Here is the trailer.

Journey to theCenter of the Earth(book).

 This is another good book written by Jules Verne.

It is very intriguing and full of a lot of complicated words, but it is a very good read.
And in this review, i got a lot of this from parts of other people's reviews.

The story begins in May 1863, the Lidenbrock house in Hamburg, with Professor Lidenbrock rushing home to peruse his latest purchase, an original runic manuscript of an Icelandic saga written by Snorri Sturluson ("Heimskringla"; the chronicle of the Norwegian kings who ruled over Iceland). While looking through the book, Lidenbrock and his nephew Axel find a coded note written in runic script. (This is a first indication of Verne's love for cryptology. Coded, cryptic or incomplete messages as a plot device will continue to appear in many of his works and in each case Verne goes a long way to explain not only the code used but also the mechanisms used to retrieve the original text.) Lidenbrock and Axel translate the runic characters into Latin letters, revealing a message written in a seemingly bizarre code. Lidenbrock attempts a decipherment, deducing the message to be a kind of transposition cipher; but his results are as meaningless as the original.
Professor Lidenbrock decides to lock everyone in the house and force himself and the others (Axel, and the maid, Jimmy) to go without food until he cracks the code. Axel discovers the answer when fanning himself with the deciphered text: Lidenbrock's decipherment was correct, and only needs to be read backwards to reveal sentences written in rough French. Axel decides to keep the secret hidden from Professor Lidenbrock, afraid of what the Professor might do with the knowledge, but after two days without food he cannot stand the hunger and reveals the secret to his uncle. Lidenbrock translates the note, which is revealed to be a medieval note written by the (fictional) Icelandic alchemist Arne Saknussemm, who claims to have discovered a passage to the centre of the Earth via Snæfell in Iceland. The deciphered message is written in what Axel calls bad Latin, which when translated into English reads:

The Runic cryptogram

Descend, bold traveller, into the crater of the jökull of Snæfellsjökull, which the shadow of Scartaris touches (lit: tastes) before the Kalends (calends) of July, and you will attain the centre of the earth. I did it. Arne Saknussemm

Professor Lidenbrock is a man of astonishing impatience, and departs for Iceland immediately, taking his reluctant nephew with him. Axel, who, in comparison, is cowardly and anti-adventurous, repeatedly tries to reason with him, explaining his fears of descending into a volcano and putting forward various scientific theories as to why the journey is impossible, but Professor Lidenbrock repeatedly keeps himself blinded against Axel's point of view. After a rapid journey via Lübeck and Copenhagen, they arrive in Reykjavík, where the two procure the services of Hans Bjelke (a Danish-speaking Icelander eiderdown hunter) as their guide, and travel overland to the base of the volcano.
In late June, they reach the volcano, which has three craters. According to Saknussemm's message, the passage to the centre of the Earth is through the one crater that is touched by the shadow of a nearby mountain peak at noon. However, the text also states that this is only true during the last days of June. During the next few days, with July rapidly approaching, the weather is too cloudy for any shadows. Axel silently rejoices, hoping this will force his uncle – who has repeatedly tried to impart courage to him only to succeed in making him even more cowardly still – to give up the project and return home. Alas for Axel, however, on the last day, the sun comes out and the mountain peak shows the correct crater to take.
After descending into this crater, the three travellers set off into the bowels of the Earth, encountering many strange phenomena and great dangers, including a chamber filled with combustible gas, and steep-sided wells around the "path". After taking a wrong turn, they run out of water and Axel almost dies, but Hans taps into a neighbouring subterranean river. Lidenbrock and Axel name the resulting stream the "Hansbach" in his honour and the three are saved. At another point, Axel becomes separated from the others and is lost several miles from them. Luckily, a strange acoustic phenomenon allows him to communicate with them from some miles away, and they are soon reunited.
After descending many miles, following the course of the Hansbach, they reach an unimaginably vast cavern. This underground world is lit by electrically charged gas at the ceiling, and is filled with a very deep subterranean ocean, surrounded by a rocky coastline covered in petrified trees and giant mushrooms. The travelers build a raft out of trees and set sail. The Professor names this sea as the Lidenbrock Sea. While on the water, they see several prehistoric creatures such as a giant Ichthyosaurus, which fights with a Plesiosaurus and wins. After the battle between the monsters, the party comes across an island with a huge geyser, which Lidenbrock names "Axel's Island".
A lightning storm again threatens to destroy the raft and its passengers, but instead throws them onto the coastline. This part of the coast, Axel discovers, is alive with prehistoric plant and animal life forms, including giant insects and a herd of mastodons. On a beach covered with bones, Axel discovers an oversized human skull. Axel and Lidenbrock venture some way into the prehistoric forest, where Professor Lidenbrock points out, in a shaky voice, a prehistoric human, more than twelve feet in height, leaning against a tree and watching a herd of mastodons. Axel cannot be sure if he has really seen the man or not, and he and Professor Lidenbrock debate whether or not a proto-human civilization actually exists so far underground. The three wonder if the creature is a man-like ape, or an ape-like man. The sighting of the creature is considered the most alarming part of the story, and the explorers decide that it is better not to alert it to their presence as they fear it may be hostile.
The travellers continue to explore the coastline, and find a passageway marked by Saknussemm as the way ahead. However, it is blocked by what appears to be a recent cave-in and two of the three, Hans and the Professor, despair at being unable to hack their way through the granite wall. The adventurers plan to blast the rock with gun cotton and paddle out to sea to escape the blast. Upon executing the plan, however, they discover that behind the rockfall was a seemingly bottomless pit, not a passage to the centre of the earth. The travellers are swept away as the sea rushes into the large open gap in the ground. After spending hours being swept along at lightning speeds by the water, the raft ends up inside a large volcanic chimney filling with water and magma. Terrified, the three are rushed upwards, through stifling heat, and are ejected onto the surface from a side-vent of a stratovolcano . When they regain consciousness, they discover that they have been ejected from Stromboli, a volcanic island located in southern Italy. They return to Hamburg to great acclaim – Professor Lidenbrock is hailed as one of the great scientists of history, Axel marries his sweetheart Gräuben, and Hans eventually returns to his peaceful life in Iceland. The Professor has some regret that their journey was cut short.
At the very end of the book, Axel and Lidenbrock realize why their compass was behaving strangely after their journey on the raft. They realize that the needle was pointing the wrong way after being struck by an electric fireball which nearly destroyed the wooden raft

