Book Giveaway 3: Katherine

I have always liked Roald Dahl books - both the children's books (Matilda, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and his adult stories (The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar).  They are witty and amusing with wonderful characters (although there is often a slightly macarbre twist.

Roald Dahl's life itself is also very interesting and perhaps some of the reason that he writes such imaginative books.  He was the son of Norwegian parents who had emigrated to England.  His father dies when he was very young (possibly affected by grief at the death of one of Roald Dahl's sisters a few days earlier), but his mother stayed in England to ensure that Roald Dahl went to a "proper" English school.  Boy (about his life until he left school) and Going Solo are two halves of his autobiography.

Going Solo covers the time from Roald Dahl leaving school to work for the Shell Company in Africa, joining the RAF, flying in the second world war defended Greece (just as it was taken over by the Germans) until he was invalided in about 1942.  It includes stories of encouters with lions in africa, stopping all the Germans escaping Dar Es Saleem (with himself as as the only officer over a troop of askaris) and crashing a plane in the middle of no-man's land in Eygpt.  It is every bit as exciting and bizaare as his stories.

I have one copy of Going Solo to giveaway to someone in Australia.

You will need to leave a comment in this thread by midnight (AEST) 31st October.

Extract From Chapter Flying Training

When flying a military aeroplane, you sit on your parachute, which adds another six inches to your height. (Roald Dahl was 6'6")  When I got into the open cockpit of a Tiger Moth for the first time and sat down on my parachute, my entire head stuck up in the open air.  The engine was running and I was gettting a rush of wind full in the face from the slipstream.

'You are too tall," the insructer whose name was Flying Officer Parkinson said. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes Please," I said.

"Wait till we rev her up for take-off," Parkinson said. "You'll have a job to breathe.  And keep those goggles down or you'll be blinded by watering eyes."

Parkinson was right.  On the first flight I was almost asphyxiated by the slipstream and survived only by ducking down into the cockpit for deep breaths every few second.  After that, I tied a thin cotton scarf around my nose and mouth and this made breathing possible.

Giveaway Winner

The winner of October Book Giveaway Number 2 is Dave M.  (Pretty much by default as no one else entered.)  I shall send ASAP.

Giveaway number 3 will be appearing soon.

Book Giveaway Number 2: John

I spent my university days studying engineering which meant that my textbooks were about experimental design, computer programming, statistical analysis, thermodynamics, or the "spectrometric properties of chemicals". The type of bedtime reading which would cure most insomniacs.

John, on the other hand, studied modern history and politics as part of his Arts degree. This means that his textbooks (well some of them...) are actually interesting even if you don't need to know the information to pass the exam.

Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938 is the most interesting book that was on the "required/recommended reading" lists. This book describes and analyses how economic agressiveness, racism, fear of communism, domestic affairs and individual characters have shaped American foreign policy from the early days of WWII to about 1996. Despite it's seemingly dry subject matter it is very easy reading. I suspect this is probably because it was co-written by Stephen E. Ambrose, who wrote Band of Brothers, (about the experiences of Easy Company from the 101st Division, during WWII) which was subsequently turned into a TV series.

Examining American foreign policy is a surrogate for studying world politics as the foreign policies of America influence the other nations - particularly those nations that were/are dependent on American military might or trade. Looking at the events from 1938 also enables a certain perspective on events that are happening in the world now like the (continued) conflicts in the middle east.

What I liked about this book (as someone who hasn't really studied history) was that it very readably described and analysed world events that I had heard of but didn't really know the significance at the time - such as the destruction of the Berlin Wall, which I can remember, but didn't realise how suprising that would have been a mere 5 years earlier. It is also fascinating how decisions which affect large numbers of people (whole countries or people groups) are made on the basis of poor information, (mis) assumptions and by some ... interesting... personalities.

I replaced John's copy of this book for his birthday - the first one was so well read that it had fallen apart.

I have one, brand-new, copy of Rise to Globalism to giveaway (within Australia).

To enter: You will need to leave a comment on this thread before midnight on the 20th October.

Book Giveaway Number 1: Alexander!

A few months ago Catherine hosted a giveaway for a Arnold Lobel book and a discussion on our favourite children's books. I was rather a bookworm as a child (I was frequently found hiding somewhere reading), but my first favourite book was Seven Little Rabbits by John Becker.

In this book seven little rabbits take one long trip to visit their friend toad, but one by one they find themselves sidetracked by the need for a nap. Fortunately they find a hole (built by a mole) where they can be "tucked in bed" ("sshh don't say peep, s/he's fast asleep"). This was the book I first learnt to read - probably helped by the highly repetitive, rhyming text and the fact that I insisted on having it read to me every night. My parents (and I) can still recite the whole thing!

