Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Reviewing a real classic adventure narrative!   Title: Sailing Alone Around the World Author: Joshua Slocum; read by Alan Sklar Publication Info: Tantor Media, 2006. 7hrs 45 min. Originally published 1899. Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: Joshua Slocum’s autobiographical account of his solo trip around the world is one of the most remarkable – and entertaining – travel narratives of all time. Setting off alone from Boston aboard the thirty-six-foot wooden sloop  Spray  in April 1895, Captain Slocum went on to join the ranks of the world’s great circumnavigators – Magellan, Drake, and Cook. But by circling the globe without crew or consorts, Slocum would outdo them all: his three-year solo voyage of more than 46,000 miles remains unmatched in maritime history for its courage, skill, and determination. Sailing Alone around the World  recounts Slocum’s wonderful adventures: hair-raising encounters with pirates off Gibraltar and savage Indians in Tierra d

 Launching today! The final adventure of my favorite asteroid miners!   Zanzibar's Rings: Book 3 of the Viridian System series By Jemima Pett Published Feb. 22, 2022 by Princelings Publications   A galactic crisis: the entire comms system destroyed. No waypoints, no navigation aids, no database access... and how will spaceships in flight get home - or to any destination? Dolores is stuck in warp with a very dangerous passenger, Pete gets his shuttle back home on manual. But how come anything in close contact with pure orichalcum fixes itself? Just flying through Zanzibar's Rings solves the problem - as the Federation's fighters find, as they descend on the Viridian System to take possession of the planets. Zanzibar's Rings is the third and final book of the Viridian System series. ebook links (launch offer of $2.99 is good until late March!) Amazon  ~~~  Apple iTunes  ~~~  B&N (Nook)  ~~~  Kobo  ~~~  Smashwords About the Author: Jemima Pett has been an in

Title: Brighty of the Grand Canyon Author: Marguerite Henry Publication Info: Rand, McNally & Co., 1953. 224 pages. Source: My bookshelves--I've owned this since childhood Publisher's Blurb: Long ago, a lone little burro roamed the high cliffs of the Grand Canyon and touched the hearts of all who knew him: a grizzled old miner, a big-game hunter, even President Teddy Roosevelt. Named Brighty by the prospector who befriended him, he remained a free spirit at heart. But when a ruthless claim-jumper murdered the prospector, loyal Brighty risked everything to bring the killer to justice. Brighty's adventures have delighted generations of readers, and he has become the symbol of a joyous way of life. Some people say that you can even see his spirit roving the canyon on moonlit nights-forever wild, forever free. My Review: I read all of Marguerite Henry's books as a child, and loved them. This one always was a bit hard for me, because there's some scary stuf

  F or those who have just discovered this, the previous posts about my trek through the Everest Region in November 2021: Kathmandu Part I: Lukla to Namche Part II: Namche to Khunde Part III: Khunde to Pangboche Part IV: Ama Dablam Basecamp to Dingboche Part V: Chukkhung Part VI: Kongma La Part VII: Everest Base Camp Part VIII: Cho La Part IX: Gokyo Trekking Nepal Part X: Renjo La, the last pass Day 18: Thursday, Nov.  25 The morning of departing Gokyo was as beautiful as the rest of the time there. Though the wind picked up in the afternoons, it was calm at night. My efforts to photograph the mountain and stars reflected in the lake of course failed, but it was also beautiful under the morning light. Gokyo Lake (#3) with (I think) Pharilapche beyond. The breeze is just starting to pick up as we head out. We climbed around the right side of the lake, skirting the base of Gokyo Ri, with the first part of our route visible and daunting. This is a rough trail, and some of our guides had b

    Spring is springing all over the place, and I'm writing my little heart out. I think I have shared already that I decided the only thing to do about my utter mess of a draft of my new novel was... to write it over. I'm now approaching the 20,000-word mark (i.e., about 1/4 of the way), and my initial concerns about this approach are getting nicely put to rest. Of course, I won't really know if it's any less messy until I get to the end and read it over, but I feel  like I know much better where I'm going and why, and I'm picking up the characters that got neglected the first time around.  It's not a terribly fast process--it's going to take the same 6 weeks or so to draft as it did the first time. Honestly, that's about as much as I can handle typing per day, so even though I think it's flowing better (at least at the moment), I can't do much over 2000 words/day. That's due to limitations both physical--I'm trying to avoid a flare-

  Title: Up a Road Slowly Author: Irene Hunt Publication Info: (I read the Kindle edition). Originally published 1966, Follett Publishing Co., 192 pages Source: Library digital resources Publisher's Blurb: From the author of Across Five Aprils and No Promises in the Wind comes her most beloved story of a girl's coming of age. After her mother's death, Julie goes to live with Aunt Cordelia, a spinster schoolteacher, where she experiences many emotions and changes as she grows from seven to eighteen. (Newbery Medal, 1967) My Review: There are a lot of children's books from the 1960s that still appeal. I don't think this one aged so well. The story has two problems, from a modern perspective: there isn't a lot of plot, and it feels like it does a lot more telling than showing. I had the whole time I was reading a feeling that I was waiting for the story to start. There's nothing terribly wrong with the book, and the characters engaged me enough to want to

F or those who have just discovered this, the previous posts about my trek through the Everest Region in November 2021: Kathmandu Part I: Lukla to Namche Part II: Namche to Khunde Part III: Khunde to Pangboche Part IV: Ama Dablam Basecamp to Dingboche Part V: Chukkhung Part VI: Kongma La Part VII: Everest Base Camp Part VIII: Cho La Trekking Nepal Part IX: Gokyo Day 16: To Gokyo and around the lake After the endless descent of the day before, we were looking forward to a quick transit to Gokyo, with time and energy to climb Gokyo Ri after lunch. That would allow time on our second day in Gokyo to hike up the valley past Gokyo Lakes 4-6, toward Cho Oyu (the lake at Gokyo itself is Lake 3).   The first half mile or so, hiking up the valley between the glacial moraine and the mountain, was quick and easy. Then we had to cross the Ngozumba Glacier, which meant getting down onto it first. It wasn't that bad. Kind of like the "trail" down to the beach near our old home in Daly