No comments about Dickens' Dictionary of London 1888.

5 comments about Walking to Canterbury: A Modern Journey Through Chaucer's Medieval England.

1. Walking to Canterbury is a lyrical journey by foot from London to Canterbury. The marriage of history, adventure and soul in this book, spiced with medieval illustrations, is a delight from the first page. I read it for my book club and the discussion that followed among ten of us was a treasure.



2. I have to take exception to most of the other reviews. Please hear me out.
   
   The author, a man of Native American and English heritage, wrote an earlier book, Walking the Trail, about a several month walk tracing the infamous Cherokee "Trail of Tears" backward from Oklahoma to his home in northeast Alabama, as well as two other books tracing historic American routes. Mr. Ellis says his trip to England to follow the medieval Christian pilgrims' route from London to Canterbury Cathedral, described most famously by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, was an effort to connect with his English heritage. I finished the book concluding that Ellis' so-called pilgrimage was just a way to provide his publisher with a sequel to sell based on the reputation and success of Ellis' earlier writing.
   
   For someone supposedly seeking to understand his English roots Mr. Ellis invests minuscule effort in the process. He commits only nine days to his first trip to England: arrives in London, departs the next day a seven-day, 70-odd mile walk, spends the last night in Canterbury, then returns to London by train to catch a flight back to the U.S. Such a short trip can't provide enough material for 295 pages, so Ellis pads the book with flashbacks to his Trail of Tears walk plus a lot of material about medieval English history, customs, daily life and English and non-English Christian practices. Some of the historic material consists of pages-long quotes from other books. Mind you, the historic extracts can be interesting, but there are better sources for such things and the book's subtitle promised "a modern journey through Chaucer's medieval England."
   
   Ellis focuses on some fairly odd people for someone saying he wants to get in touch with his English heritage. His most significant encounters are with unemployed, spike-haired, slackers and their pet iguana (he actually tarries an extra day to party with them), Swedish, French and Dutch tourists, an Iranian immigrant and several bar tenders. No significant encounters with farmers, police officers or teachers. And certainly none with Christians.
   
   Ellis' walk is hardly a religious pilgrimage. His own beliefs are Native American/New Age (i.e., deifying created objects rather than a Creator) and he expresses scant respect for Christianity. On one occasion Ellis hurts his back when he trips in the forest and experiences excruciating pain. That night, seemingly for the first time, in desperation he prays for relief. The next morning he experiences a self-described miraculous healing. Then, rather than credit God for healing him, and perhaps seeing the occurrence as "a sign" to repent and complete the trip as a true pilgrimage of thanksgiving as medieval Christians would have, Ellis quickly explains away his healing as a fluke.
   
   Ellis encounters some New Age tourists from Holland. They are lead by a Dutchman calling himself Geronimo who, for unexplained reasons, came from Amsterdam to England to practice some half-baked version of Native American spirituality in an attempt to relieve urban angst. Ellis writes: "Geronimo's teaching Native American spirituality when he has no such heritage disturbed me." But a few pages later non-Christian Ellis perceives no hypocrisy in himself when he arrives in Canterbury and, among secular visitors there to see the historic building and its art, makes a spectacle of himself by ascending the Cathedral steps on his knees in imitation of a pious Christian pilgrim. Afterward Ellis celebrates the conclusion of his "pilgrimage" at a bar where people mock Christian heritage, then leaves early the next day to rush back to Alabama.
   
   Ellis is a bit of an odd traveler, to boot. He lugs a 40 pound backpack of camping gear and spends a third of his nights in a tent in the semi-rural landscape, sort of like camping in the suburbs while walking from New York City to someplace in Connecticut. And he cooks on campfires several times at historic sites and just off the road in scraps of forest and farmers' fields. I've made walking tours in the British Isles and can tell you people just don't do that sort of thing; most people don't build campfires anymore when they hike in the U.S. One bit of quaintness - the trip occurred in 1999 - is Ellis talking about the great pocket knife he always carries and uses to carve figures in his oak walking stick. Ahhhh, pocket knives.... remember when we were allowed to carry those when we traveled in the good old days before 9-11?
   
