Loralee Evans's Blog: Loralee Evans, page 42

Far World: Air Keep by J. Scott Savage

Far World Air Keep (c) 2014 by J. Scott Savage Far World: Air Keep  is the third book in the four book Far World series by J. Scott Savage. In this third book, Marcus and Kyja need to find and secure the help of the air elementals in their quest to save Far World and Earth from the destructive influence of The Dark Circle. The problem is, they're not sure how to get there. Until Mr. Z comes along to help them on a... racing snail.

And of course, the story gets weirder (in a good way) from there. Air elementals are flighty and capricious, and the story reflects their humor and whimsy. But all the way through it, at the same time, is a thread of tension because of what Marcus experienced in the Was, Is, Will Be, and Never Was. If that doesn't make much sense, it will when you read the book, which I highly recommend to people who enjoy fantasy adventure!

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasure Island (c) 1883 by Robert Louis StevensonI recently finished another fun, classical book, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was first published as a book in 1883.

Jim Hawkins, the main character, is a boy whose parents run The Admiral Benbow at the beginning of the story. When an old sailor who calls himself "the captain" shows up, Jim's adventures begin.
Through various trials, including the death of his father, Jim at last finds himself leaving with his friend, Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, Captain Smollet, and a crew, including Long John Silver to find the buried treasure on the map that "the captain" left behind when he died of a stroke.

Long John Silver, through the course of the story, shows himself to be a very different man than he first lets on, a dishonest, backstabbing, double crosser who is out for his own gain, and who cares for no one else on his quest to get the treasure for himself.

The story is incredibly fun, and almost constantly moving forward. I found myself cheering on Jim and the rest of the good guys, Dr. Livesey, Squire Trelawney, and Captain Smollet. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good, rollicking adventure story.

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection is the 13th book in The Number One Ladie's Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith, a delightful series about Mma Precious Ramotswe, her family and friends, and their adventures as they go about solving problems big and small as professional detectives in Gabarone, Botswana. In this book, Mma Ramotswe meets her hero, Clovis Anderson, the great detective from America whose book has inspired her. But is he what he appears to be? Along with his unexpected appearance, Mma Ramotswe has to find out why her friend, Mma Potokwane has been fired from her job as Matron of the orphan farm, and why the most faithful and hardworking mechanic in her husband's garage is unexpectedly accused of working on stolen cars!

How will Mma Ramotswe go about solving these mysteries? Read the book and find out!

This book is told in easily flowing, delightful language, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good mystery!

The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (c) 2012 by Alexander McCall Smith

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis

The Silver Chair (c) 1953 by C. S. LewisI just finished another really good book in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.

The Silver Chair, possibly my favorite in the series, follows the adventures of Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb as they enter Narnia to help find Prince Rilian, the son of Eustace's old pal, Caspian. Eustace had been in Narnia before with his cousins, Edmund and Lucy.

Jill is upset at the beginning of the story because she's been bullied, and Eustace tries to cheer her up. While they're talking, the bullies come along, and in their escape, Eustace and Jill find themselves in Aslan's Country. Not Narnia, yet. That's across the ocean.

Well, things start going wrong right off. Because she strays too near the edge of a cliff (on purpose) and then panics, accidentally knocking Eustace over the edge when he tries to help her, Aslan has to step in to save Eustace by blowing him to safety across the ocean. And Eustace is not there to hear the four signs that Aslan tells Jill to tell him. Since he's not there to hear the signs himself, there are miscommunications and lost chances once Jill is blown to Narnia as well, and they meet up. But hope is not lost, and they meet up with Puddleglum, a faithful Narnian Marshwiggle who helps them.

I really enjoyed the story, both when I was little, and recently. I liked the adventure of it, with not a dull moment to Jill and Eustace, I liked the underlying idea that even when we mess up, we can still get back on track, and I liked the moral that doing good does pay off.

The Silver Chair is a great story, and I highly recommend it to all ages of readers who enjoy adventure and fantasy!

Holes by Louis Sachar

Holes (c) 1998 by Louis SacharI recently finished a really enjoyable book, which was made into an equally enjoyable movie. Holes by Louis Sachar gives us the story of Stanley Yelnats IV, who, because of his no-good-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather, has had bad luck all his life, just like his dad, grandpa, greatgrandpa, and great great grandpa. His great great grandpa, Elya Yelnats, being upset because he was thwarted in love, forgot to carry Madam Zeroni up the mountain so she could drink from the stream up there. He up and went to America, forgetting his promise.  And as a result, he and his decendants have had  bad luck all their lives. His son, the first Stanley Yelnats was robbed by Kissin' Kate Barlow, and later, his great great grandson Stanley is convicted for a crime he didn't commit! Finding himself at Camp Greenlake and required to dig one hole every day, five feet wide and five feet deep, Stanley doesn't think things can get any worse, and that they can never get better. But he's wrong, both times! After meeting X-Ray, Armpit, Squid, ZigZag, Magnet, and especially Zero, Stanley, also known to his new friends as Caveman, realizes his adventures are just beginning!