Part of this books charm is the illustrations (by Barbara Cooney). While the text doesn't imbue much individual character to any of the rabbits (or even the mole), the illustrations and captions impart much needed character to each of the rabbits. When we were a little older (about 6 or so) my sister and I would imagine the back stories about the rabbits and why each of them was tired.

I gave this book to Alex for his third birthday and it has already been read many times. I think we have a while to go before he has it memorized though, but I did catch him reading this to James.

I have one brand-new, unread, hard copy of this book to giveaway (with bonus bookmark!).

To enter please leave a comment below and a favourite bedtime book for a preschooler (3 - 4 year old). If you mention this somewhere else (your blog, facebook, etc) I may even be convinced to give you another entry. Sorry Australian entries only!

Entries will close Midnight Australian Eastern Daylight Saving Time on the Sunday, 10th October.

Book Giveaway Month

In the last few months there have been a few celebrations in our family (three birthdays and father's day). In a belated honour of this I am declaring October to be Book Giveaway Month at Cabbages and Kings. During this month I will be hosting, not one, not two but THREE book giveaways in honour of the three people who've had celebrations recently (James misses out ;-(). Hopefully there will be something to cater for everyone!

Immersed in Austen

This weekend I have enjoyed a feast of Austen (or more specifically Pride and Prejudice). I read the book for lunch (not literally of course!), savoured the 2005 movie version as an entree, feasted on the BBC 1995 production as a main course (at my husband's suggestion ;-)!)and then finished my Austen feast with the much more light hearted Lost in Austen. So here is my take on how these different mediums of the classic novel pan out.

(For the record I am a "Austenophile" - I have read all her novels (many times), own the DVD's and own/have read books on "The life and times of Jane Austen". Someone less immersed may have different opinions to me!)

The Book is still the gold-standard. Rereading the book I was reminded that the language and characterisation just sparkle - there is at least one quoteable wittisicm on every page, and the ability of Jane Austen to describe a character in one or two sentences is rarely paralleled. I enjoyed this reread so much that I have started going through the rest of my Austen collection this week.

The movie sufferes from condesing a long book into ~ 120 mins and therefore scenes are removed or concatenated, as are some characters. The effect of this is that some of the irony and sublety is missing (consider the "don't judge me Lizzie" scene after Charlotte Lucas agrees to marry Mr Collins - true to the sentiment but in the novel acheived over several conversations) and the timing of some of the plot is sped up. (Eg Lady Catherine turns up at Longbourn within hours of Jane's engagement to Mr Bingley, which was the event which precipitated her travelling to Longbourne). I think that the casting is generally excellent, Rosamund Pike is a fabulous Jane, and Brenda Blethyn and Tom Hollander bring an empathy to their characters of Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins respectively. The two characterisations which are the poorest are Mr Bingley - who comes across as more foolish, rather than amiable, and Mr Bennet, who suffers greatly from having his wittisicms cut short (I also cringe at the American Accent of Donald Sutherland). The cinemetography is also excellent - I especially like the scene at the Netherfield ball where the camera weaves through the crowd showing vignettes of the what is occuring. Overall the film does a good job as a cut down version of the main dish.

The 2005 BBC series at five hours long is indeed a feast of Austen (it takes me less time to read the book;-)). With the luxury of time, and a producer and director who wanted to be faithful to the novel. This means that most of the wittisicms and keen observations remain - with the authors voice being taken by Elizabeth or her father. Watching this again after the movie I did feel as if Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, were perhaps a trifle old for their parts, but the performances are excellent. The ending is a little more rushed than the novel, (Bingley's proposal occurs in the second visit rather than the fifth as in the novel), but that is because the chapters in question don't describe in detail the scenes but are more concerned with Elizabeths state of mind (I am reminded of one literary critic who writes that Jane Austen writes the comic romance rather well - the proposals of Darcy and Collins - but seems embarrassed to write the real thing (in the book it is merely glossed over with a Elizameth stammered a reply to the effect that her views were no longer the same!)

I finished off my feast with the second half of Lost in Austen. This really was dessert to the more serious courses with the modern day Austen lover (Amanda Price) somehow swapping places with Elizabeth Bennet and causing havoc with the plot. It is well cast and well written - although more than a few liberties were taken with the plot! (Wickham is apparently not the blackguard we thought) This was a very jolly take on the period drama/"fish out of water" genre. If definitely sped up the ironing!

So, for true Austen read the book(s), but either the movie or the miniseries will sate your Austen appetite - particularly if you would like to do something else (like mending or ironing) while partaking!