   I don't recommend this book. The stories aren't that good and you can easily find better sources about the history of Canterbury or medieval England. I bought it because I enjoy making and reading about both Christian and secular pilgrimages, but this isn't, to my disappointment, really a pilgrimage book.
   
   Walking to Canterbury includes a small scale sketch map of the route, some small black-and-white reproductions of medieval scenes, a three-page bibliography of sources used for the historic extracts and a grainy photo of the author.



3. This investigation of modern and medieval England is done in a lively hands-on approach by the author in a unique way, as he walks the route of Chaucer's piligrims. A real pilgrimage route in the Middle Ages, the reader feels that he is there every step of the way. If you like adventure, heart, soul, humor and history, you'll love this journey.



4. I am partial to travel commentaries. The best ones have history and sociology lessons embedded in a moving narrative with rapidly changing settings and characters. The author's role is indispensible for he must impose a theme on his trip and package it engagingly for the reader. Jerry Ellis does this quite well. He treks from London to Canterbury along the 60 mile route established in medieval times. The cathedral where Becket was murdered has been drawing pilgrims for centuries. Ellis is of English as well as Cherokee ancestry and this jaunt was intended to lend symmetry to his work since he had earlier walked and written about the Trail of Tears.
   
   You will not enjoy this book unless you have interest in the lifestyles of twelfth century pilgrims. After a few pages of contemporary narrative, Ellis hears something to remind him of ancient ways and the reader knows he's in for a history lesson. However, they are appropriate, informative and quite interesting. Clearly, more time was spent reading the three dozen books in his bibliography than was frittered away in the south of England.
   
   The author uses the novelty of his trek to positively engage people and his interactions tend to be significant- perhaps too meaningful by intention. (He is on a religious pilgrimage.) Of course, he is of the "big tent" religion, and actively seeks parallels between Christian ways and the Cherokee beliefs. Some unifying observations are quite touching.
   
   I found it remarkable that Ellis could find spots to regularly pitch a tent and build a campfire. Evidently, once you are out of London the city ends and woodlands and wheatfields prevail. I can't imagine a pedestrian being so fortunate around any American city. Our less restrictive zoning extends the city for miles along our routes of egress. If Ellis were to make a pilgrimage out of New York, his campsites would likely be threatened by cranky suburbanites and dozens of state, county, village, environmental and parkway police for 60 miles in any direction. To bad he didn't write a bit about land use...



5. This only mildly interesting book weaves tales of the author's 1999 walk from London to Canterbury with English history and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
   
   Despite a potentially interesting premise and loads of unusual historical facts to link past and present, the author's ego distracts throughout the book; however it does get to a point where it's almost comical rather than irritating. He's just a bit too dramatic and evidently has had more Very Deep Thoughts and Mystical Life Experiences than the rest of us mere mortals. After a while Professor Lockhart from the 'Harry Potter' books started springing to mind whenever the author's commentary would circle back -- as it always did -- to himself and his mystical insights.
   
   Overall, it's a quick and easy read and I found the historical portions of the book interesting. Frankly, I was rather surprised that one *could* still walk from London to Canterbury on suburban and country roads. However, after reading this, I'd rather walk with someone else.

2 comments about Take a Paddle: Western New York Quiet Water for Canoes & Kayaks (Take a Paddle).

1. Take A Paddle: Western New York Quiet Water For Canoes & Kayaks is a comprehensive, superbly presented, specialized guide for canoe and kayaking enthusiasts. Detailing multiple launch and take-out sites; identifying waterway difficulty levels; providing approximate times to paddle from one point to another; noting amenities and fun diversions suitable for families with children; showing where to camp; what the best season for paddling each waterway; even where to rent canoes or kayaks or find commercial shuttle services, Take A Paddle: Western new York Quite Water For Canoes Kayaks covers more than 250 miles of flat-water creeks and rivers, as well as 20 ponds and lakes. Included are Livingston, Monroe, Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Erie, Chautauqua, Genesee, Orleans, and Niagara counties.