Nathan D. Wilson

Nathan Wilson (commonly known as N. D. Wilson) is a fictional and theological writer. His father is Doug Wilson a popular theologian and writer. N.D. Wilson wrote the bestselling series the 100 cupboards. The series is composed of The 100 cupboards, Dandelion Fire, and The Chestnut King. He also wrote the Ashtown Burials series (The Dragon's Tooth, The Drowned Vault, and The Empire of Bones.) Additional books are: Death by Living: Life is Meant to be Spent, Notes from the Tilt-a-whirl, Leepike Ridge, The Dragon and the Garden (Old Stories), In the Time of Noah (Old Stories), Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days Goofiness, Spurggendon: A Really Big Geddon, and Emerging from Shadows: An Explanation of the Shroud of Turin.

WARNING WHEN READING THEOLOGICAL BOOKS BY N. D. WILSON: N.D. Wilson does not believe that in everyday matters God does not have time to guide you. Meaning you should not consult God for guidance in everyday matters.

Mysterious island(book)

 This is the sequel to 20,000 leagues under the sea written by Jules Verne.

The plot goes like this.

 

 

 

It's March 1865, the final days of the American Civil War, and five prisoners of war are held captive in Richmond. Desperate to leave the city, they make a daring escape in a hot air balloon during a terrible storm. Carried by the storm's winds for 4 days, the balloon crashes near an island in the South Pacific.

The castaways are stranded on this unknown shore with nothing but the clothes on their backs and each other. Fortunately the island is rich in natural resources they'll need to survive. They name the island after President Lincoln and make it their home until they can find a way off. The castaways even consider themselves colonists who will claim the island for the United States and plan to return to it if they ever get home.

As time goes on the colonists become aware of strange happenings that they cannot explain. Most of these are considered to be the work of Providence. Eventually they begin to realize that they're not alone on the island.

You were created to sing.

 This is a blog post titled
"You were created to sing"
by a writer for http://www.desiringgod.org/
It is very true and if you do not follow the blog, i suggest that you follow it.