If you enjoy funny mysteries for young people that also make you think, I highly recommend both the book and the movie!

The book Holes by Louis Sachar was first published in 1998, and the movie Holes directed by Andrew Davis and put out by Disney, came out in 2003.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (c) 1998 by J. K. RowlingI recently finished (again) reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling, published in 1997 in the U.K., (as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) and 1998 in the U.S., the first book in the Harry Potter series, and an absolutely delightful story.

Harry Potter has spent his childhood with the Dursleys, his mother's sister and her husband and son, and they are the only family he has known for as long as he can remember, his parents having died when he was a baby.  They have treated him terribly, making him living in the closet under the stairs, and being generally unkind. They especially get mad when he talks about anything acting in a way it normally wouldn't; Uncle Vernon, for example, shouts furiously at Harry simply because Harry mentioned a dream he'd had in which there had been a flying motorcycle.

But all this changes when Harry meets a fellow named Rubius Hagrid, who presents him with a letter to Hogwarts, school of witchcraft and wizardry.  He is a wizard, it turns out, something his aunt and uncle had tried to hide from him. And he's able to go to school at Hogwarts. But are his problems over? Goodness, no. They're just beginning! Even so, he faces them with courage and determination, and the help of Hermione and Ron, two friends he meets at school.

I enjoyed the book immensely, and recommend it to both children and adults who enjoy magic, fantasy, and fun!

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Anne of Green Gables (c) 1908 by Lucy Maud MontgomeryThe Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery, especially my favorite, the first book, is a fresh, uplifting series of stories about Anne Shirley, an orphan who moves in with an elderly brother and sister, Matthew and Marila Cuthbert when she is eleven years old. They live in Green Gables, a house near the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island in Canada.

In Anne of Green Gables, first published in 1908, Anne is heartbroken at first when she learns that the Cuthberts had wanted the orphanage to send them a boy, and that there had been a mix-up. But when the Cuthberts decide to keep her anyway, she cheers up. What follows is a hilarious series of adventures and misadventures as Anne gets herself into one predicament after another, only to get herself out again because of her pluck and tenacity, from accidentally flavoring a cake with linament oil instead of vanilla, and jumping onto a bed only to find a poor old lady, (her best friend Diana's great-aunt Josephine) already in it!

I enjoy all of L. M. Montgomery's stories about Anne, and Anne of Green Gables is my favorite of them all. I highly recommend it to adults as well as children!

New LDS Church Presidency

Russell M. Nelson, PresidentWhile I was sad on the 3rd to find out that Thomas S. Monson, prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had died, I was pleased recently to learn about the calling of his successor, and his counselors.

Russell M. Nelson has been called to serve as the President of the church, and has asked Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring to help him as his counselors. I'm glad, because I like both Elder Oaks and Elder Eyring.

Dallin H. Oaks, 1st CounselorElder Eyring had served as one of President Monson's counselors, and so has experience serving in the presidency. Elder Oaks has been an apostle since 1984. Both of them have a good amount of experience as General Authorities, and I am confident that they will help President Nelson considerably.

Henry B. Eyring, 2nd CounselorI think these three men will do a marvelous job leading the LDS (Mormon) church, and my prayers and support are with them.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales characters, by ChaucerThe Canterbury Tales, written, oh, gee, a long time ago, (between 1387 and 1400) by Geoffrey Chaucer, is an example of a story within a story narration. A group of travelers, the narrator plus twenty-nine others, meet at an inn before they set out for Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. The group of them decide to travel together.  The innkeeper decides to go with them, and suggests to the group that to make their journey more enjoyable on the way, that each of them will tell two stories on the way there and two on the way back, and he, the innkeeper, will decide which is the best story. Then, the winner will be given a meal paid by the others at the journey's end. The tales were never finished because Chaucer died before completing them. But the stories the characters gave, and the descriptions of the many characters give us a glimpse into what life was like back in the day. I particularly enjoyed the story about Chanticleer and Pertelote, a mock-heroic story which was
a romance between a rooster and a hen, and the Pardoner's story. The nun's priest's tale, the one about Chanticleer, the rooster, and Pertelote, the hen, was funny, and the Pardoner's story was a good reminder that greed can do great damage.
I recommend The Canterbury Tales to people who enjoy stories from history, and learning about life from long ago.

Clinton City Storytelling Festival

Yesterday, I had the wonderful priviledge of participating in the Clinton City Storytelling Festival, hosted by Clinton City Recreation.
About a month ago, my former brother and sister-in-law contacted me, and said her dad was helping to put together some authors and storytellers who would participate in the Festival, and asked if I would be willing to come and read some of my work. I was very happy to do so, and came out to participate.
I'm so glad I went! I really enjoyed it! I didn't read as much of my work as I had hoped, because I didn't want to go over the six minutes I'd been given, but I hoped what I read was enjoyable to the adults and kids who were there. I sure enjoyed myself.
There were storytellers of various ages, including one young lady who was ten! And their stories and songs were very fun!
If I am not mistaken, this was the first year that Clinton City, Utah has done a Storytelling Festival. And I hope they continue to do so for many more
years!