2. My wife and I bought this book and our canoe in the same week.
   Coincidence? I don't think so. This book overs families a great chance to get outside and share time together.
   The rating system is outstanding and the directions are great.
   This is the type of book that screams out for a second volumn I would gladly volunteer to be a guest contributor should the authors ever decide to do a second volumn.

3 comments about Connecticut Curiosities, 2nd: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff (Curiosities Series).

1. If you want to explore interesting things in Connecticut, this is the book to start with. My son and I often do interesting things on Saturday mornings. Part of it is just "bonding time", but part of it is that mom works every other Saturday, so those days we have special freedom to do interesting things. And we do. During warm months, an emphasis is on hiking and outdoor activities. During cold months, if we are not sledding, we try more indoor activities.

   Many of the things that we have done are in this book. I was pleasantly surprised. I bought this as a present for mom so that maybe she can join in more often (she does better if she has a picture in her mind and this book is full of pictures).

   Explore Connecticut by visiting "everyday" places you might not have noticed. These are the kinds of places that out-of-staters might ask "have you been there" but the residents do not even know they exist -- right next door. Definitely worth taking a look at.




2. Whether I am at home or on the road, books like this one provide this traveller with a lot to do without having to go very far. Personally, I view Connecticut as one of those often overlooked states which gets unfairly dissed because of its close proximity to NYC.
   In my case, I was abandoned by my husband who was attending a business conference. I wandered into a book store and found this little gem in the local interest section. On the way to Mystic Seaport, I checked out a few locations. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed myself thoroughly. My only regret was that I didn't have more time to cover all the locations cited in this book. However, even that was o.k. because I now have the impetus to return and check out other interesting places.
   Travel books like these are a real treat for locals as well as visitors because they educate and also provide a sense of familiarity to often strange and/or unfamiliar places. They provide a different way of looking at a specific state or region.



3. This guidebook to all the fun, out-of-the-way and quirky people and places of Connecticut is a great way to learn more about what makes the state so great. Even as a lifelong state resident, I learned new things; I use this as a means of picking fun daytrips.
   
   Pick up a copy; it'll make you wonder what else you don't know about Connecticut!

5 comments about Don't Know Where, Don't Know When (The Snipesville Chronicles, Book 1).

1. Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is a story of many people and times. Hannah and Alex Dias, two young teens from California have just been transplanted from the home they have always known to another world, otherwise known as Snipesville, Georgia. With its private luxury communities in the middle of cotton fields and mall known far and wide as the Small, Snipesville is the last place on earth Hannah wants to be.
   Brandon Clark, born and raised in Snipesville, has one ambition: to get out, to be one of the "Big Shots" who leave black Snipesville and make a name for themselves in the wider world. However, Brandon's future seems to stretch before him, planned by his parents, like the grim parades of death that leave the family funeral home.
   When Hannah, Alex, and Brandon are drawn together by their mutual differences and isolation, unlikely events begin to unfurl. Brandon's discovery of a British World War II national registration identity card and the appearance of a mysterious woman known as The Professor lead the children on a time travel journey spanning two World Wars and nearly one hundred years. The only clue to the mystery: Find George Braithwaite.
   Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is author Annette Laing's first foray into the world of children's literature. It is the promising if slightly raw beginning of a series that has the potential to be great. Those familiar with Maiya Williams time travel series (The Golden Hour, The Hour of the Cobra) will find good grounds for comparison. The differences? Laing's use of social and/or cultural history is easier and more accurate, and there is an absolute avoidance of declaring a moral (not that this excludes the reader from finding one (or more).
   The Characters: Hannah is a nightmare. I have never met a child like her (and thank my lucky stars that is so), but I have it on good authority that children like her really do exist. She speaks to everyone, regardless of age or relationship, with snotty abandon, no fear of physical punishment, or even as far and I can see, grounding, blunting her sarcastic tongue. Even those of us not in favor of spanking children cheer when one indomitable British dame finally gives Hannah her just desserts. By the end of the book she is not noticeably changed in attitude, but decidedly challenged in outlook by late experiences.
   Alex is largely a secondary character in this book, with no real chances for expression. There are, however, hints of future importance and even leadership to look forward to.
   The story built around Brandon is very interesting. Both of the father figures in his life, real life and time travel, are named Gordon. The wives are imposing (and in Mrs. Gordon's case, downright nasty) and there is an idolized older brother figure who looms large but is never really seen. It is lovely to see the confidence and self possession Brandon gains with the Gordons's that he seems to lack with his own family. Speaking of the Gordons, the daughter Peggy is a wonderfully despicable and yet pathetic character, because you have to wonder if it is her own weakness of character, an acceptance of family prejudice, or the troubles she has had to endure that have so warped her opinions. Peggy plays an important, if secondary and sometimes unrecognizable role throughout the story.
   The real jewel of this Story is Mrs. D, who I will leave you to discover for yourself. She is a lovely and lovingly portrayed example of all the strong, staunch, somewhat undemonstrative women who kept Britain going during the horrendous years of World War II.
   Do yourself a favor: read this book and read it carefully. At times it is a bit difficult to work your way through the teenage angst, especially in the first two or three chapters. Children may not find any of this distracting. By the time you reach chapters five and six you won't care any longer; you will be too involved in the lives and worlds being lived on the pages before you.This book is appropriate for the ages specified and beyond. Paying close attention will reward the reader with clues and hints as to the future of the series. Enjoy.



2. Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is an amazingly engaging book written very well. A good friend of mine recommended me to read it and after I asked what it was like, she responded that it was a bit like Harry Potter only with history. Now that I've read it, I agree. No, there's no wands or boarding school, but there is the magic of time travel and of characters that take you to another place and time. As I read the book, I marveled at some of the things that the kids, Alex, Hannah, and Brandon, encountered and wondered to myself "could this actually be the way it was then?" I found that these things were true.
   Annette Laing is a wonderful writer who grabs you with her style. I highly suggest this book for anyone at all.



3. This brought back my son's love of reading again. We found it under 'Historical Fiction' which is a bit of a stretch. They do talk about history, but not as much as their adventure. I would like to see more history in subsequent novels. My son loved the characters, especially Alex!



4. My sister is 13 years old and she despises books. After much begging and pleading I finally convinced her to read Don't Know Where, Don't Know When. Here's what she had to say:
   That was a really good book. I loved it. I read a lil bit every night. I like those kids in the book. I would so read it again.
   Don't Know Where, Don't Know When is the first book my sister has read and actually ENJOYED!!



5. Through the Rug
   Through The Rug 2: Follow That Dog (Through the Rug)
   
   I am a children's author who likes to read books by other children's authors. I really enjoyed "Don't Know Where, Don't Know When".
   
   Hannah and Alex Diaz and Brandon Clark arrive in England during World War 2, with a mystery to solve. They are unprepared for the world of war torn England. They are faced with air raids, evacuations, and miserable foods that stink. The children also eat dry bread and cakes, and wear hand-me-down clothing that should have been discarded long ago. They are faced with strict rules of behavior and firm punishments.
   
   Brandon, who is black, faces prejudice and is disliked by some who have never before encountered a person of his race.
   
   Alex takes his new environment as a challenge and an adventure. Hannah often opens her mouth and says inappropriate things. Brandon is separated from his friends, not only by being in a different home, but a different time in history.
   
   I recomend "Don't Know Where, Don't Know When", for children and adults. It would be a great book to read to an elementary class for 3rd through 6th graders. This book would also be a good read-together book for a family.
   
   I am adding this book to my list of 'Adventures with Grandma'. Verity's grandmother, Hannah and Alex call Mrs. D, is a harsh disciplinarian and a strict woman, but she is very endearing. She takes Alex and Hannah into her home and under her wing. We later find that Mrs. D has a past and wasn't always sweet and innocent herself. Her personality, as a young woman, was much like that of Hannah Diaz.
   