You were created to sing.
By Tony Reinke.
God created you in his own image to dream, and work, and laugh, and love, and labor, and hope, and eat, and enjoy the good gifts in this world.
“A man is such a noble work of God,” said nineteenth century preacher Charles Spurgeon, “he cannot have been intended merely to measure off yards of silk, or to weigh pounds of sugar, or to sweep street crossings, or to put on crowns, and robes, and diamonds. There is something grander than that for man to do.”
Yes, and most grand of all: God created you to worship, praise, and sing.
The beauty of Christ is the cause of our songs. His glory draws worship from our hearts to our lips (Revelation 5:6–14, 7:9–12).
This Christ-centered, thank-filled worship is the capstone over everything else we are and do in this life (1 Corinthians 10:30–31, Colossians 3:17).
And so we sing.
To the best of our ability, we sing in our homes.
We sing with our families.
We sing alone in our cars on the drive to work.
We sing together on Sundays.
And as we raise our voices in church we are “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:19–20).
So how do we “speak to one another” in our singing?
Pastor Rick Gamache explains it like this:

We come here to worship together — to respond rightly to the glory of God in Christ as the church. And when we do that, we are fulfilling the very reason we were created. And as we do that, as we sing, we are also helping others fulfill the reason why they were created.
Maybe they came in here burdened by their circumstances and their heart is cold, but when they hear you sing of God’s sovereignty and wisdom and love, the burden is lifted and so they lift their voice in song with you.
Maybe they came in weighed down by the knowledge of their own sin, but when they hear you sing about Christ, who died to bear the punishment of our sin in our place, and who lived a righteous life that’s now credited to our account, the weight is lifted and the heart is softened and they join you and lift their voice in song.

As we sing, our Spirit-filled delight in Christ ministers to the burdened, nudges them to look past the afflictions they carried in, points them back to Christ, and encourages them to rejoin the pleasure of engaging in what we are all created for — worshiping our glorious Savior.

The Drowned Vault (book)

The Drowned Vault is a fiction novel written by N. D. Wilson. It is the sequel to The Dragon's Tooth. It is the second book in the Ashtown Burials series. I really enjoyed it, and would list in my top five favorite books. N. D. Wilson wrote the 100 cupboards series and Leepike Ridge before this series.

This is a piece of the book:
Rupert pointed his light at the wall of the underwater cave. It had a small crack in the wall. Cyrus swam forward, and saw the that the crack was actually a keyhole. In the water, Cyrus's Solomon Keys had taken their natural shape. He new something weird or bad was going to happen. He tried get the thought out of his head that he was going to open the crack. Cyrus slid the small key into the hole and turned it. Silence, and then a grinding as a slab of the wall fell forward and dropped through the water. Behind it yawned the entrance of the dark passage. Something uncurled out of the darkness and drifted toward them. A tangle floated in front of Cyrus. He touched it, rubbing it between his fingers. It was hair. Four hundred years' worth of hair.

This book made you want to read more and more.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (book and movie)

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the fourth book in the "Narnia" series. It was written by C.S. Lewis. Other books in this series are The Magician's Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and more.

It is about Edmund, Lucy, and their bratty cousin Eustace. They were sucked into Narnia where they see Price Caspian (now the King.) Eustace in the adventure learns important lessons while Edmund and Caspian learn what greed can do to you.

As I said on the title I am focusing the book and movie unlike usual. The book (in my personal opinion) was the least exciting, the least adventurist of all the books in the Narnia series. Don't get me wrong I think that it is a worth read and watch. Though I would say I felt less intrigued to read more and more. Though you may have a different opinion.

The movie in relation to the book was OK. I think the makers of the movies noticed it needed some tweaking to hold the watcher's attention. Thus the movie did NOT follow the book. I think the movie still was fairly good.

I would say it is very appropriate for Christian teens.

20,000 Leagues under the sea(book)

This is a fascinating book written by Jules Verne.
And here is how the story goes.                                         



As the story begins, ships of several nations spot a mysterious sea monster, which some suggest to be a giant narwhal; the creature also damages an ocean liner. The United States government finally assembles an expedition in New York City to track down and destroy the menace. Professor Pierre Aronnax, an expert French marine biologist and narrator of the story, who happens to be in New York at the time, receives a last-minute invitation to join the expedition, and he accepts. Canadian master harpoonist Ned Land and Aronnax's faithful assistant Conseil are also brought aboard.

