Reginald Spittle's Blog: See my book blog, page 20
January 16, 2022
Thru-hiking’s Other Triple Crown
January 15, 2022
Gary Paulsen: Gone, But His Voice Lives
It was “like peeling an onion.”
Gary Paulsen used those words to describe how he felt while writing his memoir, Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood.
Author of more than 200 books, mostly aimed at children aged 10 and up, Paulsen wrote the gut-wrenching childhood story that was published shortly before he died of cardiac arrest in October 2021.
Gone.
To live, in 1944, at just five years old, with relatives on their Minnesota farm to escape his alcoholic mother who had made him sing in Chicago bars.
Gone.
At age seven, to the Philippines, where he witnessed grisly living conditions and killings that would haunt any adult, while living with his parents. Both of them alcoholics. His father served there during World War II.
Gone.
Would describe a teenager who looked for ways to escape his life with his parents back in the USA. Gone to the woods, where he learned to hunt and trap his own food. Gone to the library, where he learned to love books thanks to a librarian whom he at first suspected might be like other kids and adults in his life: Up to no good. But that librarian came to know him without many words passing between them. Her gift of a spiral notebook and a yellow Number Two pencil changed his life.
In his memoir, Paulsen talks about himself in the third person. Is it to keep emotional distance from himself (“I”) and ”the boy,” which he uses throughout the book?
Gone.
But a voice I still hear. His most famous work, Hatchet, about Brian, a youth who survives by himself in the Alaskan wilderness after a plane crash, was one of my favorites to read aloud in class to my sixth-graders and to my sons as they sat next to me on the couch where we shared other Paulsen books. The book moved me, enthralled me. Newbery Medal judges chose it as a most cherished book, one of three Newbery honors he won.
As an adult, Paulsen lived a life filled with his awe for nature. He sailed, hiked, explored, even entered the Iditarod three times, completing it once.
Through his characters and stories, Paulsen taught millions of kids (and more than a few adults) life lessons. In Hatchet, Brian remembers that the tears he shed during the hard times he endured had taught him “the most important rule for survival, which was that feeling sorry for yourself didn’t work.”
Not gone.
Gary Paulsen’s characters, lessons, and the growing 35 million copies of his beloved books will be around for a long, long time.
January 5, 2022
Wisdom: Golden Nuggets from Seneca, Ruiz
Are you looking for words to lend perspective and/or motivation for personal change as you get to know 2022? Or are you seeking reminders from great thinkers? Or are you after food for thought to serve at your next dinner party?
Click on each book cover to see a few of my thoughts about these two nuggets that have found their way to my active reading list time and time again.
What book(s) would you place alongside to these two? Please leave a note in the Reply box below.
January 3, 2022
Two American Youths on a Mission While Walking Scottish Trail
The northeast coast of Scotland is home to a quiet place for contemplation.During our distance trek through Scotland, we met two American college students on a mission as they walked the Great Glen Way. Theirs was a most unlikely destination and the young men’s story is an anecdote in my new book, Trippin’ Through My 60s.
Were they going to a distillery? A castle? A great campsite? Find out where they were headed here.
January 1, 2022
Dune: Masterpiece or Beyond Boring?
Is Frank Herbert’s Dune a timeless masterpiece or beyond boring?
The 1965 novel, often referred to as “soft” science fiction, is back among the bestsellers, thanks to the blockbuster 2021 movie. The book is the first of six novels that Herbert wrote. Devoted fans read the books over and over, but many say they find the reading tedious.
Set thousands of years in the future when humans have colonized other planets, the action takes place on Arrakis, a desert world with–of course–sand dunes and Melange, a spice that extends life and sharpens mental acuity. (Herbert had become familiar with sand dunes when he lived in Florence, Oregon.)
Giant sand worms protect the spice and Duke Leto Atreides and his family come to Arrakis to rule the valuable planet. His rival is Baron Harkonnen. Leto (and eventually his son Paul) enlists the help of the Fremen, desert natives. These are feudal societies and the weapons during duels are swords and knives, not lightsabers.
Back to the opening question. I found the book a chore to read, sometimes laden with cumbersome dialogue and narrative. Herbert created an intriguing planet in Arrakis, but some characters felt more than a world away from being people I cared much about. Highlights were Paul’s duels and the stories about his lifelong training to be a leader and the best fighter in the universe. The sand worms added excitement and I am looking forward to seeing how they are created in the film. For me, Dune was hardly ”beyond boring,” but not a masterpiece either.
I admit my science-fiction reading aptitude is below par. So, I say, give the book a chance if you haven’t already. It is worth the journey and if you are a sci-fi aficionado, you have likely read the entire series more than once. For the rest of us, it might help to refer to a synopsis occasionally to avoid getting lost.
Now, on to the new film, streaming for $25. Will it be better than the book?
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December 27, 2021
Just Winging It in a Giant RV
When I saw this book’s title–Hitting the Road Without a Map–I immediately hit the “buy” button. Author Fred Rutter rewarded my choice with his likability, writing, honesty, and adventurous spirit. I found myself wishing I had literally been along for the ride.