   Join in the adventure of Hannah, Alex and Brandon, as they travel into the past and bring back lessons they can use in the future.

No comments about The Lighthouse Companion for Connecticut and Rhode Island (The Lighthouse Companion, 1).

5 comments about London Goes to Sea: Restoring and Sailing an Old Boat on a Budget.

1. Then read this book, a practical, thoughtful, honest, and gently humorous guide to the real pleasures and challenges of finding, sailing, and caring for your boat, as well as the delicate balance of man, nature, work, dreams, boat maintenance, friendship, marriage and family.
   It's not just a how to book, but a well-written and wonderful reflection by an active and skilled sailor that explores restoration details, costs, safety, mishaps and joys on the water, with a fine, candid, and thoughtful eye.



2. I've never wished to sail, but London Went To Sea with me aboard for the duration of my read. I found the book rewarding in its detail and in the grandness of its focussed vision. The author's style, with reminescenses of Mark Twain, Hemingway, and even Dickens, was fasinating and seductive.
   
   I still feel no desire to actually participate in the experiences the author so delightly describes, but now can feel justified by having so closely experienced the joys and difficulties of the reality....which strongly suggests the high level of skill of the writer.
   
   Joshua Slocum himself would have been enthalled.



3. I enjoyed this book very much because it comes from a person who is clearly both a sailor and a writer. Much like Anthony Baily, author of "The Coast of Summer", Baumgartner writes in a way that lets me know that he is comfortable and knowledgable about being on the water, with a tiller in his hand and his eye on the luff of the main. This is also a good reference, because Baumgartner describes how he solved problems I either have encountered -- or am likely to. I'll dig this out often, to solve a problem or to let Baumgartner take me to sea again.



4. I'm not a sailor but this book (a gift) has charmed me. Somehow, the boat, the man, his family, his tribulations and the art of navigation are so artfully described that I have become enamoured of all of the above! Anyone who has ever been seasick or obsessed with completing a project will find themselves turning pages here. . .



5. I could not help myself by buying this book and it did not disappoint. This was a fun, albeit short read, that helped me live somewhat vicariously through Mr Baumgartner during his travails of restoration and the joys of sailing the East Coast. I was a little sad that there was not more on the actual restoration given the title- it was more about the experience. It just left me cruising E-Bay 'Sailboats 20-27 feet'.... it's that kind of book.

1 comments about Best Hikes With Children Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine (Best Hikes with Children).

1. A good book which largely delivers what it promises. However, it is best used in conjunction with a more comprehensive map and/or guide, if you're visiting a particular region. Give it 4.5 stars.

   Good Points: 1) The author points out "kid-friendly" features on hikes and gives good descriptions. 2) Most of the hikes have pretty good thumbnail maps

   Drawbacks: 1) Introductory map could be better (more detailed) to help reader find trails 2) Some hikes lack thumbnail maps. Why? 3) Abilities of children vary wildly. We found that a "moderate" hike can be strenuous for an inexperienced or out-of-shape child (or adult, for that matter).

No comments about Amc White Mountain Guide: A Guide to Trails in the Mountains of New Hampshire and Adjacent Parts of Maine/With Map.

2 comments about Fishing Connecticut and Rhode Island: A Guide for Freshwater Anglers.

1. Written by outdoorsman Bob Sampson, whose credits include contributing to "On the Water", "The Fisherman", and the "Norwich Bulletin", Fishing Connecticut and Rhode Island: A Guide For Freshwater Anglers is an in-depth guide to catching bass, walleye, trout, pickerel, salmon, catfish, carp, and many other species. Addition chapters also cover filleting and cooking one's catch, preserving a trophy, and fishing with kids. Anecdotes and fishing tips with a personal touch add form a smooth narrative flow for this superb guide for anglers of all skill and experience levels.



2. Great book! A must have for any CT or RI angler. Very well written can't put it down.