The expedition departs aboard United States Navy Abraham Lincoln and travels south around Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean. The ship finds the monster after a long search and then attacks the beast, which damages the steering. The three protagonists are then hurled onto the "hide" of the creature, which they find, to their surprise, is a large metal construction. They are quickly captured and brought inside the vessel, where they meet its enigmatic creator and commander, Captain Nemo.
The rest of the story follows the adventures of the protagonists aboard the creature--the submarine, the Nautilus--which was built in secrecy and now roams the seas free from any land-based government. Captain Nemo's motivation is implied to be both a scientific thirst for knowledge and a desire for revenge on (and self-imposed exile from) civilization. Nemo explains that his submarine is electrically powered and can perform advanced marine biology research; he also tells his new passengers that although he appreciates conversing with such an expert as Aronnax, maintaining the secrecy of his existence requires never letting them leave. Aronnax is enthralled by the undersea vistas, but Land constantly plans escape.
They visit many places in the world's oceans, some known to Jules Verne from real travelers' descriptions and speculation, while others completely fictional. Thus, the travelers witness the real corals of the Red Sea, the wrecks of the battle of Vigo Bay, the Antarctic ice shelves, and the fictional submerged land of Atlantis. The travelers also don diving suits to hunt sharks and other marine life with specially designed guns and have a funeral for a crew member who dies when an accident occurs inside the Nautilus. When the Nautilus returns to the Atlantic Ocean, a "poulpe" (usually translated as a giant squid, although the French "poulpe" means "octopus") attacks the vessel and devours a crew member.
Throughout the story Captain Nemo is suggested to have exiled himself from the world after an encounter with his oppressive country somehow affected his family. Near the end of the book, the Nautilus is tracked and attacked by a mysterious ship from that nation. Nemo ignores Aronnax's pleas for amnesty for the boat and retaliates. He attacks the ship under the waterline, sending it to the bottom of the ocean with all crew aboard as Aronnax watches from the saloon. Nemo bows before the pictures of his wife and children and is plunged into deep depression after this encounter, and "voluntarily or involuntarily" allows the submarine to wander into an encounter with the Moskenstraumen, more commonly known as the "Maelstrom", a whirlpool off the coast of Norway. The three prisoners successfully seize this opportunity to escape, but the fate of Captain Nemo and his crew is unknown.

To rule the night(book)

This is a wonderful autobiography written by Jim Irwin, a Christian astronaut who by the grace of God
was the eighth man to set foot upon the moon, on the Apollo 15 with Al Worden and Dave Scott,
in the year 1971.




In the first four chapters of the book, Irwin describes the flight to the moon, the stay
on the moon, and the flight back.
From chapter five to the end, he starts from the beginning of his life and
moves all the way up to many years after his flight.

During the duration of the book, Jim writes many times about his close calls
to death and how God was with him many times, protecting him from many dangers.

In his younger days, he was airplane tester.
He often tried to enter service as a astronaut, but got rejected many times.
He also talked about how he married a woman named Marry Edda.
But they found out that they did not work well together, and both being immature,
did not know how to work things out.
Latter, to Jim's sorrow,Marry Edda filed a divorce.
He was heart broken, but he knew it was just as much his fault as it was her's.
Latter he was accepted to go into training to be a astronaut.
He trained with two other men: Al Worden and Dave Scott.
Together, the three of them served as backups for the Apollo 9, and latter for
the Apollo 12.
Then they got selected for the next flight to the moon on the Apollo 15.
The training began in earnest.

And during this whole time, he is always pointing to his creator and savior, always
reminding us that with out the protection of God, he would have never made it to the moon.

Early in the book, Jim Irwin says that when he was on the moon, he felt as if God was very close to Him,
and all around him.
He never felt that way on earth, and it was a feeling that none of us could have understood, and
the memory of it never left him for the rest of his life.


I highly recommend this book.
It's easy to read and is very humorous.

C.S. Lewis

 


Clive Staples Lewis is a fictional and theological writer. He lived November 29, 1898 - November 22, 1963. He was born in Belfast, Ireland. He most commonly known as C.S. Lewis. Many know titles of Christian books are: The Four Loves, The Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, and more. Fictional books are: The Magicians Nephew, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian and much more.

So check out our reviews on his books and ask us to write reviews on your favorites!

Abraham/Kennedy

This is a bunch of facts about the assassinations of Lincoln and Kennedy.
And i find it quite fascinating how it all worked together.



Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.

John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.