Rutter and a buddy tackle RV life head on as they drive a mutual friend’s 37-foot motor home with three slide outs to her new residence in the West.
The author doesn’t shy away from expressing his fears and shortcomings, but his story about his 3,100-mile RV journey from Ohio to Oregon is filled with positives. He has a childlike fascination with the scenery of Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park, the Oregon coast, and more. His journey takes him places he could never have imagined.
Readers learn quickly that these are two extraordinary men who have traveled difficult life paths. I was pulling for them every mile.
December 18, 2021
Look! It’s the Wander Women, the Triple Crowners!
You can call ’em a bunch of old fogeys, if you dare. But when is the last time you hoisted a backpack onto your shoulders and walked nearly 8,000 miles, completing the Triple Crown of long-distance trekking? That’s what the Wander Women did, joining a growing group of people who view their older years as a time to get outside and find adventure.
Click on the underlined words above to read their stories.
Sue and I fall short of the Wander Women’s accomplishments, but, since we stopped working when I turned 60, we have walked more than 1,400 miles on four famed trails in seven countries, including our recent backpacking adventure on California’s John Muir Trail. But CNN didn’t write about us. Ah, well.
However, we have teamed up to write and illustrate two books about our adventures. You can pick up your copies on Amazon: Camino Sunrise: Walking With My Shadows and Trippin’ Through My 60s: When Adventure Calls, the Trails of Europe Answer.
December 16, 2021
You Can Pack 17 JMT Topo Maps In a Side Pocket
Along with a cup of coffee, the John Muir Trail: Topographic Map Guide helped us get our bearings each morning during our August 2021 trek. Our group used it to plan our day and agree on a meeting place near our planned campsites.
The thin, colorful, waterproof booklet packs 17 two-page maps in 4-by-9-inches, which makes it a perfect fit behind a water bottle in a backpack side pocket. We sometimes used a GPS app to verify our location, but when we wanted to find campsites, water sources, elevation, ranger stations, or which way to turn, this booklet proved invaluable. Of course, you will still want a GPS app to get updates on water sources, especially during a dry year like 2021.
If you are looking for bear storage containers, side trails, the name of a geographic feature, campfire information, or mileage between key points, your answer is just a quick reach away.
The maps are offered in digital downloads and there is an index of landmarks. Details about resupply, wilderness safety, and permits are also included, along with a 21-day itinerary.
We found Alan Castle’s John Muir Trail Cicerone guide to be a helpful accompaniment, with narrative packed full of valuable information.
December 11, 2021
Book of the Year: The Winner Is…
I have read many good books in 2021, but Jerry Steimel’s Chasing Zorba jumped out at me for my book of the year. You will enjoy getting to know Jerry and his journey will intrigue you on several levels.
Oh, by the way, one follower of this blog found the answer to my find-the-book challenge within minutes. Well done, Jeff.
I am pleased to republish my discussion about Chasing Zorba below.
In 1972, Jerry Steimel graduated college, jumped in a VW Beetle with his lifelong friend, and set out to live his dream, a cross-country trip to California. But his VW Bug had other ideas, quickly ending the trip with mechanical breakdown.
Steimel’s dream wasn’t deterred. Forty-five years later, he jumped in another Volkswagen, a 1973 air-cooled van, and set out from his home in Massachusetts for another try, this time solo. But Jerry Steimel hardly traveled alone.
In Chasing Zorba: A Journey of Self-Discovery in a VW Bus, he is guided by author Nikos Kazantzakis and his book, Report to Greco, whose life lessons begin each chapter. He names his van Zorba after Kazantzakis’ book Zorba the Greek. Steimel’s goal: California. And so much more.
Some call his plan lunacy. But Steimel is out to discover comfort in taking risks rather than living as if he is just waiting to die. He doesn’t hurry, neither in his writing nor his driving, and his literary and physical journeys are a meander. But, in the end, the book rushes up and grabs readers before leaving them with memories anchored in what it means to live life to its fullest.
Steimel goes to great lengths to find places, like the West Virginia site where four high school boys launched rockets and their lives to heights beyond their wildest dreams. It is the site of the film October Sky, which Steimel watched a dozen times. That figures, you see, because Jerry devoted 45 years to social work, lifting kids who needed an extra push.
Steimel weaves places and American history with the people he meets as he drives mostly back roads, having to stop more than now and then to take Zorba to mechanics for adjustments. The journey tests Steimel and Zorba in ways they could never have anticipated.
The author and his VW Bus still miss the turn of the key every morning. And I miss wondering what is around their next turn.
December 10, 2021
Book of the Year: Take a Guess!
Can you guess my book of the year for 2021? Hint: It is an adventure travel book and has a 1973 VW Bus on the cover (not this one, though). The answer can be found on this website, if you want to play detective. And it’s a book you will not want to miss. Give up? Stay tuned; the announcement is coming this weekend.