John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost a child while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.


Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Now it gets really weird.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy.

Kennedy's Secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.

Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.

Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names are composed of fifteen letters.

Now hang on to your seat.

Lincoln was shot at the theater named "Ford."

Kennedy was shot in a car called "Lincoln" made by "Ford."

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

And here's the "kicker":

A week before Lincoln was shot, he was in Monroe, Maryland.

A week before Kennedy was shot, he was with Marilyn Monroe.

AND...................

Lincoln was shot in a theater and the assassin ran to a warehouse...

Kennedy was shot from a warehouse and the assassin ran to a theater...

The Chestnut King(book)

 This is the third book in the trilogy of the 100 cupboards.
It is amazingly written, and has a great ending.
The book goes like this:


In The Chestnut King, Henry's Aunt Dotty, Uncle Frank and cousins from Kansas now live in Badon Hill, as well. Nimiane continues to stalk Henry. She wants his blood, as it will increase her power. The scar she previously inflicted on his face continues to grow and rot. Henry's father, Mordecai, fears the wound will kill Henry unless they can destroy the undying witch-queen soon.
Soldiers sent by the emperor of this world demand that Mordecai come with them across the sea. The emperor wants Mordecai to answer to charges that his family helped free Nimiane. Mordecai is more concerned about destroying the witch-queen and saving his son than his defense. He says he will respond to the emperor once he has completed his mission. He leaves for Endor, where Nimiane resides.
In response to Mordecai's disobedience to the emperor, the soldiers capture his family, including Uncle Frank, Henry's mom and his cousins. Then they set fire to the family's house, leaving Henry's cousin Henrietta and grandmother inside. Henry helps his grandmother and Henrietta escape through a cupboard portal that takes them back to Kansas. There, they enlist the help of Henry's baseball buddy, Zeke. Leaving Henry's grandmother with Zeke's mom, the three children travel through the cupboard leading to Endor.
The kids find themselves in a crypt with Nimiane's relative, a shape-shifting creature called Nimroth (or Blackstar). Nimiane has 10 henchmen, whom she controls with her mind. They're called fingerlings because they have fingers attached to the back of their heads. Coradin, the lead fingerling, follows Henry on his journeys through various worlds. Coradin and the fingerlings pursue the children through the underground tombs of Endor until Henry helps Zeke and Henrietta return to the attic in Kansas. Henry returns to Endor, finds his father and Uncle Caleb, gathers old manuscripts that may help them find the witch-queen's secrets and transports the papers back to Kansas.
Back in Badon Hill, Fat Frank — an incompetent fairy who has actually been stripped of his fairyhood — rescues three of the children in Henry's family. A group of fairies locates Frank and takes him and the children to the Chestnut King so Frank can answer for his un-fairylike conduct. Meanwhile, Uncle Frank and the other captured family members find themselves on a rough and unpleasant sea voyage.
Henry finds entry into the fairy world, where he seeks the help of the Chestnut King. The king makes a bargain with him: He will help Henry save his family and vanquish the witch-queen if Henry will take over as Chestnut King. Feeling cornered, Henry agrees. Henry is reunited with the family members that were with Fat Frank. Coradin and the witch-queen's other henchmen capture Uncle Frank's group, forcing Henry to confront Nimiane in her throne room. Henry disables the witch-queen just before she would have destroyed Henry and his loved ones. Instead of becoming the king himself, Henry makes Fat Frank the new Chestnut King.

Update on Writers

Hello everyone,
This is Josiah Wolfe. I am just notifying you that we will have a new writer for the blog. His name is Matthew Orr. He is writing a review on the movie National Treasure. So watch out for his review!

Prince Caspian (book)

Prince Caspian is the second book written in the Narnia series. It is written by C.S. Lewis. Later he  wrote a prequel to all the books called The Magician's Nephew. This book is a sequel to The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Prince Caspian has a two movie's based on it. I am not writing the review on the movie, but I will say that the newer movie follows the book fairly well. Though if you do watch the movie watch out for some teenage romance.

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are at school when a sharp wind swept through the building. They are sucked in to Narnia for the second time. Though in Narnia hundreds of years had passed but in London a few years had. The children find the ruins of the kingdom they were once kings and queens of. They find a young prince who has escaped from his kingdom. Why has the prince escaped? Why were Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy transported into Narnia? Read this epic classic tale to find out.

Gregor the Overlander (book)

Gregor the Overlander is Suzanne Collins first novel. She was inspired to write this book when she wondered what city kids thought of Alice in Wonderland. When you live in the city there is more of chance of you falling down a manhole than a rabbit hole. Even if you did you won't find a tea party.

Suzanne Collins later wrote The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mocking Jay bestselling novels.

WARNING FOR CHRISTIAN READERS: There is mention of a neighbor who practices astrology. There is mild teenage romance in the last book in the series.

I recommend it for people over ten years of age.

This is what it is about......When eleven year old Gregor follows his two year old sister through a grate in their apartment's laundry room in New York, he falls into the dark Underland beneath New York city. There, humans live uneasily beside giant spiders, cockroaches, bats, and the evil rats-but the fragile peace is falling apart.

 Gregor wants no part in the conflict between these creepy creatures. He just wants to get back home to his mother. But when he discovers that a strange prophecy foretells a role in the Underland that seems to be his he decided this is the only way to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Little does he know his quest will change his and the Underland's fate forever.

Dandelion Fire(book)

 Dandelion Fire is the second book in N.D.Wilson's trilogy of 100 cupboards.
It is very well written and is very exiting, and will keep you focused on the book till you are done.

Here is the review.

Henry York lives with his Uncle Frank, Aunt Dotty and cousins Anastasia, Henrietta and Penelope in Henry, Kan., until his adoptive, travel-writer parents are rescued from Colombia. They are getting a divorce and intend to send Henry to a new boarding school. Henry's only chance for a better life is through finding the land of his birth — a world on the other side of one of 98 magical cupboards.
Henrietta has hidden the keys to her deceased grandfather's bedroom with its large cupboard that allows them to travel to the different worlds (that are behind the cupboards in Henry's room). As she and Henry dig for the keys in the yard, Henry touches a strange dandelion and is thrown backward. His resulting injuries and blindness are so severe that the family thinks he's been struck by lightning. Henry refuses to let the setback keep him from finding his true home. Henrietta tries to follow Henry through the portal, but they end up in separate cupboard worlds.
An evil man named Darius captures Henry. Darius recognizes Henry as a seventh son of a pauper, who is supposed to have great power. Darius, too, is a seventh son. He believes that their collective strength could be spectacular. He prepares a ritual to cut Henry open and put his (Darius') blood into the boy's veins. Henry escapes, but only after he's endured great pain and received physical scars. Darius finds Nimiane, the powerful and immortal witch-queen of a cupboard land called Endor. (Henry inadvertently released her from bondage in book one). Darius willingly becomes her slave so he can share in her power.
Henrietta finds herself in a land called FitzFaeren. The would-be queen, whose coronation was ruined long ago by Grandfather's misdeeds, captures her. Henrietta escapes and finds Eli, a man who helped Grandfather. A man named Caleb captures Henrietta and Eli.
Back in Kansas, Uncle Frank tries to rescue Henry and Henrietta from the cupboards. His efforts fail since can't enter Grandfather's magically-sealed bedroom. Darius bursts through the portal into the family's home. He sends the house reeling into a world with nothing but grassland before escaping back through the cupboards. With the room's magic disrupted, Uncle Frank and the family climb through Grandfather's portal in search of the others and a way back to Kansas.
Henry returns to the house in Kansas and finds a note from the family saying where they've gone. He discovers that Kansas is still there; it's actually just outside the back door. He contemplates going out and returning to his adoptive parents, but he realizes it isn't the life he wants. He re-enters the portal to find the others.
A faerie named Frank, not to be confused with his Uncle Frank, recognizes Henry as the son of a hero named Mordecai. Frank tries to help Henry, but enemy faeries put the boy on trial and decide to kill him. Frank helps Henry escape. He takes him to Caleb, where Henry is reunited with Henrietta and the rest of his Kansas family. He learns that Uncle Frank is Caleb's brother. (Uncle Frank, like Henry, was not born in Kansas but arrived from the cupboards.)
Henry meets his mother and grandmother and learns that their city is under siege. A christening ceremony for Henry takes place. This provides enough magic to free his true father, Mordecai, from a spell that had him trapped for years. The reunion is cut short as the brothers Frank, Caleb and Mordecai return to battle. They know Nimiane and Darius are near. Henry and Henrietta return to Kansas and locate a magic arrow, one of the talismans Grandfather stole. They bring it back to FitzFaeren, and Caleb uses it to destroy Darius. Henry stays with his newfound family in FitzFaeren, and they share frequent visits with Uncle Frank's family by way of the cupboards.

The Voice of God(Poem)

this is a poem that i find very true, and very wonderfully written.

The Voice Of God

When we hear the voice of God
Speaking to our hearts,
Do we obey and follow Him
Or are we slow to start?

For when the Lord speaks to us,
We need to heed the call
And do the things He wants us to,
Giving to Him our all

I know at times it can be hard
To know the Father's will,
We need to listen to His voice,
For He speaks when all is still

Many times we fret so much
And rush so much about,
We then find all our busy-ness
May cloud our Saviour out

So this is why we take some time
To be still before the Lord,
So He can speak into our lives
And show us so much more.

© By M.S.Lowndes

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (book)

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classic fantasy. It involves four young children (Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy) that walk through a mysterious wardrobe that takes them to a new world, Narnia. The children find they are Kings and queens and have to defeat the Witch of Narnia.

This was written by C.S. Lewis a fictional and theological writer. He has written The Four Loves, The Screwtape Letters, Out of the Silent Planet and more. Other books in this series are The Magicians Nephew, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle.

For the trailer for the movie based on this book click here.

This is the second book in this series. 

Reminder!

Hello everyone this is Josiah Wolfe. I am just putting out a reminder for the book giveaway. We are giving away the book Martin Rattler by R.M. Ballentyne. This is a good time to be able to read something new this year! Here are the steps you must perform to enter:

1. Leave a comment showing two or more books or movie you would appreciate us writing about.

2. Along with your comment put your e-mail address so we can notify you if needed.

3. Follow our blog if you have not already.
4. Put a link to our blog on one of your blogs, websites, etc.
5. With your comment put the address to the website you put our blog link on from #4.

Additionally you can NOT enter if you do not live in the USA.

For the original post clicker here. 

Thank you for reading,

Josiah Wolfe

Dragon's Tooth (book)

Dragon's Tooth is a fantasy novel written by N.D. Wilson. He wrote the 100 Cupboards series. He also wrote Notes on the Tilt-a-whirl a theology book. The link to the review we wrote on the 100 Cupboards (the first book in the 100 Cupboards series) is here.

"Have you ever seen a lightning bug?"
The old man held out a small glass cube. Frozen still in the center was a big black beetle. Cyrus closed his fingers around the glass.
"Careful she's hot," the old man said.
Electricity shot up through Cyrus's arm. He staggered backward and swung his arm down. Glass shattered on the ground as the lightning bug leaped free. With a pop and a crackle, it launched, blue electric arcs trailing from it's wings.

Warning for Christian Readers: There is mild language in the book. Also there is a few times they mention a He likes Her kind of thing.

John Newton

John Newton.

Newton was nurtured by a Christian mother who taught him the Bible at an early age, but he was raised in his father's image after she died of tuberculosis when Newton was 7. At age 11, Newton went on his first of six sea-voyages with the merchant navy captain.

Newton lost his first job, in a merchant's office, because of "unsettled behavior and impatience of restraint"—a pattern that would persist for years. He spent his later teen years at sea before he was press-ganged aboard the H.M.S. Harwich in 1744. Newton rebelled against the discipline of the Royal Navy and deserted. He was caught, put in irons, and flogged. He eventually convinced his superiors to discharge him to a slaver ship. Espousing freethinking principles, he remained arrogant and insubordinate, and he lived with moral abandon: "I sinned with a high hand," he later wrote, "and I made it my study to tempt and seduce others."

He took up employment with a slave-trader named Clow, who owned a plantation of lemon trees on an island off of west Africa. But he was treated cruelly by Clow and the slaver's African mistress; soon Newton's clothes turned to rags, and Newton was forced to beg for food to allay his hunger.

The sluggish sailor was  transferred to the service of the captain of the Greyhound, a Liverpool ship, in 1747, and on its homeward journey, the ship was overtaken by an enormous storm. Newton had been reading Thomas a Kempis's The Imitation of Christ, and was struck by a line about the "uncertain continuance of life." He also recalled the passage in Proverbs, "Because I have called and ye have refused, … I also will laugh at your calamity." He converted during the storm, though he admitted later, "I cannot consider myself to have been a believer, in the full sense of the word." Newton then served as a mate and then as captain of a number of slave ships, hoping as a Christian to restrain the worst excesses of the slave trade, "promoting the life of God in the soul" of both his crew and his African cargo. Amazing hymnal After leaving the sea for an office job in 1755, Newton held Bible studies in his Liverpool home. Influenced by both the Wesleys and George Whitefield, he adopted mild Calvinist views and became increasingly disgusted with the slave trade and his role in it. He quit, was ordained into the Anglican ministry, and in 1764 took a parish in Olney in Buckinghamshire. Three years after Newton arrived, poet William Cowper moved to Olney. Cowper, a skilled poet who experienced bouts of depression, became a lay helper in the small congregation. In 1769, Newton began a Thursday evening prayer service. For almost every week's service, he wrote a hymn to be sung to a familiar tune. Newton challenged Cowper also to write hymns for these meetings, which he did until falling seriously ill in 1773. Newton later combined 280 of his own hymns with 68 of Cowper's in what was to become the popular Olney Hymns. Among the well-known hymns in it are "Amazing Grace," "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken," "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds," "O for a Closer Walk with God," and "There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood."
In 1787 Newton wrote Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade to help William Wilberforce's campaign to end the practice—"a business at which my heart now shudders," he wrote. Recollection of that chapter in his life never left him, and in his old age, when it was suggested that the increasingly feeble Newton retire, he replied, "I cannot stop. What? Shall the old African blasphemer stop while he can speak?" John Newton died on 21st December 1807 and was buried by the side of his wife in St Mary Woolchurch on 31st December; both bodies were reinterred at Olney in 1893.

Martin rattler (book).

Martin Rattler is the story of a mischievous young boy with a good heart. By mistake, he winds up on the ship Firefly with his friend Barney O’Flannagan, headed to the South Seas. Escaping pirates and surviving a shipwreck, the two explore South America in one frolicking adventure after another.

A thoroughly delightful read, you will follow the young adventurers as they canoe down the Amazon, narrowly escape an alligator, eat an anaconda and turtle’s eggs, are captured by Indians, and then are separated. Martin escapes by jumping over a cliff and tries to make his way home. He meets some men who take him to a diamond mine where he gets a job working under a man named Baron Fagoni. But what happened to his friend Barney O’Flannagan?

About this author

R. M. Ballantyne (24 April 1825 – 8 February 1894) was a Scottish juvenile fiction writer.

Born Robert Michael Ballantyne in Edinburgh, he was part of a famous family of printers and publishers. At the age of 16 he went to Canada and was six years in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. He returned to Scotland in 1847, and published his first book the following year, Hudson's Bay: or, Life in the Wilds of North America. For some time he was employed by Messrs Constable, the publishers, but in 1856 he gave up business for the profession of literature, and began the series of adventure stories for the young with which his name is popularly associated.
 

 

100 Cupboards (book)

The 100 Cupboards is a novel written by Nathan D. Wilson. Wilson is a theology teacher, and he wrote Notes From the Tilt-a-whirl. He got the idea for this book when as a kid. His house burned down, so he had to stay with his grandparents. He slept in their attic which had many cupboards on the walls. He would pretend they were portals to other worlds.

This book is about eleven year old Henry York. He lives with his aunt and uncle. The story is about him finding mysterious cupboards on his wall. Throughout the book he explores the cupboards which lead to unknown places. He also may explore the cupboard of witches and evil where only death can survive.

Other books in the series are Dandelion Fire and The Chestnut King.

For the book trailer click here.

Alert! Free Book Giveaway

Hello everyone,

This is Josiah Wolfe and Elliot Hellwig. We have decided to do a free book giveaway. We have decided to give away the book Martin Rattler by R.M. Ballantyne these are the steps you must perform to enter:

1. Leave a comment showing two or more books or movie you would appreciate us writing about.

2. Along with your comment put your e-mail address so we can notify you if needed.

3. Follow our blog if you have not already.
4. Put a link to our blog on one of your blogs, websites, etc.
5. With your comment put the address to the website you put our blog link on from #4.

Additionally you are NOT eligible to enter if you do not live in the United States. We will be doing something like this every six months. Upcoming books for giveaway are listed below.

April 2014- The Coral Island

October 2014- 100 Cupboards

Thank you for your support!

Josiah Wolfe and Elliot